Success story

Stopping your uc medications is never a good idea. Uc is a chronic, life-long disease that never goes away. As such, you should stay on your maintenance meds for uc.

Well... he did stop his meds over a year ago, no? If he hasn't relapsed yet then I'd say his chances are good. If the FMT patients also haven't relapsed in 2-3 years, then I'd say there's a pretty good chance it won't come back. Patients typically relapse within months of non-compliance or when the drug is out of the system. Lets go by what the book says on it.

If we're going by the medical data, there are some studies questioning the efficacy of azathioprine and mesalamines over time, but not during the initial phases. Those drugs may very well get folks into remission, as the mucosal healing takes place, but all bets are off 4-5 years down the road, as the data is limited (both from patient data due to adherence issues and from limited tracking).

As for VSL#3-

There are also some studies showing that VSL#3 is indeed good for the maintenance of remission for UC patients, but not for getting people into remission. If he went into remission using azathioprine and maintained it with vsl#3, it is entirely within the realm of possibility (and as the studies suggest) that that probiotic is his "maintenance" drug. This only applies to UC patients.

My conclusion?

VSL#3 is the maintenance drug in this case. Keep doing what you are doing. Azathioprine is necessary for severe cases because the benefits outweigh the risks, but it is an immunosuppressive agent and people have a higher risk of developing problems from it down the road. My experience with it says people should avoid the drug like the plague because of the complications, but that's just me.

Love a success story!! Congrats and thanks for sharing. Hope it continues.

I would consider VSL a maintenance med. It does have studies showing that it can keep patients in remission all by itself. I wouldn't take the AZA if you don't need to. How much VSL do you take?

Great to read this!

Also, azathrioprine is a toxic med with many secondary effects so if your symptoms disappeared since one year I think there is no need taking it anymore as well.

What kind of fish oil do you take?

I think that’s great. I had about 12 years remission with no drugs. Was doing fish oil and probiotics. Then about a year ago out of the blue it’s back. Keep it up I say, at least you had a break from the drugs. I lean towards thinking remissions can be spontaneous and maybe my supplements only helped a bit. Lots of Life is chance!