Hello,
I've been reading this section for a while now. I've been diagnosted with UC in April 2011 and started flaring right before and a while after with the usual 10-15 BM with blood and loose stool. I lost about 25-30 pounds and my CBC dropped somewhat low which made me feel weak.
So, I was given those crappy enemas that don't do jack crap, UNLESS you only have the rectum inflammed. That didn't work. I was then administered 40 mg of predinsone pill form. (which is an effective drug, for what it is supposed to do regarless of the side effects). That didn't work properly also. But there is a reason why it doesn't work effectively.
If you are flaring your absorption is not good, therefore any pill you injest will have limited effect. Eventually, after talking with my GI, I was admited to the hospital for 4-6 days which they gave me, the SAME predinsone but INTRAVENOUSLY. MAN, did that make A WORLD of difference. In 2 days, I was crapting bricks with no blood.
After 5 days, I was released and put back on predinsone 40mg pill form with the tapering each week 5 mg less yada yada yada. Eventually I'll be off predinsone and on IMURAN which is supposed to keep me in remission, at least that's what the GI states.
Recently, I did start to get blood again but my BM is one a day or two.
I'll post more stuff of what type of supplements I take but I want to vent about some stuff I read on here and about UC in general.
First of all this colon removal.
Your COLON IS NOT DISEASED. OK!? it's not. It's your immune system that is acting up to some form of bacteria/ae in your GUT, so you by removing it, you're not removing the CAUSE, you're removing basically a healthy part of your body for nothing.
Now, I fully appreciate why people have the surgery but it's like a barbaric way out of a problem.
My opinion is that the scientists should get their head out of the sand and figure out which strain of bacteria/ae or whatever is causing the immune system to act up.
I believe that DIET has some effect on colitis but it's limited. Why is that you can go for years eating whatever you were eating and all sudden boom, something ****ed up in there. The immune system lost tolerance to something....THAT SOMETHING needs to be found! not ...we're just going to remove the colon....
Right now, I am on a modified SCD diet trying to avoid too much glutten, raw fruits and veggies and lactose... EVEN THOUGH I am not allergic to any of this.
I am also reading on bone marrow transplant. This is like a reset of your immune system, so that might have the potential to "cure" the problem. By reseting they Immune system becomes anew and most likely won't attack the gut as it once did.
Anyways, I will ramble on some more later on, but I will say this. This disease WILL HAVE A CURE, just as stomach ulcers was thought uncurable years ago until they found it was a bacteria strain h. pylori and there you go, they cured it.