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Thank you for the information that all the posters provided for UC... i have severe UC and it is so good to see the information that i received here... thank you all.
I was diagnosed with UC in January 2011. The onset was one of the most horrible experiences of my life. Very painful and crippling. I was severely sick from about Christmas 2010 until February when my doctor finally put me on prednisone. That offered relief, but I don't think I achieved full remission until sometime during the summer. It's a miracle I was able to make it through a semester of college unscathed (the worst of the illness was during my winter break). Fortunately I was only on prednisone for about seven or eight months. I guess the medicine I'm taking (asacol and azathioprine) is working its magic, though they can have nasty side effects. But I would rather risk that than go through another flare-up. I've been good for almost two years now.
I eat whatever I want, but recently started eating a little healthier for other reasons. The only time my colon feels noticeably irritated is when I drink alcohol. I'll be getting my third colonoscopy in a few weeks.
My cousin was diagnosed with UC a few months before me, but I think she has a more severe case.
I was diagnosed with UC in January 2011. The onset was one of the most horrible experiences of my life. Very painful and crippling. I was severely sick from about Christmas 2010 until February when my doctor finally put me on prednisone. That offered relief, but I don't think I achieved full remission until sometime during the summer. It's a miracle I was able to make it through a semester of college unscathed (the worst of the illness was during my winter break). Fortunately I was only on prednisone for about seven or eight months. I guess the medicine I'm taking (asacol and azathioprine) is working its magic, though they can have nasty side effects. But I would rather risk that than go through another flare-up. I've been good for almost two years now.
I eat whatever I want, but recently started eating a little healthier for other reasons. The only time my colon feels noticeably irritated is when I drink alcohol. I'll be getting my third colonoscopy in a few weeks.
My cousin was diagnosed with UC a few months before me, but I think she has a more severe case.
I went through the entire thread and didn't see anything like what I'm going to write, maybe this experience might be helpful to you or someone else.
Back in the late '80s I had a new b/f who I soon noticed had to run to the bathroom not long after we ate at a restaurant, sometimes right in the middle of a meal he had to go. When I asked him about it he told me he'd suffered from UC for 10 years. I used to be subscribed to "Prevention" magazine and since I always had very good memory I immediately recalled a case where it turned out that the person had an inability to digest beef, my b/f loved it and, sure enough, he ordered it often so I suggested that could be the reason, he agreed that he loved it but it didn't love him. When he took me home I told him to wait so I could get a couple of supplements I remembered were good for that, one was a complete digestive enzyme (with betaine hydrochloride and ox bile) and magnesium, which helped ease the pain of the contractions, also B complex if I recall correctly. He began taking the enzyme tabs after every meal, especially when eating any kind of meat and he began experiencing immediate relief. His mother also had problems after eating beef (though not UC) so he gave her some and then they began ordering it regularly. "FF" a few years after we broke up, we met at a supermarket and we were briefly catching up, I thought of asking about his health, and he said "I'm fit as a fiddle!" so I asked about his UC, he said "It's been gone a long time", I asked about the enzymes and he said he stopped needing them long ago, which made sense as better digestion would enable him to make his own enzymes eventually.
This has been by far my best experience in all the years I've been learning about nutrition and natural healing! He suffered for 10 long years and doctors had NOT been able to cure him, yet here came I, without a big impressive title and gave him the solution to end his sufferings permanently. I felt happy thinking that even if things had not worked out between us I'd made a huge difference in his life. So I'm sharing this because someone with a similar problem might read this someday and also be helped
Another culprit could be gluten, when it doesn't agree with us it can definitely wreak havoc in our intestines, and it's very easy to find out, all the person has to do is abstain from any gluten-containing foods (wheat, rye, barley mainly) for at least one week and see if there's any reduction in symptoms. Even avoiding all traces of it is important as any small amount could still trigger symptoms and hinder the results of this "experiment". Here's a complete list of what to avoid: Unsafe Gluten-Free Food List (Unsafe Ingredients) - Celiac.com
And since dairy often causes problems for gluten-intolerant people it may have to be avoided at least until the gut has time to heal.
