My Ulcerative Proctitis (UP) Success Story

I was diagnosed with Ulcerative Proctitis two years ago and have tried many things during that time. I always told myself that if I ever found something that worked for me, I'd be sure to go on a couple forums and tell everyone what worked in case it may help someone else. Here's my story:

Started having bleeding in February of 2008. Ignored it and hoped it would go away. It got worse- added the other typical UP/UC symptoms. Went to a gastro, had a colonoscopy (side note: had my first colonoscopy a couple years before that because of similar symptoms.) Got diagnosed with UP in August of 2008. Tried Mesalamine and I was one of the small percentage of people who have serious side effects on the drug. Since I was allergic to Mesalamine, doctor tried a few additional options including Hydrocortizone suppositories. Didn't work.

Tried several diets- cut out dairy, raw food, low-carb, Mediterranean...nothing seemed to help much and the longest period I went without bleeding and other symptoms was two days. Desperate, I went to a Homeopathic Dr. Spent a boatload of money (pushing $1500) and saw no results.

I had all but given up and decided to try acupuncture. I had read an article that showed significant improvement in UP patients undergoing acupuncture treatment and I figured- what the heck. There are no side-effects and nothing to lose (except money, of course.)

For the first two months of treatment (once a week for a month and then every other week before switching to every three weeks) I didn't see much improvement. Then, after two months, I started to see reduced blood and soon- no blood at all! Then, all of my symptoms went away entirely. I was skeptical, of course, but I've been symptom-free now for four months after over two years of non-stop bleeding and flare-ups.

So, for what it's worth, I credit acupuncture with getting me back on track and feeling normal. I feel better overall. Plus, although treatment is expensive, it's an HSA expense so at least I can pay for it with pre-tax dollars.

I'd be happy to answer any questions anyone has. I wish you all well and hope each of you finds a way to remission.

Hi, ColonGirl!

So sorry to hear that you haven't had much success with acupuncture yet. I know there are different kinds. The one I have been going to is a very traditional Chinese acupuncturist. She's what's referred to as a "five elements" acupuncturist. I know this is going to sound a bit "hocus pocus" (or maybe not- if you're already used to acupuncture) but it's treatment based on your "elements." There is a belief that a lot of people with lower G.I. issues (Crohn's, Colitis, Proctitis, etc.) have what's considered to be a "hot" element makeup (aka- "Lesser Yang"). So, the acupuncture is focused on "cooling" points.

In addition, she recommended a "cooling" diet. Some great examples of "heating" foods (i.e. foods to avoid) are: poultry (eggs are ok), spicy food, refined sugar, citrus, onions/garlic, etc.

I DO NOT FOLLOW THE DIET. There's a whole host of foods that are recommended to avoid, and I'm just not very good about avoiding them. I have, however, all but given up chicken, onions and citrus but I still will have some refined sugar and mildly spicy foods from time to time.

The diet is a bit hard to wrap my mind around because I don't from a scientific perspective understand why one food is heating and another is cooling. However, I've talked to several people this has worked for- including the person who referred me.

So, for starters, maybe look for a 5-elements practitioner in your area (Google it. I found three in my area.) Also, what does it hurt to try and cut out chicken, citrus and onions for a couple weeks and see what happens? Best "cooling" meat, FYI, is pork.

Welcome to Healingwell PittedDates! I'm glad you found something that works for you. I have never tried accupuncture for my Uc but I have for other health conditions. I went in skeptical and came out a believer.

My acupuncturist does use herbs, but she didn't give any to me. She said that you have to be careful with people with lower g.i. issues because herbs are often more of a hinderance than a help (goes back to warming vs. cooling- many herbs are warming.)

Again, my acupuncturist is a 5 elements practitioner so it's a bit different. Also, the needles aren't left in for any length of time. She will put in a needle and hold it there for about two counts before taking it out. She also uses moxa which is a sort of mugwort powder that's placed on various points on the skin and heated. This is the "heat" portion of acupuncture. The practice is called "Moxibustion" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moxibustion.) Actually, the original Chinese character for acupuncture is made up of the symbol for moxibustion and the symbol for metal (heat and cold.)

So, in any given appointment, she'll usually do some moxa on my back- sometimes on my stomach and then do maybe 6 needle points on my body (often my arms, sometimes chest.)

This may help: http://www.fivelement.com/find_a_practitioner.htm

Again, this worked for me- I don't know that it will work for everyone.