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Ulcerative Colitis
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Posted 1/23/2011 3:55 PM (GMT 0)
Lets keep this thread on topic and stop the name calling and sarcasm.
Posted 1/23/2011 7:28 PM (GMT 0)
There are some people in which food makes a huge difference. These people are probably only marginally predisposed to getting UC. After all, even the experts agree that there are multiple genes involved. I know people who changed their diet and never got another flare. My boyfriend's ex girlfriend and her daughter are two such cases.

I know there are others who are very predisposed to getting flares. No matter what they eat or don't eat, they will flare. This makes sense to me because it is the same way with my skin. My acne is due to hormones, not food. And because I can't take hormones due to the fact that I'm at risk for blood clots, I will always have acne.

And then there are others who notice a difference depending on what they eat. However, food isn't their main trigger. This is what it is like for me. Food makes a difference; however, the composition of the bacteria in my colon makes a much greater difference. This composition got messed up due to taking antibiotics.

I know that it's hard for those who food doesn't make a difference because they are told by others that if they change their diet, then their UC symptoms will go away. But they won't. They won't ever go away by changing their diet. However, I don't think this means that they should get offensive every time the rest of us talk about food and how it helps or worsens UC because food is a major factor for many.

Post Edited (subdued) : 1/23/2011 12:38:24 PM (GMT-7)

Posted 1/23/2011 7:52 PM (GMT 0)
Simple question for those who think food/diet is a non factor with U.C.

The food we consume affects our gut flora both because food can contain different kinds of "bugs" which get into our system, and because foods can promote or inhibit the growth of certain kinds of flora. Now, if gut flora is not a factor in developing U.C., then why do so many people come down with the disease after taking antibiotics? (Not only do antibiotics start the disease process in previously healthy individuals, they can trigger a flare for someone who was in remission... this is an indisputable fact).

It seems like most people who deny food/diet is a factor also deny the fact that U.C. does not have a single etiology for everyone. I think the evidence points to the fact that U.C. has many causes/triggers that lead to a condition that can conveniently be described as "chronic inflammation of the lining of the colon", which is all the term U.C. really means.

Post Edited (C_G_K) : 1/23/2011 10:32:45 PM (GMT-7)

Posted 1/23/2011 8:27 PM (GMT 0)
Someone once wrote that since antibiotics doesn't cause everyone to get UC, then antibiotics is only a trigger, that you need to be predisposed to UC to get it.

However, I don't agree.

For the first 40 some years of my life, I did not get UC even though I was on antibiotics for more time than I was off them due to ear, sinus, and skin infections. It was only after all those years that the antibiotics were able to really mess up the bacteria in my colon. I don't call that a trigger. A trigger is something you do once, not something you do for long periods over many years.

I did fecal transplantation, took probiotics, stopped with the antibiotics, changed my diet. And I'm in remission.

Antibiotics caused my IBD. It did not trigger it.

And food affects my condition, especially food that contains antibiotics.
Posted 1/23/2011 10:22 PM (GMT 0)
subdued...you had raging infections in your body, your teeth....why put the blame only on the antibiotics and not the infections themselves?



Yes, lots can get into our food....but we put our hands into our mouths and can pick up anything that's out there.

There are many things that can change the body's functioning...but we are a product of our genes and the environment. I know of no two people who are from a perfect family background and lived in a perfect eating environment.

McDonalds...I hear lots of stuff about it, don't know how much of it is true, but it is the only hamburger that will give me gas. So, have no idea what's in it and eat them very infrequently.

Is it that hamburgers are the problem, the fast food or what they put in it. I do not deny that the food industry creates things that aren't good for us...we have choices in what we eat and none of it is forced down our throats. Even the foods that our pets and children eat consume can be lethal by unscrupulous people who cut corners and use things that should never be consumed. Is it the food itself? no, it's something that's been put in it by choice that's known to cause death.

Can some be a trigger for disease? yes.

We;re an industrialised world that allows the world to continue. More people = more production to feed everyone.

Soylent Green's on this week...I've never seen it all...

q
Posted 1/24/2011 1:27 AM (GMT 0)

quincy said...
subdued...you had raging infections in your body, your teeth....why put the blame only on the antibiotics and not the infections themselves?
q

Antibiotic overuse results in the body not being able to fend off bad bacteria, even relatively harmless bacteria. Many of the infections/inflammations that I get today are the result of having overused antibiotics. I had taken them for so long that even my skin gets inflamed when I get a paper cut.

