Newly diagnosed - meds vs. diet

Hello,

I am new to this forum and was diagnosed with UC at the end of October so I'm still trying to get a grip of things.

I was put on Asacol and steroids at first, was weened off the steroids but shortly after had a flare. I had cut dairy out of my diet previously and this time also cut out wheat, which I found has helped a lot. I have also been changed from pill form Asacol to granules.

I was told that if I have another flare up in the next three months that I will be put on azathioprine, which I've read up on and very scared of the thought of having to take it!

I've been doing some research and have seen that some people have managed to be in remission by changing their diet and they are now off meds. Obviously if I can do this a natural way rather than being on loads of meds, it would be brilliant! Has anyone had any success with the SCD or the paelo diet?

Also, I am still in the process of trying foods to see how they effect me. Do I need to brace myself for a flare every time I eat something that doesn't agree with me?

Any advice would be much appreciated. :)

What country are you in? I've never heard of granules either. There are several safer meds you can try before using azathioprine. Diet can often help but it brings very few to remission.

I'm on Salofalk granules. I'm from the UK. I'm just confused about a lot of things - the more researching I do, I seem to get conflicting information. I don't know how things can seem under control for a while and then things suddenly flare up. Does it usually take some time to get the meds right?

congratulations on joining our junked-up journey ;-)

if you stick around long, you'll realize that conflicting ideas are the norm - just how it is - no right answers - just lots of good (mostly) advice for you to wade through and decide what may work for you -

good luck -

Yep, lots of conflicting information. Very confusing!

If you want to experiment with foods, I think the best thing to do is keep a super-obsessively-detailed list of everything you eat and any "unusual" effects. After a while, you may see patterns of foods that work well in your body, and foods that give you troubles. If you find troubling foods, avoid them. It won't "cure" you but it could help a lot.

I have gone the drug-free route and found some interesting results for myself. I have also seen a naturopath/chiropractor, and practitioner of Chinese medicine, as well as regular GI specialist. All very different, but interesting nonetheless. Helpful? It's hard to say who is helping and who is not. Doctors, drugs, foods, supplements... I have been dealing with this since 2010 and still don't know what works for me and what doesn't. I went into spontaneous remission (very careful about diet, no drugs, lots of supplements) for over a year. Then blood etc came back, and I tried the exact same thing again with no results. I then got really frustrated and ate the foods that I thought might be best, gave up all supplements (still no drugs) and very slowly went into remission again. That lasted about 9 months. Then blood etc started up again and I'm trying to figure out what will work this time.

Whatever route to healing you choose, good luck! It's a constant journey.

Rectal meds FTW!

Do I need to brace myself for a flare every time I eat something that doesn't agree with me?


While my colon was inflamed it would act up if I ate something it couldn't handle. In the beginning it couldn't handle many different foods, the trick was finding something that wouldn't cause problems.
I was happy when small improvement started because I'd never gotten improvement with Rx meds (exception: mesalamine enemas worked).

You'll have to see if diet modification is something that works for you.
If your meds aren't hurting you (bad side effects) then keep taking them.

After getting into remission I can eat many more foods that caused problems before so my answer is no, I don't flare because of eating something unless I eat it every day and ignore what my gut is trying to tell me (like "stop that").

I am off medicines (quit during 2012), but neither because of SCD nor Paelo diet. I tried SCD, but I had not that big success. What helped me was to drop dairy (as you did) and then begin with "food combining". You could google for the term or read my older posts about the topic. After I begun with "food combining", my calpro gradually became normal. Also the latest colonoscopy showed nothing wrong in my guts anymore.

"Food combining" is in my opinion the improved SCD. From having exploading farts and unable to walk because of the gas, I became able to take shorter walks very fast.

The only supplements I am eating is D-vitamin (because the sun is not much shining during the winter here) and B12 (because I am vegan). I am eating well and even gaining weight.

Post Edited (engblom) : 2/7/2014 2:41:19 AM (GMT-7)

neatmonster, I agree with most, that meds will be necessary maybe for the rest of your life. I started with Asacol and my gastro worked me up to a combination of pills, until I saw relief. Now I am on Dicyclomine, Apriso, and Azathrioprine and am what I would call remission, from the hell I was going through before. No accidents. this has taken me over 3 years of trial and error. My doctor is excellent, but it has been me doing all the work and giving him reports on how I am doing between visits to find this balance. I would be scared to go off my meds and have to go back to what I was dealing with before. I am not sure diet will help, until you get your colitis calmed down. I can eat alot of things now, that I could never have eaten before. You will get to the point that you can control this and have a normal life. I finally can drive from Pa. to Illinois and don't even think about going to the bathroom, except for the usual stops. I don't know how long, I will be blessed with this success. But, I will take what I can get for now. Good luck to you and I hope you find what works for you.