MY STORY OF COMPLETE REMISSION Re: UC

Anappleaday I'm very happy for you. We're just all skeptical here for various reasons. I for one wonder how you did a lot of internet research and happened to finally find this website and post after you found your success.

My diet plays a major role in my UC symptoms so I'm curious about your diet. I have questions. So did you lose a lot of weight since vegetables and fruits fill you up but have very few calories? Did you eat any berries? Did you experiment with your diet for a long time? Any supplements or vitamins or was it basically just the diet alone?

Got2Believe, this OP hasn't just chosen HW. I've seen this same post on several support forums.

Iamagardener2,

Thank you for sharing, your posts have been thoughtful and informative. I am happy for you that your symptoms are disappearing and wish you well.

jb, the forum rules are set by the owner/administrator, and there is good reason for each rule. They help to keep this forum on line and free for our use. Also, because bandwidth is always an issue for a busy site, he asks that we stay on topic and use the forum for support and information sharing. It's a fine line as to when sharing turns into debating, and we don't all agree on that always, though.

fruitgirl said...


Anyhow, why do you way that the "only true way to ahcieve remission is through diet?" Do you mean for you? Because believe me, I am in a true remission. I have absolutely NO symptoms, and basically eat what I want (no MSG and artificial sweetners, and I keep processed foods to a minimum, but I did that long before I had UC).

Well, like I said earlier, the sunflower seed and spinach deal has worked for me multiple times in the past. I was just fine eating mostly what I wanted, but there were certain things I ate and drank that put me back in a flare. There's obviously things that I can't handle so I have to be careful of what goes in my stomach. DIET.

jb2 said...


All that is good, as imagardener2 so eloquently points out. Who really knows why we become sick? The GI world definitely does not know how to ‘cure’ us. We don’t have much to lose in our efforts to attempt to alleviate our hurt and stay living this often challenging live of ours.

I do intensely hate snake oil salesmen, but there exist a wealth of information and experience out there for us to glean.

I self censored myself for two years, because I felt like a snake-oil salesman, and did not divulge that starting to take two Culturelle capsules a day after years of flaring facilitated remission in a week for two years. I considered that news an inappropriate victory lap while fellow travelers were hurting. I preferred to stay quiet and only started to post, seek support and contribute after I became desperate following my current flare up.

I do believe more information is better than less regardless how ridiculous or unbelievable the ‘truth’ may sound. We just don’t know how this thing of ours work. For some of us it’s beyond frustration for not being able to trust any provided information, or blindly believing anything that promises alleviate the hurt for a second.

Let’s post and share.

JayBee

This is a great discussion thread - thank you to all who have contributed. Imagardener2, I really appreciate your post.
When I joined this forum, it was not only to get support with questions (which this site is wonderful at), but also to hear the wide and varied "remedies" that have helped different people. I figure we are all hip to the fact that any one remedy isn't a cure-all, but learning about the remedies can only add to our personal choices. When people write that they are having surgery, most responders are happy and supportive (which is terrific!). Yet when people write that they found some kind of remedy, many responses are dismissive and suspicious.

I hope people will continue to share whatever crazy 'remedy' they find that helps them - because if we dig deeper, we might learn something. For example, someone on here said he gets better by eating just salmon. I know salmon isn't a cure for UC, but I 'dug deeper and thought maybe it's the Omega-3 that helps. I now eat high Omega-3 foods (avocados, mayo, salmon, etc.) and am doing better than I have in years. This could be just my personal issue (I used to avoid all fats so maybe my system was out of whack). I am so grateful that the salmon-post person shared. Well, there might be someone out there who needs beer! Like spinach and sunflowers, beer (brewers yeast) is a high source of magnesium and B-vitamins. Maybe getting these in liquid form made the difference for this guy. Who knows? I just hope that people will continue to be comfortable sharing and learning from each other. That's what HW does best.

I for one don't believe food will make or break one's state of UC and I'm hardcore 5ASA oral and rectal meds....and I"ll sing it till the cows come home. But....I wouldn't come on a forum and state complete remission from it with a first post.

Remission is just a word....and a state of being where some think once it's achieved, a flare will never happen again.


Who the heck wants to eat salmon every day or spinach or whatever the restrictions many have touted.....the very thought creeps me out. Food has never had any effect on me and I'm in wonder at the extreme restrictions.

This forum gives a variety of information...some are way off the wall with their beliefs from my perspective, and I'll give my opinion in support or in disagreement.

I am dismayed at the fact that people have supported an obvious spammer who is self centred at the response of disagreement.

Look at the big picture.....one teeny bit of information isn't the be all or end all of one's state of UC....nor do we all have to welcome it with open arms.

sheesh....
quincy

What works for one person may not work for another. I also believe there is way more information to be gleaned from peoples personal experiences than from doctors. Doctors diagnose and treat but not everyone is comfortable with medications so they set out on a quest to see what works for them. Oddly, for ME, coleslaw provides an almost instant plug if you will. I don't know why....but it does work for me. Varieties of raw fruits and veggies also seem to be helpful-to ME. Overall, what seems to me to have aided the most in my control over this wacky disease(psyllium seed) didn't come from a doc-it came from a forum. Keep posting everyone and let each of us filter through and decide what to try or not to try.

Gentle Now, I don't have any problem eating raw foods. I eat them often. I just think a diet solely of that, washed down with beer, sounds a bit problematic, especially if you are in a bad flare and passing blood 20+ times a day, not to mention the rectal pain and colon spasms, gas, etc.

If the original poster felt so strongly you would think he would have given more information and not just abandoned when people question him. I think everyone should dig deeper and that debate is healthy. I don't think I was disrespectful. I also think some people misunderstand what UC is. They say they had it and were "cured" and want to tell you their magic "cure". When someone says it is a "Virus" a red light starts blinking in my head and I can not help but question whatever else they have to say.

I was actually taking magnesium (a supplement) several months ago and my GI said he recommends it for people who are constipated so if you are in a flare it may not be the best as it loosens things up.

By the way I love beer! Pete's Wicked Ale is my current favorite! I usually limit myself to 1 or 2 a night. I also value the idea of diversity in food and the idea that it produces different flora etc. makes sense. We all know that eating too much of any one thing is probably not good. I also avoid soda, fast food and processed foods. When I was in my 20's I went to Culinary Arts School and use to work as a cook/chef so I embrace all types of food.

As you can see in my signature I have adopted many things I have read about on this forum, as I also mentioned in a previous post above.