Maybe you have a GLUTEN issue, not UC??

Lookingforacure:
I am not sure where you learned that uc is unheard of in the 3rd world and I am not really sure what you would define as a 3rd world nation-state so I don't know if the following supports your statement or not. The only treatment I received for uc outside of the US was in India and China. Doctors at hospitals in both India and China told me that uc as diagnosed in the US is a chronic immune problem that has been treated for thousands of years through diet changes, herbs and exercises designed to strengthen the immune system.
The illness is not called uc in non-western countries so it very difficult for the medical community to have an accurate comparison of per capita diagnosis. The diet and exercise changes recommended in China worked very well. The herbs didn't seem to make any change. The Indian recommendations did not work for me at all.
I try to keep an open mind and keep researching. For years I will be in remission and then I fall off the wagon and its back to square one. I suspect that if I could live in China, I could keep this in remission for much longer periods. It is too hard to keep to the recommended diet and exercise regime in America because it isn't the way we normally live or eat. It takes trial and error and a lot of emotional support to keep searching for what has the most positive results for me. I hope you continue to stay in remission and find more things that help you.

Subzeromambo,
Agreed. My daughter with UC is being treated by an ayurvedic doctor from India who specializes in treating UC and has treated many thousands of patients (he does treat people in Europe, North America etc but has treated many thousands in India). Also, she has a TCM doctor assessing her. Again, there are herbal formulas in chinese medicine which have existed for hundreds of years to treat intestinal bleeding etc. So, it certainly does exist in the "third world", maybe not to the same extent or maybe it was just never diagnosed like it is here now. Also, many people in these countries don't have access to doctors and so find ways of living with (and I assume dying of) UC. I'm Indian, my grandfather in India had rectal bleeding. He brushed it off as "piles" and never saw a doctor for it. My brother has UC, now my daughter, and possibly my cousin... ?

I posted the original link, because as we all know, there are a LOT of things that "resemble" UC, so if even 1 person saw that link and asked their GI for a gluten test and got some news that would help THEM...that's probably a good thing, right?

Not sure posting the link means that I, or anyone else considering the "gluten" option, is in "denial" though?

I've been flaring full-time for the past 5 years, so I'm fully aware that I have UC (and then some), but as someone else mentioned in this post, GIs still don't really know where the disease comes from, or how it can truly be beat (other than the surgery), so why not consider all options?

My first GI told me that UC is a "young disease" and that with time, it might be split up into SEVERAL types of UC, with one being more sensitive to THIS, and the other requiring more of that, etc... I'm sure MY UC is different from many of your UC, hence the reason why different approaches seem to help different people.

I think anyone NOT considering any other options or possible solutions to this debilitating disease is doing THEMSELVES a disservice.

Back to gluten:
I tested intollerant to gluten. But I have come to realize the symptoms are different. If I eat gluten, I feel bloated. It's not the same feeling as a UC issue. But I'm glad to know it's something that I can do to feel better. Who knows if it's just coincidence or related to UC, doesn't matter.

LFTC, I think you might have been misdiagnosed and never had UC. I think I said that once before. Maybe you had some weird parasite instead. I understand the symptoms can be similar.

I also said once before that acceptance offers some peace. Manage it, identify your triggers, but accept it. I agree with suebear's comments.

When I cut out all gluten, and the other things I tested sensitive to, I could tell the difference by the very next day!

Hey all, let's remember this forum is about supporting each other, please.

I agree with that as well "rarely found" speculation is that because it's virtually unheard of in 3rd world countries they don't have the specialists that know what to look for as well, compared to north america and othe parts of the world, europe, ect.

:)

LookingFortheCure said...
Peety,

You sound like my kind of gal, smart attorney etc.

How about being my first to take me up on my challenge ?

Eat nothing but salmon in canola, or olive oil for breakfast, lunch,dinner and allow yourself plain yogurt honey shakes and canned lima beans, pecans + VSL#3.

I did that for 60 days to get off 120 MG prednisone.

I did it for 4 days on my last bloody flare.

No half measures here, try it for a week - no cheats, 2 weeks - be the first on your block :)

Peety I am very certain you would feel much much better but much worse about your choice of meal options until the game is over.

:)

No need, I'm doing really really well on Remicade, thanks. And a social life is really important to me, too! :)

For someone who rejects traditional medical care (not that there's anything wrong with that), you are amazingly confident in the diagnosis you were given, apparently by a traditional medical doctor. Was that doctor prescribing 120mg of prednisone? That really makes me wonder about him/her, too.

I'm glad you are doing well, but I wish you were less righteous about what you choose to do, darlin, it's obviously turning people off.

I take Dr Eastaff-Leung statement as anecdotal. I mean, in the Third World it's likely people are dying from colitis like diseases without properly being diagnosed.

Perhaps in the New World, we have the means to diagnose a whole host of diseases while in the third World....people just die. Just throwing it out there but nonetheless,...I've yet to see any evidence to support the statement. No one in my family or relatives have ever had colitis or CD....so go figure.

Personally, I think it may be a bacteria driven disease. I'm the only one in my family that's traveled and picked up sickness from food etc...( that's what happens when you travel to the Third World ). Perhaps it's created a imbalance of sorts.

I found this presentation interesting;

www.empowher.com/media/video/video-dr-mutlu-how-do-good-and-bad-bacteria-affect-inflammatory-bowel-disease?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Empowhercom-SiteActivityFeed+%28EmpowHer.com+-+Site+Activity+Feed%29

Curious if you questioned further how your friend's son died from UC. Was it complications from, the meds, toxic megacolon, PSC, not on meds, too late intervening...etc?

I had someone once comment to me that his wife died from asthma. After questioning him more on it (because I have asthma), he did explain that his wife spurned mainstream doctors and medications and treated herself. To me, she lost focus on when to treat and hated the mainstream so much she didn't listen to her body to seek treatment soon enough and she died from complications of untreated asthma.

I'm just curious if you know the answer....plus this isn't a personal question relating to your own choices. This is about the death of someone who had UC.

quincy

I'm asking for the information so I CAN BE INFORMED. If you choose to withold the holy grail of why people in the 3rd world don't get colits and the rest of us do go ahead.

Post Edited By Moderator (fruitgirl) : 1/7/2010 11:52:46 PM (GMT-7)

Gluten? Anyone have any success eliminating gluten?

Post Edited By Moderator (fruitgirl) : 1/8/2010 12:08:23 AM (GMT-7)