New Here, Hi! What's your story? :)

Hi Amy! Thanks for your response. The "VSL#3" is a probiotic, a doctor prescribed one made specifically for UC and Crohns patients. THey may be discontinuing it however so I'm on the troll for a good over-the-counter brand.

I've been on the Asacol for 2 months now, regularly, and it is not working so I've been tapering off of it. (see above for dosage) Seems like the only thing that makes the Colitis better is a very strict, regimented diet. That's not always the easiest thing for me however.

The Colitis is throughout my entire Colon, the worst of it being Left Sided, though I suspect it's gotten a bit worse over the past couple months through the rest of it. I was diagnosed initially with "Left Sided Colitis" but that was only because the area was so diseased they couldn't pass through it, the risk was to great to the pregnancy at the time. The last Colonoscopy done was 4 months ago where they found it throughout the entire Colon. And when the biopsied to find out exactly what kind of Colitis is was it came back "Indeterminate Colitis" which means it could also be Crohns in my Large Colon. They are not sure which it is, the only thing that will determine that is if my Colon starts to disintegrate. Ewwww, that's a nasty thought!

The meds that get into the blood stream are any of them that are not designed to make their way through the upper gastric system without releasing. Asacol is one of the meds that is "Enteric Coated" to release specifically in the Colon and not digest sooner. Where as something like Prednisone will be digested in the upper gastric system and thus absorbed by the body. Which is why it's not good to be on for long periods of time. How long have you been on the Ultimate Flora? Does it help you much?

Do anyone's intestines start rumbling, without pain, almost as soon as the food is swallowed? It's not my stomach, I can actually *feel* my Colon on the right and left side releasing something and gurgling. It's strange and new, and I'm slightly concerned about it bc it seems to be associated with more bleeding.

In my experience, it took a combination of dietary changes, probiotics to rebuild healthy gut ecology and supplements to heal. The best thing you can do is educate yourself. There are several good books that offer dietary and natural healing approaches for UC. The ones I'd recommend are Listen to Your Gut, Breaking the Vicious Cycle and The New Eating Right for a Bad Gut. Start keeping a food journal to identify what foods are problematic for you. Gluten, dairy, sugar, caffeine and chocolate are common offenders, but you may have others. Listen to Your Gut has different levels of diet and has one especially for controlling bleeding.

A good, quality probiotic is essential. Custom Probiotics and Natren are the ones that have helped me the most. High doses of omega3s help reduce inflammation. Aloe and l-glutamine help heal the gut and restore the lining. (I use George's Roadrunner Aloe Vera that has the laxative component, aloin, removed.) Vitamin D and digestive enzymes will help, too.

You may also want to try a different ASA since asacol isn't working for you. The older drug sulfasalazine (azulfadine) works well for me.

Hey Joy,

I stay away from those too. I try to stay away from anything sweet, period unless it's something I'm making and controlling at home. Beverages, deserts, sauces and breads are all things on my do not eat list. Even though I cheat a little too much! I really am having the hardest time letting go of all of the things I love. The final straw is Ice Cream. I never liked Pop but I do enjoy bread, peanut butter, etc.. But Ice Cream! Why must I let this go as well. Now I just sound like an angry kid that isn't getting her way, at least I feel like I'm one. MY food life has become so very boring and for someone who enjoys cooking for herself and family, this is an issue.

Oral steroids can work wonders in acute symptoms like yours. Don't be afraid to take them unless the doc has a specific reason why you shouldn't. You need something more potent to knock out your flare-up and couple it with the holisitic/alternative approach. But the alternative approach alone right now won't help you stop the urgency and bleeding...

Doctor finally relented and put me on PRED. I have completed 2 weeks of 40mg per day and am about to go down to 30mg per day. Taking it once per day was really hard for me so I broke my dosage up to two times a day. Worked much better in reducing my bm's.

So far I think it is working, though my stools are still loose and 6-7 times a day. Rest is helping too. I am fortunate to have flexible work that I can do from home if absolutely necessary. So far I am pretty impressed by PRED though it has wreaked havoc on my blood sugar (diabetic as well) and I have had to start some different meds for that.

I have been eating very bland, easily digestible food: crackers, chicken broth -- trying to go easy on the system -- I find I cannot eat anything very substantial.

Thank you,