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I'm determined to kick this flare with just supplements

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Posted 10/17/2013 11:52 PM (GMT 0)
I'm on 800mg of asacol. To get out of my previous flare in February, I started taking slippery elm powder at night. Since september I started getting looser stools/aches. In the beginning of october it got incredibly bad. Pain during the day, and BMs full of blood. Almost as bad as my very first time dealing with UC in 2011. The difference? I'm smart enough not to listen to my gastroenterologist when he says diet does nothing.

So, my new doctor recommended:

3oz Aloe Vera 3x a day
1600mg of Inflaguard/turmeric, so thats 600mg/12-16 pills a day
Slippery elm, as much desired
Inflamx (IBD protein shake)

No solid food for a few days if I can do it/veggie juice fast. Combined with the current supplements im already taking.

Since starting aloe vera and turmeric (large doses) merely a week ago, pain throughout the day has dissipated. Still, eating solids brings me to the bathroom sooner or later. And unfortunately the suppositories don't reach my descending colon where I believe the most inflammation must be.

But i'm determined to kick this flare without meds. He thinks I can do it too, based on my past dealings with flare ups.

I told him the problem is, that I get cocky when I feel well, so I discontinue certain supplements or decrease dosages, etc. He told me not to beat myself up, but that with supplements I should never have to worry about my body becoming intolerant to them.

It's been a few weeks that i've taken it easy, and I'm getting stir crazy with just consuming liquids, but I can't continue to kick myself when I eat solid food. rolleyes

Has anyone else gotten out of flares without pulling out the big guns?
Posted 10/17/2013 11:58 PM (GMT 0)
stereofidelic,

I can just add a few things.

-Focus on the foods that heal the gut lining - bone broths, raw butter, glutamine, etc.
-Replenish the gut bacteria with quality grade probiotics, but start slow.
-Antifungals like coconut oil in small doses might be beneficial.

This is similar to the GAPS protocol, but be careful about going too low carb.

Post Edited (StealthGuardian) : 10/17/2013 6:01:12 PM (GMT-6)

Posted 10/18/2013 12:04 AM (GMT 0)
Ummm ...

Asacol works topically in your colon. Slippery elm bark coats the colon. I got worse when I tried slippery elm bark and better when I stopped.

800mg of Asacol is a TINY dose. Not even a little shocked that it couldn't get you out of a flare.
Posted 10/18/2013 12:09 AM (GMT 0)
just pretend you are getting ready for a colonoscopy!!! my record juice fast was 6 weeks. i ate a little cooked carrots on some nights but all of it was juices besides that.

granted, i ended up in the hospital on prednisone, 6mp, flagyl, cipro, and remicade anyway, but it was still a good try.

my first flare at 17 stopped after i did a 6 day juice fast and then followed a vegetarian diet for 4 years. i didn't need any meds at all. it's definitely possible but it doesn't always work twice (like i found out).

hopefully your new plan will work!!
Posted 10/18/2013 12:17 AM (GMT 0)
I'm simple minded. I say that if you eat liquids then liquids will come out. If you eat solids then you have a better chance of solids coming out. This may not be totally scientifically sound but that's what my brain tells me. I second that 800mgs of Asacol is close to nothing. Bottom line, you really need to not get cocky in remission. Do what works, forever, because each flare usually gets harder and harder to treat. You're extremely lucky if you can stay in remission with just a few supplements. I wouldn't try to screw that up.
Posted 10/18/2013 1:24 AM (GMT 0)
Never got out of a flare without prednisone, unfortunately. Would just get steadily worse.
Posted 10/18/2013 1:37 AM (GMT 0)
Be careful with juice fasting, I saw on Dr. Oz yesterday that you lose muscle fast from it, with the most important muscle being your heart.

