UC probably more hormonal and not food related.

PathogenKiller said...

kazbern said...
Menopause sure seems to be helping tho!

You also seem to include going gluten free in your sig.. Can you not concede that it along with the slew of other things in your sig also play a role?

Well, I think she mentioned before it helps her, but it's not that simple. I mentioned that it helps in some cases the same as not throwing oil over fire. If your intestines are inflamed, the holy gluten will cause issues. However, if you don't have IBD or clear intolerance to gluten it won't do anything because from my theories it's not the cause, just a, I dunno, an irritant, we can call it.

Basically what I mentioned in the first post, all these diet mods are basically helping you keep the disease at bay at best as possible but it's not the cause. This is the very reason why some don't respond to diet mods, because obviously it was never the cause.

To summarize, once you discover the cause and fix it, you can eat all the gluten in the world and it won't do nothing.

*disclaimer* this is just my theories...in the dark * OOoooOOOo

BadColon said...


Just like other diseases, UC doesn't occur overnight. It might seem it has, but it doesn't. Please let me explain.

Years of bad diet and lifestyle takes a toll on many organs including our large intestines. ...

Certainly agree with you there. I was 18 when developed proctitis but had had lots of signs that things were wrong throughout childhood and teens - except I didn't know they were signs then of course, canker sores and, on seeing a Bristol stool chart, had had type 2 stools all through childhood and teens which I know now was a bad sign. I thought painful, hard stools were normal, well why would I have known anything different? School biology didn't do anything useful like teach you what a healthy stool looks and feels like. Meanwhile, I was on the pill, stopped smoking, cleared a chronic parasite infection, had been on antibiotics, neglected (childhood neglect now being identified as a major factor in adults with chronically raised CRP, possibly linked to vagus nerve) and had autoimmune in the family - so take your pick with the risk factors...hormones probably not a majorly large factor for me other than a bit better when progesterone high.

London, try cotton root bark tincture or vitex if you definitely tie progesterone to increased symptoms.

PathogenKiller said...
Judging from the posts on this forum, no. I've seen nobody off meds by not modifying their diet in some way.

WAT? ask "I love coffee" , he got diagnosed with the disease, after 6 months it went away only to come back 10 years later. He didn't change jack crap in his diet lol.

Also Bananagirl's dad has UC and I don't even think he's on meds or any diet mods whatsoever.

Ooooohhh man, I've read a sh**t load of stories like this.

This disease, triggers and untriggers somehow.

Somedude said...

PathogenKiller said...
Judging from the posts on this forum, no. I've seen nobody off meds by not modifying their diet in some way.

WAT? ask "I love coffee" , he got diagnosed with the disease, after 6 months it went away only to come back 10 years later. He didn't change jack crap in his diet lol.

Also Bananagirl's dad has UC and I don't even think he's on meds or any diet mods whatsoever.

Ooooohhh man, I've read a sh**t load of stories like this.

This disease, triggers and untriggers somehow.

And neither of them took any meds to induce remission? Indeed I'd love to read the stories of unmedicated magically resolving uc with no diet change that was UC not simply colitis/ unknown origin. Please, post links.

Pathogen,

Here I found one of them..

Read his post in the thread, it's towards the bottom.

www.healingwell.com/community/default.aspx?f=38&m=2589236

Yeah, but 10 years, that's long...where did the disease go? what happened. My thinking, it un-triggered in those 10 years, randomly, willy nilly.

London Lurker said...


Certainly agree with you there. I was 18 when developed proctitis but had had lots of signs that things were wrong throughout childhood and teens - except I didn't know they were signs then of course, canker sores and, on seeing a Bristol stool chart, had had type 2 stools all through childhood and teens which I know now was a bad sign. I thought painful, hard stools were normal, well why would I have known anything different? School biology didn't do anything useful like teach you what a healthy stool looks and feels like. Meanwhile, I was on the pill, stopped smoking, cleared a chronic parasite infection, had been on antibiotics, neglected (childhood neglect now being identified as a major factor in adults with chronically raised CRP, possibly linked to vagus nerve) and had autoimmune in the family - so take your pick with the risk factors...hormones probably not a majorly large factor for me other than a bit better when progesterone high.

I have seen a lot of people throw the towel on diet and lifestyle. I think both work in conjunction. Or atleast it has for me.

