Just want to say that I feel good :-)

Nice! Glad to hear you are feeling well.


What are your secrets?

mom2panda said...
Nice! Glad to hear you are feeling well.


What are your secrets?

Hmmm... my secrets?
-I tend to be more dedicated than most people to whatever I try.
-I gave up other things on my evenings/weekends so that I could spend time learning about what my body needs.

Diet:
-I noticed a big difference when I stopped drinking milk. I have a feeling I'll be able to drink it again at some point in the next few years.
-I stopped eating sugar. I noticed that having things like sugary protein bars or cookies led to worse symptoms.
-I wasn't really drinking much before this year, but I've stopped completely for the time being. Alcohol can make things worse for me sometimes.

Supplements:
-Turmeric powder: 1/2 teaspoon morning and night. Used to calm inflammation.
-George's Aloe-Vera Juice: 1/4 cup morning and night. Used to calm inflammation.
-L Glutamine Powder: 1 teaspoon 2-3x daily. Used to help heal the colon and decrease diarrhea.
-Psyllium Husks: 1/2 teaspoon 2x daily. Used to firm up stools.
********I've taken the above four on empty stomachs 20 minutes before or 2 hours after ANY food or beverage besides water.

-Wild Oregano Oil: Natural Antifungal. Used to kill any possible harmful microbes.
***I really think that beginning this has helped me a lot. I take this on an empty stomach, 20 minutes before or two hours after eating ANY food or beverage besides water. I really just tried to take it as many times as I could in a day following the need to have it on an empty stomach. 4-5 times daily was usual. I took 1/3 to 1/2 the dropper full per time (Most supplements are mixed a couple parts wild oregano oil and more parts olive oil... as are the ones I take).

-Olive Leaf Extract: Natural Antifungal. Used to kill any possible harmful microbes.
****I take (2) 450mg capsules at a time, anywhere from 1-4 times daily. I take these 20 minutes before or two hours after eating ANY food or beverage besides water. I have not been on these as long, but would credit at least some success to them.

I have lately began to switch out the natural antifungals with probiotics...

I use "Natren" brand probiotics. My body cannot seem to tolerate very much right now, but I believe that they help if I add them for a day or two, and then switch back to the natural antifungals for a day or two. The days I take the probiotics, I take (all in powder form)...
-1/2 teaspoon Bi-Fido factor
-1/4 teaspoon Digesta-Lac
-1/4 teaspoon Megadophilus
****I take these together, mixed with non-chlorinated water on an empty stomach. I guess the chlorine can kill the good bacteria. Fortunately I have well water with nothing added to it.

Another supplement I use sometimes is slippery elm bark powder. I don't know a lot about it, but I add a teaspoon or two to tea sometimes. I think it's supposed to soothe the colon lining. I had an unexpected bit of blood last evening (due to strawberry seeds), took the slippery elm, and am back to no blood today.

Lifestyle:
-I am trying not to worry about things very much.
-Trying to meditate and pray more.
-I'm in a spot in my life where I can financially take good care of myself and take time off on the days I need to, to heal.

All those lifestyle changes are also helping.

The goal for me has been to reduce the inflammation and then repair healthy gut flora balance in my colon. At some point I'll get off the anti-fungals and be on probiotics solely. Taking the other added supplements is something I aim to taper as my symptoms improve.

I want to add that I take Pentasa every day. I do not believe it has been very effective for me, but that it does help some. I was taking this with symptoms that weren't clearing up, so I definitely attribute my healing to the extra efforts.

Alright, got pretty in depth here! I just felt like maybe someone may benefit if they read it. My best advice is to dedicate time to learning, experimenting, and writing down what you try. Life is too amazing to not give your best effort that you can (given your circumstances, whatever they may be) to healing yourself and living in a healthy way.