Last edited by TiredOfSFL; 05-03-2013 at 12:38 AM..
TiredOfSFL...because I have similar digestive and colon issues, I have wondered whether a reaction to grass fed beef versus grain fed beef could be different? What if someone is gluten sensitive and eats grain-fed beef, from cows that eat wheat as a grain? If they eat grass-fed beef, would this also cause a flare up, or would it not? Because this had me perplexed (and still does), for a while, I tried not to eat grain fed beef. I didn't notice much difference....maybe a few times. Some people's allergies/sensitivies are more severe than others...so the grain fed beef might cause only a barely noticeable symptom in some, while it might cause a super-major flare in others. This could be compared to children who drink milk with hormones in it...I've heard that some kids start puberty extra-early, say age 7 or 8, including growing underarm hair....from drinking milk w/hormones. Have no idea if there is any truth in this, but when you're sick and nothing helps, things like this could be worth looking into, IMO. Unfortunately, the best way to research is by eating the grass fed beef to see how it affects digestion.
TiredOfSFL...because I have similar digestive and colon issues, I have wondered whether a reaction to grass fed beef versus grain fed beef could be different? What if someone is gluten sensitive and eats grain-fed beef, from cows that eat wheat as a grain? If they eat grass-fed beef, would this also cause a flare up, or would it not? Because this had me perplexed (and still does), for a while, I tried not to eat grain fed beef. I didn't notice much difference....maybe a few times. Some people's allergies/sensitivies are more severe than others...so the grain fed beef might cause only a barely noticeable symptom in some, while it might cause a super-major flare in others. This could be compared to children who drink milk with hormones in it...I've heard that some kids start puberty extra-early, say age 7 or 8, including growing underarm hair....from drinking milk w/hormones. Have no idea if there is any truth in this, but when you're sick and nothing helps, things like this could be worth looking into, IMO. Unfortunately, the best way to research is by eating the grass fed beef to see how it affects digestion.
It was my understanding that cows are fed corn, not wheat... If they indeed are fed wheat I still don't know if that could happen, although I'm thinking that it's very possible that the cow's digestive system can't handle the gluten either, especially now that all wheat in the U.S. is GMO (and therefore not really good for everyone at all...). All I can tell you is that because the digestive enzyme (which must contain betaine hydrochloride) helps digest the meat protein, it ceased being a problem for by ex-b/f and his mom. So, why don't you try that first and see if there's a marked difference, if not I would stay away from grain-fed beef (which is a good idea anyway, cows on their own will eat grass, not corn!).
To be honest with you, were it not for my greater need for proteins, that blood type O does need to eat red meat at least sometimes, and my need to stay away from soy as much as possible (due to my thyroid) I would become a vegetarian because not only good beef/chicken/etc. is very expensive, at least for me, but I suffer from guilt of knowing I'm part of the reason all those poor animals live horrid lives and then are sacrificed for us to eat.
The early puberty can actually be produced by soy milk more so than cow's milk, and then there's all the other xenoestrogens in our environment to consider, like those leached out of plastic bottles, the lining of cans, parabens in lotions and other products that come in contact with the skin, some pesticides, etc. We are just not being fed for health but for food producers to make a profit, that's all, it's really "every man/woman for themselves".
Last year,my sister was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis.it was a shock for the whole family to find out that she's sick.The doctor said that ulcerative colitis has unknown causes but it could be triggered by stress.
she was given a lot of medication like oral meds and enema.after months of taking medications and frequent visit to the doctor,her condition had improved.also, after her last colonoscopy the doctor said that she's already healed from that first attack.
After a year,just last june, she had an attack again.without any symptoms,she started bleeding again.
Since ulcerative colitis is not usual here in the philippines.It was still hard for us to cope on how we should deal with my sister's condition.as the eldest in the family and the only one looking after my two siblings,i took a lot of precaution to prevent the relapse.I would usualy cook low fat or no fat foods for her.As much as possible,i would do all the house chores, for her not to worry about anything aside from her studies.However, due to some uncontrollable circumstances i wasn't able to prevent it, the relapse.
so,i'm just asking for your help to guide me a little or give me a little info about this illness.and if ever some of you have this illness,could you please give me some advices on how you deal with this.
