Husband Diagnosed UC - Pan type One Month Ago - Need Advice

I should mention my husband was diagnosed a month ago. He is back on Prednisone (to taper slowly), Asocol (6 tabs daily). He is very skeptical of "alternative practices", When Im not making his meals (which are clean whole foods), he eats processed, fast foods etc....it really ticks me off the doctor says "food doesnt matter"!!!!!!

Severe pancolitis is probably going to need pharmaceutical support to heal tissue. Possibly strong drugs. That means he has a lot of tissue damage over a large area.

I find low residue or semi-liquid diets are easier on my colon when things are really bad. Doctors will put you on these diets, or even TPN for colon rest, so it is a lie that 'food doesn't matter'.

I think doctors mean 'there is no evidence that one particular diet is going to cure colitis.'

I do not necessarily believe any diet is going to make UC go away. My personal experience has been that I can reduce functional symptoms like gas, bloating, and sometimes diarrhea. I feel better, and I think it supports my medications. I have never made a dietary change that made my bleeding stop.

He will be miserable and cheat any restrictive diet you try to make him do. Maybe you can look at a few specific foods to eliminate for now, and take diet modification slowly with him. If you can show him a little less misery, he may come around eventually.

1. I too am skeptical about the "holistic or complimentary approaches". There are absolutely definitely 100% some of them that can help in some people but you are mistaken if you believe that they are guaranteed to help. They can help some, but not most. It's worth a try if your husband is willing but don't expect miracles.

2. There are foods that irritate the colon and by eliminating them his condition can improve but don't expect a cure. One thing I would recommend, which helps me, is I have found that I have a histamine intolerance and by taking the digestive enzyme DAO (I buy from Swanson) I can now eat foods that I could not eat before, foods which caused me severe problems. Most alcohols are high in histamine, particularly wines and beers. It has been proven that many UC patients are low in this digestive enzyme.

3. His doctor is a total diickhead. I would get a new one, yesterday! Remicade is far from his only choice. Please read up on the treatment options.

ITA w/Tornado and others.

Accepting that you have a chronic illness is very hard. Your DH has a long road ahead of him and the focus should be on getting him through this first, severe flare. Many doctors start with the heavy-hitting drugs like remicade at the beginning because they are very effective at inducing remission. Prednisone will also induce remission, but the side effects can be quite debilitating. Nevertheless, that is the path you are on, and I hope that your DH feels better soon.

I'm surprised no one has yet brought up mesalamine enemas. The Asacol your DH is taking will treat most of the colon, but will not be effective at treating inflammation in the rectum. Mesalamine retention enemas are very good at treating the rectum and sigmoid colon. He should start on these as soon as possible. That will help him get of pred faster.

The others are right that there are other medication options beside Remicide. Although, what is prescribed to him depends on some things that we cannot ascertain here, including how severe his inflammation is, how bad the ulceration is, the amount of blood loss and so forth. If your husband is in bad shape then Remicade makes a lot of sense as it can induce remission within a few weeks with some. Remicade is one of the big-guns, with a lot of dangerous but statistically rare side effects.

However, the standard, first line approach most GI's take usually involves a combination of an oral meslamine-based medication (Asacol HD, Lialda, Aprisol) and a rectal meslamine enema (such as Rowasa) and they are much, much safer with no major side effects to worry about. The combination of the two puts many in remission or close to remission.

Sometimes Prednisone is also used to treat the initial uc flareup as it works pretty fast for most people. Pred is only for temporary usage, so other medications are meant to be used with it.

The other option is some sort of immunosuppressant, like 6mp or Imuran. Although those typically take 1.5-2 months to take full effect.

Certainly, do everything you can to educate yourself, and be as informed as possible to help you DH. It is a lot to learn upfront but it is important. And I don't believe any of us here follow our GI's blindly haha.

Thank you, everyone, for sharing your experience and insight. I appreciate it sooo much. Very kind and wise people here

To clarify to those that thought I misunderstood the doctor saying "food doesn't matter"; I clearly understood prior to my question to the doctor, his belief that food/ diet isn't the cause of UC. After the Docs' answer that "food doesn't matter" I reiterated my question by expanding it for clarity, asking, "IF my hubby eats a particular diet, will it help the inflammation or even help with remission?" The doctor said no. I understand now, given the severity of his UC condition, I was being naive at the time of the question; however, I still hold on to the Philosophies of Dr.s Mercola MD, Hyman MD, Davis MD etc... that believe that one of the instigators of an auto immune disorder is a direct relationship to the body's negative response to grains (mainly wheat), GMOs(corn, soy, wheat) and cow milk and certain meats. Perhaps I am still being naive or in denial, but eating "clean" certainly can't hurt .

Regardless, I have learned here that given the severity of his inflammation that pharmaceutical intervention is definitely warranted at this time. In the interim I will study what you have advised in regards to "supportive nutrition" and diets as well as drugs.

Very grateful for all of you,

Thanks again,

Butterscotch's mom