HealingWell
Search Close Search
☰

for those of you on remicade?

Support Forums
>
Ulcerative Colitis
✚ New Topic ✚ Reply
❬ ❬ Previous Thread |Next Thread ❭ ❭
Posted 5/27/2013 11:41 AM (GMT 0)
what kind of supplements do you take on top of your meds?
Posted 5/27/2013 12:50 PM (GMT 0)
I still take half an immodium on days when bathroom access might be a problem, since I have scarring from the disease that makes my stool loose. But its probably more of a mental crutch.
Occasionally I take a vitamin. I take Aleve when I overextend physically and get a sore back and feet.

I avoid gluten and know that I do better when I dont have coffee.
Posted 5/27/2013 12:53 PM (GMT 0)
Today's list smilewinkgrin

Prescriptions:
budesonide - 9 mg
hydrocortisone enema
Imuran – 100 mg
Remicade - 7.5 mg / kg

Non-prescriptions:
Vitamins: B complex, C, Ca, D, Fe, Folic acid

Colostrum
Digestive enzymes
Fish Oil
Iberogast
Kelp
L-glutamine
Primal Defense Ultra probiotic
Resveratrol
Tumeric

Diet:
Limited FODMAPs
Posted 5/27/2013 1:11 PM (GMT 0)
Tornado6, Is there an chance all those things are just upsetting your gut more? I would think they would upset even a healthy persons gut.
Posted 5/27/2013 1:31 PM (GMT 0)
is it good to take more vitamins since on remicade and imuran your system is alot weaker?
Posted 5/27/2013 1:53 PM (GMT 0)

Peety said...
Tornado6, Is there an chance all those things are just upsetting your gut more? I would think they would upset even a healthy persons gut.

I'm doing as we'll now as I have since I was diagnosed. The low FODMAPs, digestive enzymes, and Iberogast have made a big difference in my functional symptoms. I have not written 'blood' in my journal for five days!

The Imuran, calcium, and iron are the hardest on the stomach, and all of those are per doctor's orders.

The rest of it is either for a specific deficiency (vitamin D) or is designed to heal my gut.
Posted 5/27/2013 2:04 PM (GMT 0)

cyn555 said...
is it good to take more vitamins since on remicade and imuran your system is alot weaker?

If you have deficiencies to address. My doctor also wants me to increase my calcium intake while I'm on steroids.


You would probably not want to use any supplements that counteract the action of Remicade - so nothing that would increase TNF-alpha.
Posted 5/27/2013 2:48 PM (GMT 0)
I have been looking into vitamins. Would a multivitamin be good? Has a little bit of everything in them?
Posted 5/27/2013 4:12 PM (GMT 0)
I'm on my loading doses of Remicade and tapering off of Prednisone right now... so take some iron supplements as I'm still deficient from my stint before and in the hospital. And then I just started taking Vitamin D to help counteract the steroid a bit. Aside from that... I have a probio I take when I remember (but have some yogurt and juices that also have it...) and some fish oil that I have stopped taking until things become a little more consistent day-to-day.
Posted 5/27/2013 4:27 PM (GMT 0)
I try to eat yogurt too. Just confused about the vitamins. Seems a multi should do the trick?
Posted 5/27/2013 5:07 PM (GMT 0)
I don't take any supplements on top of my meds. Not only have I found nothing to be helpful besides the prescription meds (right now, nothing is that helpful besides Remi), but I can't afford to keep throwing money away testing supplement after supplement.
Posted 5/27/2013 5:55 PM (GMT 0)
I was instructed to avoid echinacea at all costs while on Remicade. Anything that directly affects your immune system like echinacea can be harmful apparently.
Posted 5/27/2013 6:03 PM (GMT 0)

9joe5 said...
I was instructed to avoid echinacea at all costs while on Remicade. Anything that directly affects your immune system like echinacea can be harmful apparently.

Absolutely - Mechanism of Action
Several components in echinacea appear to be responsible for its activity. In vitro and in vivo studies suggest echinacea stimulates phagocytosis, enhances mobility of leukocytes, stimulates TNF and interleukin 1 secretion from macrophages and lymphocytes, and improves respiratory activity (2) (3).
http://www.mskcc.org/cancer-care/herb/echinacea

You're spending so much money to inhibit TNF-alpha with the Remicade. Why counteract it with $7.99 echinacea?
Posted 5/27/2013 6:09 PM (GMT 0)
The whole goal of Remicade and immunosuppressants like Imuran and 6MP is to dampen your immune response, which is overreacting. So yeah, definitely avoid anything that would stimulate it!
Posted 5/27/2013 9:04 PM (GMT 0)
Here's my list of supplements:

Multi-vitamin and mineral daily.
(Have taken these my whole adult life.)

Vitamin D: prescription 50,000 units once per week.
(I have a vitamin D deficiency, but it has improved since starting the prescription supplement).

Calcium supplement 2x daily.
(To protect against steroid bone loss.)

Iron supplement 1x daily, taken with a meal.
(My hemoglobin is still a bit below the normal range.)

Omega-3 fish oil, 1000 mg, 2 in morning and 2 in evening.
(I take this for heart health, not UC - my dad died from a heart attack at a young age.)

Fibercon, 2 with evening meal.

NOW Foods Probiotic-10 species, 25 Billion, one each evening.
Posted 5/27/2013 9:17 PM (GMT 0)
My mom and gfs mom always tells me to take some immune system boosters. I pretty much go *facepalm* and explain that increasing my immune response is not such a good idea on Remicade.

As per my sig I am on Imuran with the Remi. My only supplements are fibre, l-glutamine, calcium, and vit D (calcium still left over from pred taking days).
✚ New Topic ✚ Reply