I've officially added a Nopal supplement to my regimen

Sorry but I don't have the patience to search out and buy Nopal leaves, cut them up, and soak them in water for hours so I did it the lazy way, buying a supplement. Some reviews (not for UC) stated that they had done it the harder way but found the supplement capsules worked just as good or better so I gave it a whirl starting a month or two ago. I was already feeling about 90% well at the time and took very low doses and gradually worked my way up to the 3.9 grams I take now. At first there was no noticeable difference but after getting on max dose I saw some improvement. Since I was already doing pretty good to begin with it isn't easy to notice improvement but I can say now that there definitely has been some improvement as I am now feeling about 95% well, which is good enough to continue with the program. I am on max dose for what the bottle says but I've never heard of anyone dying from a Nopal overdose so sometime in the future I might try a little more and see what happens. I also bought a new probiotic from an Old Mike thread a while back but haven't started it yet.

www.swansonvitamins.com/swanson-premium-prickly-pear-cactus-opuntia-650-mg-180-caps?SourceCode=INTL415&mkwid=DoZWapwh&pcrid=4261374727&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term={keyword}&utm_content=415-01+Herbs&utm_campaign=415-01+Product+Ads&CA_6C15C=720354454

I usually get it from Swanson but you can order it on Amazon too.

Thanks for posting. Very helpful. Your experience with grape seed extract led me to try it with great results. I feel good so I'm not sure about nopal but will keep it on the list.

How do you define feeling "95%"? Does that mean almost normal for a "normal" person or almost in remission but with residual effects of UC?

For example, I consider myself 100% because I can eat anything, have no urgency, and go once a day. But my stool is often very soft. That's probably because of the Prevacid I take and it doesn't affect me in a negative way so, to me, that's 100%, but it's not exactly like a non-UCer.

I go an average of 3 times per day with solid thin stools and virtually no symptoms. I can eat whatever I want as long as I take DAO with higher histamine foods. I don't have any urgency and live a totally normal life. If I ever have to go to the bathroom out in public it is almost always due to #1. Yesterday I went 20 straight hours with no bm's.

Narrowing and malabsorption due to scar tissues is possibly the reason why the stools are 'thin'. There is nothing to fix scar tissue except surgical removal. Even in complete remission the scar tissues are there so thin poop is expected.

if someone is "averaging" 3 times/day, that means sometimes more like 4-5 maybe - to me that's not "normal" -

but to me it's not even relevant - focusing on how well you're doing instead of actually doing, is -

Actually it has basically been 3 times per day for quite a while now, since the Nopal. Before that it was an "average" of 3 so I'm doing slightly better and more regular . I might also add that my doc put IBS down as an additional diagnosis but I believe that to be a crock because he would have never "diagnosed" me with IBS if I hadn't opened up my big mouth once and asked him about if I could have it too. I haven't seen him in quite a while but I'm pretty sure he would say that I was in complete remission from my UC and am now dealing with just IBS.

I've been doing whatever I want for the last couple of years. That's why I say I live an almost totally normal life. I go once or twice in the morning at home then don't usually ever have to go again the rest of the day no matter where I am or what I am doing. I'm often out in public doing whatever I want and find it comforting when the reason I have to find a bathroom is because I have to do #1. Then I might go another time late at night when I'm home or in the middle of the night. If I have to go sometime during the day, which is rarely, I do not have urgency and have time to find a bathroom. I honestly can't remember when the last time was I had to do #2 out in public during the day. My brain cells don't remember that far back.

garylouisville said...
I've been doing whatever I want for the last couple of years. That's why I say I live an almost totally normal life. I go once or twice in the morning at home then don't usually ever have to go again the rest of the day no matter where I am or what I am doing. I'm often out in public doing whatever I want and find it comforting when the reason I have to find a bathroom is because I have to do #1. Then I might go another time late at night when I'm home or in the middle of the night. If I have to go sometime during the day, which is rarely, I do not have urgency and have time to find a bathroom. I honestly can't remember when the last time was I had to do #2 out in public during the day. My brain cells don't remember that far back.

Congratulations Gary. Sounds like you are in a strong remission.

I've never had a scope since my original diagnosis close to five years ago, which made my condition worse. I don't see the point of doing another one at this point and I don't believe my GI would either since I'm doing so well. I strongly suspect that another scope would make my symptoms worse like it did before. I'm in 95% remission and I'm not so obsessed with 100% remission that I'm willing to go on harsher meds which I don't think would work anyway. Suppositories didn't really do anything and two short stints of pred never put me into a 100% remission either, even when wt the highest dose.

I too haven't had a scope in a while but I am thinking that I will have to eventually bite the bullet and get one. My last GI said for me every 7-10 years.

I get regular blood work and it is generally good but my CRP, an indicator of general inflammation, is higher than I want it to be. It was super low my whole life, usually around .4, even when first diagnosed with UC. But at the height of my last flare it was over 100.0 (that is not a misprint). Now it is around 9.0 even though I am in remission symptom wise.

Gary, so you're taking 2 capsules 3x/day? Are you taking them 30mins before meals, as recommended on the bottle?