Awesome news! Hope you continue to feel better...
q

Thanks for all that info. Great information. Couple of questions:

1. Do you eat other dairy, or did you give it all up?
2. For the sugar, how far did you take it? You eliminated the obvious stuff - white sugar, cookies, cakes etc - but what about things like honey, fruit and the hidden sources like mayonaise, ketchup etc?

great to hear

mom2panda said...
Thanks for all that info. Great information. Couple of questions:

1. Do you eat other dairy, or did you give it all up?
2. For the sugar, how far did you take it? You eliminated the obvious stuff - white sugar, cookies, cakes etc - but what about things like honey, fruit and the hidden sources like mayonaise, ketchup etc?

1. I do eat other dairy products. Back in January I had been drinking a lot of this organic, ultra-pasteurized whole milk from wal-mart. I concluded that the days I drank that I was worse, so I stopped it. I still eat anything else that has dairy, but I don't overload on it. I do eat a lot of this organic yogurt from wal-mart with the brand name of Stonyfield though.

2. I still eat honey. I am uncertain of it's effect on me yet, as some days I think it makes me slightly worse and other days it has not. I take things very slowly, and make notes about the effects I see from changing just one thing at a time. The yogurt I eat has naturally milled cane sugar. I still eat mayonaise, ketchup and bbq sauce. I am trying to stay away from any high-fructose corn syrup, but I don't stress over it if I have just a little bit. I eat fruit, but don't overload on it. I might have an apple a day, some raisins, or a little fruit juice.

I think it's important to take your time when healing this digestive illness. I change a little bit at a time, take notes, and change as I feel it's needed. Stressing over doing everything perfectly is going to most likely be worse than eating some things that aren't the best for you. I notice that if I'm careful, I can experience the bad effects from whatever I ate... but still be able to bring my healing back onto track within a day or so as long as I'm paying attention and being fairly diligent to my new-found guidelines that my body has placed on me.

****Something else I am doing is trying to eat a healthier balance of Omega 3 fatty acids compared to the Omega 6's and 9's. I read in this article: http://www.brighthub.com/health/diet-nutrition/articles/36405.aspx that western diets present exactly the wrong mix of fatty acids, leading the body towards inflammation. I am eating a can or two of sardines per day to try to help balance this out, and am staying away from most cooking oils unless they are cold-extracted and of the correct source. Since I can't remember which ones are good or not I have been sticking with this olive oil that is cold-extracted and comes from Italy. A decent sized bottle was just over 10 bucks at wal-mart.

**One other thing... I take 200mg of Coenzyme Q10 every morning, right after eating. It is an antioxidant. I honestly can't remember the exact effects that this helps with, but I deemed it important when doing my research. It has something to do with balancing cellular oxygen, reducing free radicals that could cause damage, and providing energy to the cells in the mucos layer... but don't quote me on any of that. You'll need to read up on it yourself. I find that sometimes when I take in a lot of information I tend to summarize that something should help, and forget the exact reason why, even though I know it's important.

I also take a mutli-vitamin every day.

thanks thoreau.....
i am planning to add turmeric in my routine..

do u take ginger extrcat and aloe vera juice?

rare said...
thanks thoreau.....
i am planning to add turmeric in my routine..

do u take ginger extrcat and aloe vera juice?

I do not take ginger extract. The aloe vera juice I take is "George's Always Active Aloe Vera Juice".

Tell me again why you can't use the rectal meds? Especially since you can use the Pentasa...even the suppositories will help the urgency.

q

I think you should start them again, especially since you are feeling better.

I'd LOOOOONNNNNGGGGGGGGGGG try them again before Remi...
Explain flu-like..meaning sore joints, fever, etc?

Try the suppositories at the very least...truly. Better than nothing.

I am sure I would have persisted in the past regarding the rectals, but the why ... I rarely remember.

Keep us posted how you're doing.
q

Could be coincidence, it's unfortunate you didn't try them again. But...please reconsider. If they don't work at all, or you have symptoms as before...it's confirmed.

Keep us posted.

q