I understand the frustration on the diet part of most UCers. If you notice "almost" all that claim to be irresponsive to diets are also irresponsive to medications. Expecting diet to work in such cases is asking too much. IMHO, diet and lifestyle changes work once you find a medication that responds to your disease. Diet can only then help stop the spread of the disease and even reverse it in some cases.

Its important to note that just like a bad diet takes years to get you into bad shape, a proper healthy diet can also take time to show its effect. I have wrestled with diet since I was diagnosed with UC, 4 years back. And I still learn everyday what foods in what combination in what amounts are good during the different ups and down times of this disease. But I can firmly say that cutting out dairy, gluten and meat will have noticeable effect in the long run. It has meant less severe and lesser longing flares for me. Also no disease progressing up the colon and no increase in medication dosages. These benefits can't be ruled out in favor of not getting cured via diet. I think its naively irresponsible for such a nasty medical condition.

Post Edited (BadColon) : 5/13/2013 5:20:15 PM (GMT-6)

gee, i wonder if every disease forum has had this discussion = did hormones give me heart disease ? did hormones give me gout ? did hormones give me baldness ?

WHERE DOES IT END !

think i'll take a nap -

I'm very new to the site.. I was diagnosed with UC back in December.. before that I've never had any stomach issues... sure the random food poisoning or bug.. I have suffered from migraines since my early 20's, but I've always been healthy.. a runner, cyclist, hiker, and watched my diet closely... the one serious change in my life (a year before I was diagnosed) was a job change... my stress level is thru the roof.. even though I know there isn't proof.. I've made the assumption that it was stress related issue.. being 53 my testosterone is on the decline.. but I sure never even thought about that until now? I'm willing to try dietary changes.. I'm in the middle of a flare now.. I can't run or ride my bike.. Imodium makes work possible.. but my exercise and dating life are non-existent during a flare.

NiceCupOfTea said...
Anyway, I don't think hormones had anything to do with my Crohn's/colitis, because I have never been pregnant

I became convinced today it does have to do with hormones.

Exit prednisone taper and have a LOT of stubborn blubber. I begin doing everything I can to increase testosterone which in men is the opposite of cortisol. I made a fateful mistake and also got off the RS diet for 10 days and started to slip into a flare ( diet was controlling the problem ).

Now it seems like the leaner I get the more testosterone I have and therefore the more estradiol. My adrenals are not back to full strength and topped out. So THIS is why my diet has to become cleaner and cleaner - I just do not have enough coritisol flying into this headwind.

Turns out that testosterone lowers cortisol and it might be doing so indirectly. Testosterone in men converts to estradiol and dht ( balding hormone ). Estradiol it turns out down regulates cortisol by increasing the enzyme which breaks down cortisol.

So what I felt was happening was confirmed when I went looking for it.

Corticosteroid-binding globulin (CBG), reduces FREE-cortisol, 75% of coritisol is bound to CGB and unusable. CGB is produced by the liver and is regulated by estrogens.

Testosterone in men increases estradiol which increases CBG which decreases available cortisol.

T => E2 => CBF => decrease in free cortisol

If you happen to have been pregnant it connects there as well.

"The portal system carries the CRH to the anterior lobe of the pituitary, where it stimulates corticotropes to secrete adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) and other biologically-active substances (β-endorphin). ACTH stimulates the synthesis of cortisol, glucocorticoids, mineralocorticoids and DHEA."

CRH -> creates ACTH -> Which creates cortisol etc

CRH is also synthesized by the placenta and seems to determine the duration of pregnancy.[8]

Levels rise towards the end of pregnancy just before birth and current theory suggests three roles of CRH in parturition:[9]

Increases levels of dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) directly by action on the fetal adrenal gland, and indirectly via the mother's pituitary gland. DHEA has a role in preparing for and stimulating cervical contractions.
Increases prostaglandin availability in uteroplacental tissues. Prostaglandins activate cervical contractions.
Prior to parturition it may have a role inhibiting contractions, through increasing cAMP levels in the myometrium.
In culture, trophoblast CRH is inhibited by progesterone, which remains high throughout pregnancy. Its release is stimultated by glucocorticoids and catecholamines, which increase prior to parturition lifting this progesterone block.

I think it has to do with hormones for some people but not all people.