Thanks everyone for reading this.
God Bless..
by the way,i'm kei from the philippines.
I' from Northern Philippines. My father have the same diagnosis. He's been suffering from this sickness for 2 years and it's not getting any better. Symptoms are occurring more frequent lately instead. We tried 3 doctors already.
I am hoping to get some help too..somebody might know Specialists who treats the sickness very well..
Interestingly, cigarette smokers with UC have been shown to have a FLARE UP of symptoms when they QUIT!! I'm defintely NOT advocating smoking but explaining why persons with UC may experience worsening symptoms when they quit smoking. There has been research involving the use of other forms of nicotine to assist sufferers of IBD (inflammatory bowel disease which includes both UC and Crohn's) in achieving remission. The risks of smoking far outweigh the benefits but it will be interesting to see how the new research plays out.
This is absolutely true. I'm a former UC sufferer, and my gastroenterologist confirmed this to me during an office visit. In fact, he even wrote me a prescription for nicotine patches if I wanted to add them to my medication regime (I didn't).
I ended up having a total proctocolectomy about a year later, but while I was suffering, here's what helped me:
Avoid anything spicy. Spicy foods brought the hurty, burny pain.
Avoid anything fatty or greasy. Foods like that would fly through me in *minutes.*
Find what you can eat safely and graze. Don't eat a lot at once. Eat very small quantities, spaced out over the day to keep the food volume low in your colon.
Avoid physical exertion. Running, jumping, etc. seemed to make the internal pain worse.
Drink in moderation, but steadily. Part of your colon's job in the body is to recover water and send it back out to other body tissues. However, if you have a bad case of UC, your colon won't do that. Result: if you drink a lot at one time, you'll end up with a colon full of liquid and be just one spasm or twitch away from a very messy and embarrassing accident.
As far as medications go, the only thing that really seemed to help were the steroids, but you don't want to be on those for long. Remicade made me horribly sick and even weekly doses of Humira weren't anything more than a speed bump to my case of UC.
To those who are suffering UC/Crohn's or know someone who is, find a support group in your area. You are not alone, and those who have suffered before you want to help.
Hi Bribe ... i'm new to the forum can you please help me.. i wish i can add you on facebook btw i'm from the philippines too .. i too have the same disease with your sister ... i don't poop blood or go to the bathroom 15x a day but i poop blood only once and never happen again thank god .. i was diagnosed UC last sept 14, 2014 my first symptoms was painful anus like stabing spear on my an*s so i go to my Gastro dr. and do some colonoscopy to identify whats the cause of this pain... I take meds (Pentasa oral 500mg 3xdaily and Pentasa suppository 1g 2x daily for 2weeks) and now Oral Pentasa 3xdaily.. she prescribe me a steroids (Prednisone) but i don't take it because i read some articles and blogs here online and found out the steroids gave them lifetime illness so i refuse them.. and after diagnosed with what so called disease i'm on denial stage.. but later on i accept it and face it as a new challenge in life.. .. got a big problem with food ... right now I only eat porridge and different kinds fish.. i tried to eat grilled chicken (breast part) after that the pain in my butt feel to start again.. so i eliminate chicken in my food list and pork too -,- ..I drink yakult and i dont find it hard or irritate my colon.. i tried juicing some cabbage and carrots 8 Oz each thats the only food i eat daily so im very skinny right now.. i'm affraid to try different filipino vege dishes like ginisang sayoten pinakbet, ampalaya, chopseuy .. filipino foods are so many spices .. its too hard... i found blogs and forums selling good foods for patient with UC.. but the thing is.. i dont have an acces to buy it online.. dont have credit cards ...i wish you can help me please.. and btw i'm only 23yo -manila, phil.
Cardinalyui, my daughter-in-law is from Davao so I understand what you mean about spicy foods. You will have to eliminate most hot spices from your diet. My daughter has UC and she eats a lot of tofu. She also takes Humira which has really cut down on her flare-ups. It is prescription and rather expensive, not sure if it is available where you are.
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Beef (or meat protein) or gluten.
