Anyone tried alternate treatments?

I was catching up with an old friend last night. She told me that she's been doing alot of research on auto-immune diseases. Her mom was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer and she came across Sunridge Medical in AZ.  They did some tests on her mom and found that the cancer was secondary to an out-of wack immune system. She went through 5 of 8 weeks of treatment which included Vit D infusions and cleaning of the toxins from the blood. She was doing great but caught phemonea and just rencely passed away :(.   You would have thought the cancer would hv been the trigger.

So I check out their website. Apparently they specialize in auto immune treatments. Has anyone heard of this or tried it?

http://www.sunridgemedical.com/

I'm just getting fed up with GIs and traditional medicine.  Figure it doesn't hurt to explore other options.

 

Alternative treatments worked for me. I tried applied kinesiology, probiotics and Reiki after 3 different meds from my GI made me more sick than I have ever been. Then he was pushing for the scary drugs, which I wasn't willing to try. Fast forward 2 years and my next scope shows an almost normal colon, biopsies show no sign of disease (previous scope showed angry pancolitis). My GI said he was fine with me not being on meds (never thought I would hear him say that!) and to see him in 5 years.

That place in AZ sounds great. I would definitely check it out.

Peace&Harmony said...
Sunridge Medical in AZ...

...So I check out their website. Apparently they specialize in auto immune treatments. Has anyone heard of this or tried it?

http://www.sunridgemedical.com/

I'm just getting fed up with GIs and traditional medicine. Figure it doesn't hurt to explore other options.

I don't know about Sunridge Medical. My mom has Hepatitis C, which was quiet for many years. When it returned, she went to a Sutter Health's alternative treatment facility (I can't remember which one), because she was too old to be eligible for western medications or a liver transplant. She has had great results with the herbs that she gets from the medical center. She is still having issues with her liver, but the herbs have extended her life, so far from 1-2 years to 8 years and counting.

http://www.sutterhealth.org/medicalspecialties/compmed.html

I would try it; however, my main issue is an imbalance of fecal flora due to antibiotics. I don't think herbs can resolve that. I do have some liver issues and will every once in awhile do a liver cleanse.

Post Edited (subdued) : 10/19/2010 1:20:26 AM (GMT-6)

Vitamin E enema really helps me. To me it's the king of alternate treatments

momuc19,

Yes, it is low dose naltrexone. For the most part you are not supposed take LDN while on prednisone, but you can once under 10 mgs. Some say under 20mg but the info I found said once you are under 10 mgs the prednisone is no longer immune suppressing so you can start the LDN if you are on a down ward taper. Any higher and the LDN and prednisone fight each other.

I started at 40 mgs of prednisone over the summer and have been tapering down by 5 mg until I reached 20 mgs and then by 2.5 mg. I am currently at 2.5 mg. I just started the LDN, today is only day 3. So far so good, I have more energy today and have only had to go to the bathroom once. I have a friend with UC who suggested I start it. She has been on it for 7 months now and is doing great, she says its the best she has felt in 10 years! So here is hoping I have similar results!

I am using the LDN as a transdermal cream instead of the pill.

My GI dismissed it as well. He said he saw no purpose and didn't know how it could help my Crohn's. I even had printed out the study done on LDN and Crohn's in Pennsylvania, he didn't even want to read it. I did most of the research on my own and became as educated as I could on it and it took me a few months to find a doctor who would prescribe it. Ultimately it was a family doctor, which I heard is not uncommon that a primary care doctor will prescribe it but specialists rarely will.

I should be off the prednisone here in the next two weeks! Yea! I was at 40 for a few weeks until things got better, then started taperig. I usually stay at the next dose for a week to 10 days if all is well. I can't remember if it was at 20 mg or less, but I did have to jump back up to 25 mg for a little while when a little blood came back. I didn't really have any side effects until I got down to 10 mg and under. Mostly fatigue, I think my body had to adjust from being on the prednisone so long. I did a lot of research on vitamins that help the adrenal gland function. Vitamin C, Vitamin E, and B complex vitamins are important and took these supplements while tapering or tried to get good food sources when I could.

Malkavian said...


