Recently diagnosed with left sided UC, trying the GAPS diet out amongst other things

Hello,

I've recently been diagnosed with left sided UC (which I think this was all set off by some potent antibiotic drip in India). The doctors have sent me a letter to say that they want to put me on mesalazine. I'm a bit worried about taking it. I'm trying a few natural remedies out first and wondered if anyone else had any advice or stories about their experiences?

I started this GAPS diet as I read it can re-build the mucosa lining of the gut and good bacteria. I've been having broths for two weeks now, starting to add a few more ingredients. I'm finding it's really meaty though and thats never been my thing. I made some goats milk kefir and it put me back into a flare so I've stopped that now. Will try to make some coconut milk kefir instead. Loosing quite a bit of weight which I can't afford atm, so i'm a bit unsure of what to do. Maybe I need to start eating some carbs like soaked oats or something and ease back into the diet.. I don't know.

Theres a few extra bits I'm trying (and want to), and I wondered if anyone else has tried them and what their experiences were/ opinions etc..

Probiotic14 - A multi-strain probiotic which seem to have all the right strains for targeting UC, quite close to that really expensive VSL3.

Fermented cod liver oil - blue ice

CBD oil - just ordered some 15ml

Raw honey - having teaspoons of this with ginger, tumeric and coconut oil warm drink

Miso - which is illegal on this gaps diet but I feel like it helped before and it's really nice?

Psilium Husk powder 1tsp

Mindfulness meditation & restorative yoga

Apparently exercise helps a lot, I'm going to try swimming. I think the shock from running put me into a flare a few months ago

I would be so pleased for any help, was glad to see a forum on this topic.

Oral and rectal retention enemas.....to start.
q

Use diets as a supplement to your medications until you are in a solid remission. The worst thing you can do is allow your inflammation to worsen. Getting it quickly under control will benefit you going forward.
Once under control, I don't see a problem with giving natural remedies a try. Mesalamine is pretty safe.

Ive taken oral / rectal for coming up 30 years.....inneffective is a buzzword of misunderstanding.


If you are only on oral mesalamine.....yes, it is ineffective to treat the rectum....so push fo the rectal retention enemas. If you are only on suppositories, not enough. If yiu are only on retention enemas....not enough. Be on meds to treat and cover the entire colon.

Clarify for us....keep us updated, welcome to the forum,
q

Happy to hear you've decided to pick up the mesalamine. Supplements and diets are great, if they work for you, but there's absolutely no evidence they work for anyone. The information out there about diet is very individual. Certain foods can definitely aggravate a response, even in people without UC. Examples might be gassy foods, or very spicy dishes. Many people suffer after eating these foods, but avoiding them will not change your disease severity or induce remission. UC is chronic.

I personally don't think treating now will make things less likely to progress. I know it's not what people say, but I think that view oversimplifies things a bit... Better to treat so you can live normally, and prevent long-term effects of having chronic inflammation such as cancer or bowel scarring, but I don't believe treating prevents things from progressing (perhaps if your response is ideal and lasts forever, but how often is that the case?). I also don't know how to know whether you will go up the ladder of drugs. I think it's all genetically coded. What happened to me happened because I was coded that way, I couldn't have changed anything with current medical technology. I took my meds, things progressed... Do your best, don't blame yourself.

Were you diagnosed with a scope and biopsies? Did you see the pathology? Did you have stool tests?