What Else Can I Try?

Hey, RH_Texas, you are working through this flare like a champ. I just have a few suggestions, not sure they'll be of much value.

Firstly, reducing gluten is of little value. You either need to get off it completely or forget about it. It's a very complicated protein and takes more time to work its way through your gut - it took me 10 days of being gluten FREE to feel any difference. And yes, one of the primary issues I was having was gas. So that was a big improvement.

Secondly, you might try some good twisting stretches at night to put pressure on the colon and move things around, hopefully reducing the opportunity for gases to build while you're sleeping. Look into yoga - you might go take a couple of classes to get a sense of what stretches and postures work best for you.

kazbern, I am 95%+ off of gluten as I thought it might help. There are many days in a row (like the past two weeks) when I do not consume it - no bread, pastas, cereals, sweets, soy sauce, etc. and I really do not notice any difference being off it versus breaking down and gorging on fresh out of the oven homemade bread or brownies. I never really thought gluten was my problem but was willing to try anything. I will give it a little more time before saying to heck with it and start enjoying some other foods again. I WILL add the stretching you recommend as something simple like that would not have occurred to me! Sometimes the obvious escapes me!

Manhattan mama - I have virtually phased out dairy - no milk, cheese or ice cream. I have been using the Almond milk for months now and I really like the taste and use it in my smoothies along with liquid whey protein I got from my m-i-l when she makes cheese from her goat's milk. I will say that I have used Bulgarian yogurt for smoothies and it has been my only "true" dairy. It has 90 billion live cultures which I feel is beneficial for my gut. I use it in the morning and would think if dairy truly was a problem for me, it would cause issues during the daytime hours.

I will incorporate the stretching and continue with the Beano for a little longer and try the Gas-X to see if that does anything. If anyone has additional advice, I look forward to reading it!

Faith - my problem is retaining the enemas due to the gas! And with the inflammation, I can only get in half a bottle anyway. I do squeeze out all the air I can first until the medicine makes its way up the applicator. That is the best I can do in regards to reducing any gas from the enemas. It is a case of darned if you do and darned if you don't!

Sometimes I wonder if it is the Lialda causing the gas. I take my 4 pills in the morning though so I would think if it was the problem, I would be encountering more gas issues during the daytime hours. I just don't know ... it is frustrating!

I already squeeze the air out of the bottle but I will try warming the enema up. I take a nice hot bath at night to soothe the aches and I can just pop the bottle in the water and let it bob around, getting warm. Certainly, can't hurt anything!

Is it possible for you to try the enemas in the morning? Or maybe a canasa suppository midday to help calm the inflammation then using the rowasa at night.

I definitely cannot do enemas by day ... I simply cannot retain them. Believe me - I have tried! Since I have a foot of affected area from the rectum on up, a suppository would only be a minor bandaid on the situation (according to doc) but I have not thought about the foam. I am paying so much for meds a month for my household, that I am not sure I can add another but I will talk with my doctor on Tuesday when I see him.

Wow I am feeling identical right now, exactly. When I am sleeping I am up every 2 or three hours, and if I role on my left side I can feel the bubble role right down to my rectum. I jump up quick I tell you. I was trying to retain fecal transplant and couldn't, and am having trouble with suppositories too. I have had tailbone and back pain too, right at the base of the spine. Feels swollen

hey t gal -

i was kinda thinking the same thing as Heather - maybe cut back on the oils a bit and any non-essentials - for me, not being very bright i tend to keep things really simple - that way if something goes amiss, it's much easier for my little brain to figure out what it is -

good luck -

I just realized that I have not updated my profile in a few weeks. I have not been taking the coconut oil for almost a month although I have continued the curcumin without it. So the only oil I am taking is the krill oil which are in capsules much like regular fish oil. I have noticed that with krill oil from Mercola, my mind is not as cloudy, even when tired. I have stopped the digestive enzyme for gluten/casein temporarily too as well as the l-glutamine and l-threonine amino acid powders to see what happens.

I was splitting the Lialda before but for the last 2 weeks I have been taking all 4 in the morning and feel better this way. My change for the better started right about when I started this ... may be coincidence but I am not knocking it. I no longer have the tailbone pain, lower back pain and the throbbing rectal sensation. Blood is virtually gone and inside the rectum no longer feels like there is a festering sore in there.

I take the Lialda in the morning along with my BC, krill oil and vitamin d3 and probiotics. At lunch I take my curcumin due to heartburn issues if taken in the morning or at night ...at night I reserve for my gas remedies as slippery elm or charcoal (depending on what I take that night) can affect med absorption. I was planning to try taking a 2nd dose of probiotics at night before bed instead of the slippery elm or charcoal. I have heard that the gas could be from not enough beneficial bacteria??

I started back on the mesalamine enemas about a month ago. First two weeks, I could retain the entire bottle for most of the night but the gas started around two weeks ago and now I can only retain half the bottle for about 3 hours.

Breakfast I either have a peanut butter sandwich, fruit and/or a smoothie using fresh fruit, bulgarian yogurt (high bacteria count), fresh liquid whey protein from goat's milk. Lunch is either a peanut butter sandwich with fruit or a large salad with tuna with olive oil spritzed on it with pear vinegar and a touch of honey along with spices. I drink a lot of water for the most part with some iced herbal green iced tea. I no long drink sodas, no alcohol, n o artificial sweetners and no dairy beyond the bulgarian yogurt. I have greatly reduced gluten and the bread I use for sandwiches is gluten free. While I am not 100% gluten free, I am pretty sure I have not eaten any for about 2 weeks now. Most of the sugar I consume is from fruit or the little bit of honey I put in my smoothies. I use stevia whenever possible. I do admit to eating candy on occasion - usually a york peppermint patty or a piece of dark chocolate.

Texas,

95% gluten free isn't really enough if you are going to be gluten free, it's got to be 100%. I agree with Kazbern.

There are many hidden sources of gluten you could be ingesting unknowingly - certain ketchups, mayo, mustards, sauces, dressings, etc...

I also agree with ilovecoffee, peanuts are a well known irritants and are not easily digestible, and it sounds like you're having an awful lot of peanut butter. How about switching to another nut butter, i.e. almond butter, pistachio butter, etc...? And the supposed gluten free products, many are filled with corn products and other junk which I have found my gut cannot tolerate. Funny thing, my gut can tolerate dairy and gluten better IF I take the special "gluten cheat" remedy, than if I eat gluten free products. 

I, personally, don't think it has anything to do with gluten.

Pretty much what you have would cause me some gas, but not necessarily to the extent that you'd have at night...it would be by mid afternoon.

Since you have heartburn, maybe try something else such as Zantac in the morning before you eat and at night before bed.

When do you take your probiotics?

You ARE improving, and in part, it would be a combo of the inflammation changing (improving) and food.

I think you need to tweak your food and supplements for two days. Maybe don't use any supplements, keep the food and see if that improves.
At least you'd know where to gear your focus.

q

Some good news ... after three days of upping my probiotics (both morning and night), I had to only get up twice last night versus previous 5-6 trips. I am hoping the probiotics are what's helping ... I'll take it in any case! That means my enema was able to stay in a bit longer than usual which means more optimal healing.