Slippery Elm supplements

Yay! I'm glad you're seeing improvement and I hope it continues!

I had thoroughly researched slippery elm before I took it, and it seems that it's been used for centuries... doesn't have much against it, as long as you space it from your meds.

My husband suck on slippery elm lozenges because after talking for awhile, he gets a bit hoarse -- it helps a lot.

Yes, both decreased for me.

I've been taking this morning and night. Not sure it's done much for my UC but has done wonders for my heartburn.

Can I ask why the 2 hour gap from other medication Levi?

Palace Dan: The slippery elm actually coats the insides of your GI tract after you take it. It is bark that has a mucous like consistency after mixing with liquid and can prevent absorbtion of your other meds (and vitamins, nutrients, and minerals if you take too much.)

Burli: This is sorta convoluted, but you asked :)

I was on Asacol and Entocourt immediatley (11.2) Tapered to two Entocourt 11.11 due to tachycardia. I had still been bleeding, but all other symptoms were gone by the time I tapered, but all symptoms began returning ten days later, on 11.20. That's when I got on the regimen I am currently on, save the slippery elm.

I took my last Entocort on 12.10. Symptoms were the exact same as when I began tapering Entocort: everything was better, except still bleeding. By 12.20, I was going four times a day in addition to bleeding. That was the only symptom that returned as a consequence of taking no Entocort. So, I had blood and frequency.

Things were stable from 12.20-1.7 (2.5 weeks), then the frequency got better when I started slippery elm. You could be right, it might be a combination, but I was blown away by the stat of 59 BM's 16 days immediatley prior to slippery elm and only 32 in the 16 days after my first full days dose. Seemed like a pretty good correlation.

I absolutley believe the Rowasa and VSL have helped. While on them when I got off Entocort completley, they kept everything from coming back except doubled frequency. That's a heck of a lot better than what happened when I went from Asacol and 3 Entocort to Asacol and 2 Entocort in November.

Hope this wasn't WAYYYY too much expanation as an answer.


OK, the more I think as I type, I will cede you very well could be right. Not even the GI's know how long certain meds take to work, not even the gold standard 5ASAs, immunosupressors, whatever. My GI wants me on 6mp because "I shouldn't be bleeding still." My "second opinion GI" doesn't want to reevaluate me for 6mp until three more months, because he'd be "very suprised if I wasn't still bleeding!"

Haha, now you've got me arguing with myself.

When I mix a teaspoon of slippery elm and a teaspoon of psyllium seeds in a glass of water , I get stools very close to normal.

Hi everyone,

I'm a long-time grateful lurker - finally decided to register to this great forum. 

Just wanted to say that I read the book Listen to your Gut (Jini Thomposon) and while I have gnarly symptoms going on, taking the all-natural enema of Slippery Elm, Comfrey Root, and Marshmallow Root that she recommends seems to stop my profuse bleeding (20+/day for weeks) within 4 hours.  I wouldn't have believed it.  However, the urgency stays the same.

I had to order the herbs from Canada, and enema's are nobody's idea of fun, so I've only resorted to this three times so far.

I hadn't thought to try taking slippery elm the normal way!  :-)

(need to figure out how to add a signature now....)

Hi Levi,

I learned about this from "Listen to Your Gut".  I have her book ($79!!), but you can find good information at her website of the same name.  Just be sure to use the organic and powdered forms if you try it.  These three herbs smell like a yummy tea rather than an enema.  I figured anything that I would be willing to eat, I'd be more or less ok with trying there.  I was prescribed a Butyrate Enema (couldn't afford it at the time), but have since learned that Slippery Elm increases butyrate in the mucousal lining.  So that's what I'm researching about now.

Thanks for the tips about the signature... I finally figured it out.  :-)

Levi,
If you're interested in using comfrey, you can read about it in more detail in Jini Patel's book. She addresses the liver issue in her book. It's not suggested it be used long term or taken by mouth. She feels it safe and lists her reasons for believing this but it's up to the reader obviously. Then again, even the ASAs can damage the liver I believe.

Hello again,

Thanks for the concern, Levi; it is certainly something to consider.  My reasoning to give it a go was that - the profuse on-going bleeding was probably more of a cancer concern, the amount is very small (1 tsp) and it's not held all that long, and it's not getting filtered through my liver.

When it seemed my alternative was more Prednisone (with all the known and experienced warnings and side-effects), this seemed like a much gentler option.  And it really does work to stop the bleeding for me.  But again, I have only done it 3 times in 3 years.  I wonder if someone else here has more experience with this?

As was mentioned, Jini discusses this in her book (it's really thorough!).  She is concerned that it's a matter of pharmaceutical hysteria and points out that there have been 7,000 deaths from aspirin which isn't discussed. (Wikipedia says there is one reported death from internal "extreme amounts" of comfrey.)

Anyway, apparently plantain powder and calendula powder make a slightly slower alternative if people are more comfortable with that.