Ear infections - narrow ear canals that point downward.
Pneumonia - getting too cold because car ran out of gas (doctor could not determine whether the pneumonia was viral or bacteria though).
Sinus infections - allergies/pneumonia.
Acne - hormonal, Staphylococcal infection (not diagnosed).
Bladder infections - prednisone.
Gum infection - cap on tooth that doesn't fit right.
Colon inflammation - bacteria imbalance.

I just hope that I'll gradually get less infections/inflammations now that I'm not using antibiotics. Otherwise, I'll probably die due to some internal infection.

When you've taken so many antibiotics for so long a period that your skin gets inflamed from a paper cut, somehow you know that you need to stop.

Post Edited (subdued) : 1/23/2011 10:23:00 PM (GMT-7)

Posted 1/24/2011 11:49 AM (GMT 0)
We have many threads where woman claim to go into remission while being pregnant. I was one of them.
Posted 1/24/2011 4:44 PM (GMT 0)
It's a well-known fact that most women who have RA go into remission when pregnant. A very good friend of mine has RA, and with both of her pregnancies, went off of her meds completely and had no RA symptoms. And many women with UC go into complete remission when pregnant. I know songlady's GI joked that he wanted her to keep having kids b/c her UC was in complete remission when she was pregnant AND breastfeeding.

Also, you say "...then AI drugs should have a effect on those people." Well, many of the AI drugs DO work quite well for UCers. Sure, it's hit or miss, but it's also hit or miss what drug will work well for someone with RA. Many of the drugs used to treat UC were originally developed for RA.

And for the record, Quincy's never been on prednisone (if that's what you meant by "prend"), so your comment makes no sense.
Posted 1/24/2011 8:08 PM (GMT 0)
when a person with an autoimmune disease gets pregnant, most people talk about the "rule of thirds." One-third will get better, one-third will stay the same, and one third will get worse.

When I was pregnant my asthma was much harder to control, but my Crohn's disappeared. If only I had a third autoimmune condition maybe that one would have "stayed the same." :-)
Posted 1/24/2011 8:25 PM (GMT 0)
I read so many flare-up stories during pregnancy on the UC and CD forum at babycenter. Some women had to have emergency colon removal while pregnant sad
Posted 1/24/2011 8:32 PM (GMT 0)
I've seen a lot more pregnancy flare up stories than the opposite. I do know one person in real life who got pregnant and her UC symptoms disappeared. She has been in remission since but still has ups and downs and uses rowasa when she feels unstable.
Posted 1/24/2011 8:56 PM (GMT 0)
nssg, I bet that's because if they're in remission, they're not coming to places like this looking for help. I mean, most of the people on here have trouble controlling their UC, but I bet that if you looked at the UC population in general, a much lower percentage would be struggling.
Posted 1/24/2011 9:13 PM (GMT 0)
Wow this has turned into a really bizarre thread...
Posted 1/24/2011 10:20 PM (GMT 0)
Do developing countries grow lots of corn ?

I grew up around cornfields in Illinois and Blue Corn Chips with football is always a mistake. I also think corn syrup is bad.
Posted 1/24/2011 10:27 PM (GMT 0)

Somebody said...
Sinus infections - allergies/pneumonia.

Interesting, yes I believe over reliance on antibiotics contributed to my UC.

Another interesting thing is the even though a 2 hour MRI/MRV said all evidence of my sagital sinus thrombosis is gone, I did notice it said I had CHRONIC mucosal thickening in the sinus cavities - that sounds to me like I am allergic to something, could be something I am eating.

1) SST completely resolved including 'thrombus gradient echo blooming effect' whatever that is
2) Normal
3) Paranasal sinus inflammatory changes are again noted, with no fluid levels to suggest sinusitus.

Chicken or the egg really, does UC cause my nose to run everytime I eat or is there a larger allergy at work causing UC ?
Posted 1/24/2011 11:55 PM (GMT 0)
Yes. A bizarre thread. It only goes to show that colon inflammation is a symptom, not a cause. There are many reasons why our colons can flare. The important thing is to figure out why your colon flares and then treat the cause of your flares. Unfortunately, for those whose colons flare because they are genetically prone to getting colon flares, there is not much they can do right now, except for perhaps probiotics. I've read somewhere that the bacteria in the colon is easy to become imbalanced when one has UC. However, for the rest of us who have IBD for other reasons, such as antibiotics, accutane, allergies, a bacteria infection, ..., we do have more choices.

