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Any inexpensive natural options?

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Crohn's Disease
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Posted 1/12/2008 4:37 PM (GMT 0)
I was diagnosed with Crohn's in 2002.  It took awhile for me to even accept the diagnosis.  I argued with my GI doctor that it could be female problems since the abdominal pain seemed to worsen on a cycle in line with ovulation.  She insisted it was Crohn's based on my first colonoscopy.  Other tests did not support the diagnosis, but she insisted that she has seen it enough to know when it is Crohn's.  She also told me it was a mild case.  I started taking Pentasa 4 pills 3xday.  It helped at first with no side effects.  I took it off and on for 3 years before I noticed I had good and bad days whether I was taking the medication or not.  I really hate taking meds, so I took myself off and did well for awhile. 

The symptoms came back and I had my 2nd colonoscopy with the same doctor who gave me the same results.  I again decided to just go without medication reasoning that since it was a mild case, I really didn't need to suffer any side effects of the more radical treatments.

In the summer of 2007, I had a flare up that was the worst I had experienced.  My mother cannot accept the fact that I have CD and that she is not somehow responsible for it and asked me to get a 2nd opinion; which I did in September of 2007.  This new dr was awesome and listened to me explain how I still don't believe I have CD and that I feel there are female problems because of the cycle, so he scheduled another colonoscopy.  He is also convinced I have CD.  He put me on Entocort and 6mp.  I took the meds and after less than a month, developed a severe case Erythema Nodosum.  I went to a dermatologist who confirmed that it was the worst case he had ever seen and even took pictures to share with his students!  I could not walk due to the severe joint pain.  Again, I stopped the meds and only took Prednisone and Advil.

I am now experiencing arthritis-like symptoms and another painful flare up and am taking Predisone.  I have an appt on Thursday with my GI doctor to discuss Humira and Remicaid (neither of which are options I want to consider since mine is considered a mild case).  I am looking for any advice on natural ways that aren't too expensive to deal with this disease.

PLEASE HELP!

Posted 1/12/2008 5:00 PM (GMT 0)
You do know that natural options are not always inexpensive and sometimes more expensive if you want to investigate Chinese herbal therapies and such. Natural supplements are expensive too. Trying to go a natural way is major science for each particular patient. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it don't. Start with the easy stuff like proper rest, proper diet, and don't forget exercise. I'm sure you can find much info on this by searching the web and many here might have options that have worked for them.

Unfortunately my Daughter cannot control her IBD naturally. She has tried and failed when she decided she didn't want to take Pentasa anymore. Her only good remission is med induced along with rest, diet, exercise and some supplements thrown in when she can afford them. Birth control has calmed the nasty effects of my Daughter's monthly. Both monthly and IBD can play on each other. Remicade has been my Daughter's miracle med. In remission 4 years now thanks to it.
Posted 1/13/2008 6:23 PM (GMT 0)
imho, the most inexpensive natural option is diet. you have to eat dont you? by changing your diet i believe you can do yourself a world of good, not just for crohn's but also for you body generally speaking. the best diets i've read about (and used) and have heard very positive things about from others are the maker's diet and the specific carbohydrate diet (scd). the scd has an immense on-line resource, so you can check it out there before buying the book. i prefer the makers, although i incorporate aspects of the scd into it. do your research. i think you'll be amazed at what you will find. they are tough at first as you need to retrain yourself how to eat and shop. self discipline is huge. if you cheat you wont get the desired results and wont know how well diet changes can work for you. so when starting out you need to be honest and stick to the prescribed regiment. once you hit a maintenance phase, you can cheat from time to time, although it may not be worth the price as your body will no longer be used to eating junk food.
Posted 1/13/2008 10:53 PM (GMT 0)
Lucky for me (the way I see it) I'm either allergic or non-responsive to the traditional oral RX used for IBD...so I had to put my skeptisism about natural prodcuts aside and give it a try and it was the best thing I could have done...

I'll bet I spend way less money a month/year on all the natural products combined that I take compared to one months supply of asacol.

I use bee propolis, omegas 3-6-9, primadophilus reuteri probiotic, prodiem stool bulker, vitamins B12, A, C-calcium ascorbate.

