What will help relieve symptoms?

Hello,

My girlfriend has UC and would have flare ups every now and then for many years. Now she is in a constant flare up that is ruining her life and losing all hope. Her UC doctor has prescribed many pills to no avail and wants to put her on remicade. Those side effects are pretty off-putting... I have read many things online but I wanted to come to this forum for personal opinions and n=1 stories.

What have any of you done/tried/used that has helped relieve your symptoms or put it into remission, naturally? How about non-naturally? Is there ANYTHING with diet? Maybe avoiding certain things? Taking any extra of something? Trying a FODMAP diet? Any diet?

Probiotics help me but didn't get me to remission alone.

And you will find as stated above...this disease and treatments are very individual.

Search the threads here and if she wants to try different things, go for it. But I wouldn't write off Remi just because of side effects. Constant inflammation does damage too.

Good luck.

nothing WILL, some thing can/may/might help some UCers. Somewhat individual.

her best luck would be if when IBD disrupts gut microbes that she tends to get sensitivities to some foods. For individuals in that category an elimination diet can help. Otherwise not.

Some food is anti-inflammatory and could help, but not likely enough by itself. Some nutritional approach, like promoting butyrate fermentation could possibly help heal mucosa. Some food is natural probiotic and/or prebiotic. A few foods are thought to feed bad bacteria - but evidence is not clear. Some find alcohol an irritant, but not everyone.

FODMAPS does have some clinical support. but limited and not for all patients.

hopefully she is on a maintence med - best insurance.

Remicade and other biologics can be intimidating. I want to continue managing with mesalamines and probiotics and hopefully I can.

I am intolerant to mesalamines so biologics were my only choice. I started remicade in October of 2013 and it has given me my life back. I didn't really care about the side effects at that time because I was in so much pain I would have done anything. Like someone already said, you have to weigh the risks versus the benefits. The chances of your girlfriend developing cancer due to remicade are very slim, but in the event she did get it, it would be caught early because you are monitored so closely. I haven't noticed any difference in my immune system even though it's an immunosuppressant. The only difference was I had a cold that lingered for a couple weeks, but honestly that's the only time I've really gotten sick and it wasn't that bad. (Knock on wood) I get flu shots now and I wash my hands ALL the time.

The thing with side effects is that if even one person develops something, even if it has nothing to do with the medication, they have to put it on the side effects. Remicade changed my life and I wouldn't trade that for anything.

Immunosuppressive medications like Imuran, 6mp, or aza are prescribed for uc but in much lower dosages than used in organ transplants. Ulcerative colitis is a chronic health condition in which the immune system attacks the lining of the large intestine which causes inflammation, ulcers, and bleeding. The first line of medications prescribed for uc are anti-inflammatory medications (e.g., asacol hd, lialda, apriso, etc). The second line of medications is immunosuppressive medications (Imuran, 6mp, or aza) which lower the white blood cell count within your blood stream. White blood cells are the immune systems attack dog, the less you have the less inflammation they can create. We still have a functioning immune system, but perhaps it is just 80 or 90 effective, and that improves our uc symptoms.

Many of us are on remicade and an immunosuppressive medication simultaneously due to doctors recommendations. Multiple medications at once is often necessary to stop uc in its tracks.