I would NEVER tell anyone to stop their regular meds in lieu of alternatives, though. Especially since you say you've had much success with them. The mesalamines are really mild and are for the most part not absorbed into the blood, which is what you seem to be on. It's less dangerous than taking meds for joint pain daily. Plus you're on relatively low doses (half max for the asacol I think).

 Never said I had much sucess. Check my other posts.

I'm only on a small dose of Asacol due to my tolerance level. 4 pills 3x/day incapacited me for the whol day amd my husband has to stay home a care for me. GI said all the side effect were "in my head". I'm also pooping out Asacol whole, so I'm not even getting the benefit of the low dose. Apprently my pH level isn't high enough to dissolve the resin coating. GI refuses to believe this and won't change my meds. Also I was GI also refused my reasonable accomodation at work to and a clear reason distance to the restroom. Now my left hip area is injured and the GI still expects me to to my enema daily.

I'm just sick of dealing with "Traditional Approach" especially if it going to be a fight everytime with the GIs! Goin on my 3rd GI...got an appt in Jan!

Thanks Malkavian.

Good luck on your exams!  I know how that can be. I just completed the CPA exam and my brain is STILL fried!

I did email information to my doc on other 5-ASA drungs but she never responded. In her office she basically put down all the other 5-ASA options.  Basically it's Asacol or the next level.

...gotta love being in an HMO!  Switching back to BCBS and have a doc appt with the director of IBD at Georgetown University. Don't think I get more specialized than dealing with a director at a teaching college!

Hopefully she will just what I need!

Yeah, mine are just standard examinations, but they're doctoral level courses and there's so much info to absorb.

Georgetown eh? So that means DC area...sorry I can't help you in finding a doctor there. My new GI is also at a teaching college (the one I attend actually) so I'm hoping that goes well. But I'm also not currently having issues with my meds like you are.

Anyway I still think you should give sulfasalazine a go...it's effective for many people and dirt cheap compared to asacol. I can't personally take it cause of an allergy, but it's worth a shot. If not the immunosuppressants aren't too bad, I'm on Imuran and don't feel it unless I forget to eat with my meds or accidentally double dose myself.

Thanks for the suggestions.

I'll make sure I'll list them for the new GI. 

Here's a really good site that lists and compares the treatments for UC.  http://www.medicinenet.com/ulcerative_colitis/page5.htm

i have tried alternative treatments and they do help to improve, although not "cure" me completely!

I had an alternative practitioner explain it to me this way: Something is irritating your colon, causing your immune system to attack it. Its like scratching your hand over and over and over; its going to bleed, have sores, be inflamed, and eventually you'll have other problems like cancer on your hand..... The Traditional Western Rxs we have just mask the symptoms (and stop the bleeding, pusing and irritation) but if you don't stop scratching your hand (Or your colon) you're not helping anything!!!

I have had great success with acupuncture, chinese herbs, supplements, fish oil, and most importantly anti-inflammatory foods like olive oil, turmeric, other spices...There is tons of research across the board that indicate people with chronic disease benefit the MOST from an alternative/traditional combination.

A great resource for anti-inflammatory foods that I have used is this book. Totally manageable (incorporate more spices like cinnamon into your diet is easy to do and won't harm a thing typically) http://www.amazon.com/Inflammation-Free-Diet-Plan-Monica-Reinagel/dp/0071464719

Also, I cannot say enough good things about nutritiondata.com enter ANY food (including meals from some mainstream restaurants) and NOT ONLY do you get all fat, calories, and nutrients, it also provides an "Inflammation factor" for each food. For example, brocolli is +232 meaning it is "Moderatly ANTI Inflammatory" but something like Brown sugar is -1222 and moderately inflammatory. Its just good to know what is supporting your body's anti-inflammation responses.

I'm lucky enough to live in Berkeley, CA - the land of acupuncture (for $20 covered by my insurance!), chinese herb practitioners, and alternative MDs so I use them at my disposal.

I use Reiki to minimise the drugs side effects...if I do not treat the steroids with reiki I suffer from insomnia ..

At the moment I am following also the advice of a naturopath. And my energy level has definitely improved...so have my guts...but that might be due to remicade