Flax seed oil also---It has good reports on here, also good for many other things
Posted 10/18/2013 3:47 AM (GMT 0)
That will be great if you're able to do it! I wish you luck.
Posted 10/18/2013 3:51 AM (GMT 0)
"I'm simple minded"

can't argue with that one -

Posted 10/18/2013 3:55 AM (GMT 0)
nothing to add ster man - good luck - I do know it's indeed possible to leave a flare in the dust w/o any guns at all -
Posted 10/22/2013 2:01 AM (GMT 0)
Thanks everyone, I think I jumped the gun, and started having whole foods. So while that means formed stool, its difficult to pass, and covered with blood and a little pain. :( But only 2-3 times a day, morning and nights are the worst.

sciencegirl, what do you mean Slippery elm made things worse for you?

Gary, curious where you found that flares get worse over time?
Posted 10/22/2013 2:14 AM (GMT 0)
I wonder too...I've never heard that flares generally get worse with successive ones. I have heard that UC tends to become more quiescent in older folks who've had it a long time. Hopefully I'm right ;).

I don't know about slippery elm. I took it for a while also, but have also read that it feeds the bad gut bugs which is why it is a negative. I know it's 'illegal' on the SCD.
Posted 10/22/2013 3:31 AM (GMT 0)
I think everything else goes to hell in our geriatric years but I don't believe flares necessarily do -
Posted 10/22/2013 1:37 PM (GMT 0)
Must be a problem with syntax. Maybe I should have said that future flares often get harder and harder to treat than saying future flares get worse. To me that means that future flares do get worse if you have to continually move up the med ladder because what worked before either doesn't work as well next time or sometimes doesn't even work at all. I get that info from this site where poster after poster after poster complains that the 5 ASA's quit working, prednisone doesn't work as well, this biologic quit working, that biologic quit working, Imuran doesn't work anymore, etc. etc. Far too many people get cocky when they are feeling well or in remission and then find themselves fighting a bigger battle with their next flare where what worked the first time isn't working as well next time around. If I had a dollar for every post like that I would be a millionaire.
Posted 10/22/2013 1:42 PM (GMT 0)
Ah I see, well thats something I was concerned about. I asked my doc if we can become intolerant to supplements (say if I were to continue supplementing with 6g turmeric daily), and he said no, you don't have to worry about that.

Gosh, would kill for that to become a reality real soon. =/
Posted 10/22/2013 5:18 PM (GMT 0)
Stereo,

I agree with ScienceGirl; something here does not compute for me.

There is a lot of middle ground in between "the big guns" and just using supplements. I (and others here like Quincy) have never taken pred, Imuran, or Remicade and hope never to have to, but we certainly would take more than 800mg Asacol (a miniscule dose!) in a flare situation.

Why not just up the Asacol and/or add rectal meds to get rid of the flare?
Posted 10/22/2013 9:29 PM (GMT 0)
Good luck to you!
Posted 10/22/2013 9:43 PM (GMT 0)
"Why not just up the Asacol and/or add rectal meds to get rid of the flare?"

uh maybe cuz he's "determined to kick this flare without meds"

;-)

Posted 10/25/2013 4:18 PM (GMT 0)
Good Luck,
Consider adding CoQ10 as well, preferably Kaneka-QH (Nutrigold CoQ10 is what I use), thats also TNFa blocker, may not be 10% as potent as Remicade but worth a shot.

I am waiting for your updates.
Posted 10/25/2013 4:31 PM (GMT 0)
On your suppositories: Have you tried to lie on your left side for awhile after your insertion? That's were the colon turns up form the rectum to descending colon. you could also lift your hips and stay on your left to help the medication reach your target pain.

Good Luck
Posted 10/25/2013 10:35 PM (GMT 0)
Please keep us up to date with how it's going treating this flare with supplements and there are plenty more things you can try I'm sure you know this already but I'm just going to list what has been helpful to me in the past and ones I haven't tried but sound interesting
Psylium seeds,low residue,SCD,probiotics,bromelian ( the one from pineapple) bosweilla,digestive enzymes,cutting out sugar,cutting out brassicas had different levels of success with all these depending on severity of the flare up.
Ones I haven't tried spinach and sunflower,juicing,raw food thing LDN,
Magnesium zinc supplements,trying to get rid of yeast fungus overgrowth.
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