Remission and advocacy

I wanted to share my recent success here since this community has been so valuable to me during the most difficult times. I was in near constant flare since my diagnosis. My GI wanted me to try Humira. I declined due to the side effects. I opted for 6mp but discontinued it in 6 weeks due to chest pains and other side effects. I am very sensitive to medication. My GI said that if I didn't get on a strong immunosuppressant medication he would have to remove my colon soon. I was unwilling to accept this and kept looking for answers.

My journey through several doctors ended with me seeing a doctor that is an MD and a holistic medicine Doctor. She thought to test for things nobody else had considered. I am post menopausal and she tested my hormone levels. She also tested me for food allergies. I am now taking bio identical hormones. I am also off gluten and dairy. My flare stopped within 2 days of taking the hormones. I am off of Lialda as well

I went back to my GI 3 months flare free and told him what I had done. At first he was unhappy but after a follow up colonoscopy he had to say
That it worked and I'm in remission. He also confirmed that hormones regulate everything in your body and if they are severely out of balance it will affect UC symptoms. You have to be your own advocate and don't give up before you find the answer

I'm not sure if this info will be useful to anybody but it worked for me so I felt I needed to share. Thank you all for being here

Post Edited (Fluff) : 2/19/2016 4:14:32 PM (GMT-7)

Glad you found a good method that works!! Thanks for sharing...hope your remission continues!!!
B

I never thought about having my hormones checked and I got UC 15 years ago during peri-menopause which was hell sorting out which symptoms belonged to what (menopause was not nearly the problem that UC was). Glad you stood up for yourself and did the detective work to solve it. I am gluten-free, grain-free and mostly dairy free but many other foods cause problems for my gut.

Are you med free? You say you are off Lialda.

You really do need to be your own advocate with this or any other disease. I friend of mine just had cardiac stents put in. He has a family history of heart problems and he had to convince to doctors to take test him. They did an angiogram, found the blockage and placed the stents. It took him 6 months to urge the doctors to do even preliminary stress tests.

This is a great story. Thank you for sharing. It makes me want to get tested for allergies and food intolerances. However, there are so many people taking your money out there that I'm sceptical. Anybody know a top class allergy testing company?

Our bodies are so complex it's not funny....I'm glad you found some relief and what sounds like answers to help you combat your flare...I hope it last a very long time for you!

I believe hormones play a huge roll and GI's know it to, well at least the researchers of IBD do. Too bad someone can't figure out a way to help us so our hormones don't cause us the grief it tends to.