I eat a healthy diet, no sugar, processed foods, fast-foods, caffeine or animal fats and I exercise regularly drink chamomile tea and lots of water.

:)
Posted 1/14/2008 1:44 AM (GMT 0)
Hi hatemeds, and hi PB4 too!

I am concerned about the same thing. PB4 was a huge help to me the other day when I was worried about taking my first treatment wich is the colocort enema. She asured me it was safer than pills just as the GI had told me. I'm new at this too and I don't want to get started on pills if I don't have too. My GI told me that fish oil is very good and vitimin D.

 

Here's What I'm taking now:

  1. Colocort suspension retention enema at bedtime. (every night for one month)

  2. Fiber Choice chewable tablets (soluble fiber) two in morning two at night (I don't get Dia. mostly Const) 

  3. B complex with B-12, sublingual liquid 

  4. Primadophilus reuteri probiotic 

  5. Primadophilus bifidus probiotic.

  6. Folic Acid

  7. Fish Oil, 1200mg ea. x 4 per day ( odorless, no fishy burps )

I used my  first colocort enema last night. I stalled till midnight then I gave in. I didn't sleep very much because every enema I've ever had always made me have to go. I was so afraid I would have an accident in my sleep I kept waking up all night. I feel fine today. So far so good.

I may add a few things more or less as I go along but it's a start. I also plan on getting my Jack  La Lane Juicer back out (I used to use it allot) and start using it again. I used to run five miles a day and eat right but somewhere along the way I have gotten way off track. This is a wake up call and I will do what ever I can to avoid all the pills and stuff. I think it is possible. I know not every one can do that And maybe I'm niave or too hopefull and new at this, but if its not a severe case (mine isn't) I feel it's worth trying what ever I can do to avoid more and more meds. I will take that step as a last resort, only after I try every other healthy alternative. I'm thinking maybe a naturopathic MD would be helpful as long as you still keep your GI. I'm looking into all this stuff too. I'll let you know how I feel in a month or two. Only time will tell!  I used to take a Tai Chi class and I loved it. It's very relaxing, increases flexibility and increases core strength. I think I will take it up again.

                                                                      Bye   smurf   debbidoo

Posted 1/14/2008 1:56 PM (GMT 0)
Hi hatemeds and welcome! Stick around here and you will learn a lot about the supplements people use. So sorry to hear about your skin reaction to meds. That must have been painful.

pb4 is right about the cost of asacol. We spend something like $230/month after insurance. My son hopes to wean off it in the near future. We shall see...

I do believe in the benefits of supplements and a clean (no processed foods) diet. My son is currently taking a high quality multi-vitamin/mineral (high in B complex family, folic acid, zinc, etc.), iron (he was anemic, but no longer is; we may need to drop this soon) enteric coated fish oil, cod liver oil (high in natural antioxidants of vit. A, D3 and E), Theralac (a probiotic), calcium with D3, digestive enzymes and extra vit. C.

Also, call me crazy, but I'm completely sold on our juicer. (buy a good one if you get one!) We make some kind of veggie juice from organic veggies nearly every day. The thing I find amazing is that if any one of us (family of 4) has a sore throat or sniffles coming on, we drink 2 maybe 3 glasses of this in a day's time, go to bed early, and wake symptom-free! It's happened waaay too many times now for me to discount it as coincidence. I know I've saved money on dr. visits and antibiotics this season! Spending it to buy carrots instead! :-)

I hope you feel better real soon!
Posted 1/16/2008 5:34 PM (GMT 0)

I truly would like to thank EVERYONE for the responses to my post.  I was feeling lost and have found new hope.  I am going to the GI tomorrow and I will tell him I would like to try some natural methods to control my inflammation before considering the options he has for me. 

I also would like to share my sympathies with those who have a severe case of Crohn's.  Mine is mild and I feel horrible and am in pain all of the time.  I cannot imagine how someone with a severe case feels.

THANK YOU AGAIN!  I will keep you posted on my progress.

Posted 1/16/2008 8:14 PM (GMT 0)
My father in law just recently bought a ton of books. He brought them over for me to read as I haven't tried some of the suggested natural remedies there are many great ones that I may try in this book after speaking to my MD. The book is called Bottom Line's Health Breakthroughs 2008 I will post more specific things when I pick the book back up.
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