As for any particular foods, if you find that it bothers you, then avoid that food. It doesn't matter whether or not it affects others or not. What matters is whether or not your protocol works for you.
Posted 1/26/2011 4:15 PM (GMT 0)

subdued said...
Yes. A bizarre thread. It only goes to show that colon inflammation is a symptom, not a cause. There are many reasons why our colons can flare. The important thing is to figure out why your colon flares and then treat the cause of your flares. Unfortunately, for those whose colons flare because they are genetically prone to getting colon flares, there is not much they can do right now, except for perhaps probiotics. I've read somewhere that the bacteria in the colon is easy to become imbalanced when one has UC. However, for the rest of us who have IBD for other reasons, such as antibiotics, accutane, allergies, a bacteria infection, ..., we do have more choices.

As for any particular foods, if you find that it bothers you, then avoid that food. It doesn't matter whether or not it affects others or not. What matters is whether or not your protocol works for you.

This makes a lot of sense to me because I look at it like this:

Ulcerative Colitis means, my immune system gets pissed and it attacks my colon. It's an inappropriate immune system response to whatever is bothering me or whatever has turned my immune system's attention to my colon. The immune system is a strange and very complicated thing. It changes over time as it tries to balance and re-regulate. It changes the rules it functions according to. It has to because we are constantly exposed to new bacteria, viruses, etc. So, why is it so hard to believe that one day someone would be fine and the next day their immune system would decide because of some genetic error (Heck it could just be a missing switch somewhere) Oh! The colon, yes, I hate it. Then maybe it calms down. Gets mad again because of some bug, food, fluctuation and then says oh, yes, I was busy but now I see that I hate the colon.

So, In a nutshell my theory is that I always had the genertic hiccup that is Ulcerative Colitis.

My immune system started attacking my colon after my pregnancy because hormone fluctuations, changes in flora, hemorrhoids, hospital contracted bronchitis, and turned on the inflammation response. My case was mild to begin with and my first major flare started after I had bronchitis, and two GI bug back to back. Perhaps for some people the flare triggers are more subtle. But for me they were obvious.

So, I think any number of things can trigger a flare. But I don't believe that these things cause or cure Ulcerative colitis. The things that people do that work to keep their colitis under control IMHO keep their colon flying under the radar of their immune system, that happens to hate their colon, but occasionally forgets to hate it.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it!
Posted 1/26/2011 4:34 PM (GMT 0)
To address Slight's questioning about where is the evidence regarding less IBD in the developing world- this is actually very well documented in the growing mountain of papers on the hygiene and "old friends" hypothesis as well as helminthic therapy research in particular.  I will go dig up a few from the mountain and throw it into this thread later, but the data is not anecdotal, it is peer reviewed and it includes studies from countries where diagnosis are done very carefully using modern medical systems but in which different population subsets live radically different lifestyles in terms of hygiene- for example Israeli studies comparing Bedouin who live on the land with urban Israelis.  Additionally, lab analysis has demonstrated how helminths modulate immunity.  And lastly, it correlates with other suspected auto-immune conditions- eg asthma, MS, lupus, diabetes, etc and not just IBD, which are rare or non-existent in what we would consider non-hygienic developing country environments.  (And in those developing countries, it is the westernized elites who get the auto-immune conditions.)

That said, using helminths to restore a normal immune system may not work for everyone as I myself have learned through my own attempts- perhaps, just as nicotine seems to work better with former smokers than it does with life-long non-smokers, it is not as effective in someone not exposed in childhood to helminths.  Furthermore, it may just be one major piece iof the puzzle but not the only one.  I have used pig whipworms to dampen my UC somewhat (and not enough to get sustained remission) but have not yet had success with human whipworms, for example. 

 

Posted 1/26/2011 4:55 PM (GMT 0)
I think we need to remember that UC does not just affect the colon. I have had many joint issues since being diagnosed with UC, as have many others. This is evidence that it is not localized but affects the whole system in a way. Just something to add to the dialogue.
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