Meet Chris:
46 year old IT professional living on Gold Coast in Australia. Was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis in May 2011 after colonoscopy. Remission/cure October 2012. Loving life now.
Some more about me:
I have dual citizenship – my Dad is Swiss, my Mum’s an Aussie. Have visited Switzerland several times to see relatives but in my heart I am an Australian. I live near the sea and love it. I need to swim in it regularly. Since getting UC and researching all causes and possible remedies have gained an avid interest in Health. We really are what we eat.
Aloe Vera for Ulcerative Colitis
Need to get this out there – I feel I owe it to the site and others I used in my research of this disease. I was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis in May 2011. I am 46 years old and in the IT industry – stressful in itself but also owned a demanding Computer Services business with my partner for 7 years.
At the time of diagnosis under severe stress from business, and a personal family matter. Was vegetarian at the time eating way too much bread but fairly fit enjoying beach and swimming. In fact I thought I may have Giardia from swimming in a creek regularly so doctor put me on antibiotics to treat. When they didn’t work the Colonoscopy revealed UC up to appendix. GI specialist said it was caused by “stress and genetics” and although he seemed quite alternative and Eastern in his outlook maintained that food had nothing to do with it. I have one Uncle in Switzerland with UC and a Sister with the occasional bout of IBS when she gets stressed – that’s it for the genes. GI guy started me on Pentasa enemas as I wanted to treat the disease directly as did not want side effects from pills. They worked for a while.
Tried to use SCD diet as much as possible but hard to do when on the road with my job. Decided to sell business. Had several savage flare ups which grounded me for days at a time – attached to the toilet watching your life bleed out – you all know the feeling. Pentasa seemed to make things worse but I was determined to try beat this naturally so followed GAPs diet
Worst point I got down to 55 Kilos in weight (from 65 Kilos). GI specialist was shocked to see my blood work return a low kidney function and warned me off high protein diet and insisted I start eating carbs again. Kidney specialist seemed to think the Pentasa was the main issue. GI Specialist then put me on Sulfasalazine and this started to work straight away. I thought I was in the clear for a while although the side effects where headaches which is not good for a migraine sufferer. The Ergotamine I use for migraine seemed to cause me to bleed, Sulfasalazine fixes the bleeding but causes migraine so then I need Ergotamine…vicious circle.
Selling a business requires a lot of preparation and extra work on top of the usual stuff so I had pitfalls and flares on the way. For example hired a new engineer and fired him 2 weeks later for incompetence – the stress from this caused a flareup.
Upped my dosage of Sulfasalazine when the bleeding/diarrhea started and this would help taper it off but the bleeding/d would still be there. Always researching and trying things – glutamine, tumeric, slippery elm, olive oil, coconut oil, SCD, GAPS etc etc. All this stuff seemed to assist in lessening symptoms but none was ever a definitive cure. Sold the business (yay!) but had to stay on for 3 months.
Still on Sulfasalazine but blood still present and loose stools. After business sold decided to take as much time off as possible to deal with illness. Saw a Naturopath and had hair analysis, live blood screening. She gave me Intestamine which is compound of Slippery Elm/Tumeric/Glutamine and other supplements I was lacking in. Also some probiotics. Live blood work showed a parasite present and also fungal activity so approached it from a candida angle and tried to limit food that fed candida and tried to stay as SCD as possible. Was starving! Also blood and endless diarrhea. Although business was sold and I was essentially free with funds to give me a hiatus, 7 years of compounded stress takes a while to rid itself from your body. During this time I was reading Ted’s remedies over at the Earth Clinic website. Too much information and very scattered across the blog but some people getting results with his methods. He maintained that it was mycobacteria causing the inflammation so conventional medicine can only treat inflammation and not the cause which is the mycobacteria much like Helicobacter Pylori. These bacteria are extremely resistant to any modern antibiotic. His main weapon of choice was aloe vera inner leaf oil (I think he means gel) due to the polysaccharide in there which has a double action of killing the mycobacteria and reducing the inflammation. He also recommended other secondary supplements including DHEA, Melatonin, Iodine (from Lugol’s solution), N-acetylCysteine (NAC) amongst others including alkalising with lemons and Baking soda.
I had also read about a fellow Australian called Dom who had cured his UC by going on a rice fast and following up with enemas using Kefir Grains and Aloe Vera. He had a well documented report on the procedure. Dom is the global authority on Kefir. So I loaded myself up with as many supplements that I could legally get in Aust and ordered my Kefir Grains from Dom – they would take a couple of weeks to grow and ship. At this point I was considering the rice fast and the Aloe/Kefir enamas. I had just had a flare and was down to 56 Kilos. Sulfasalazine didn’t seem to help (upping dosage for a week did nothing) and I knew the GI guy would just put me on another pill. I had also read “Self Healing Colitis and Crohns
I stopped all supplementation while I was flaring. I have an Aloe Vera Barbedensis plant growing rampant in my front yard. I filleted the large leaves and started eating the inner leaf raw. I also decided to start the enemas with Aloe only as the Kefir was delayed. I took a large Aloe leaf and filleted it avoiding the aloin just under the outer leaf which is a laxative. I then boiled a litre of some reverse osmosis water and let it cool down to warm. I then blended the aloe leaf and warm water in a blender which chopped the aloe into smaller pieces. I took the mixture and applied it rectally using an enema kit. I had the enemas every other day for a week – probably about 4 enemas in total. I also tried a warm castor oil pack on my lower abdomen on the days I wasn’t having the enema as I had been reading about Edgar Cayce. Then it happened – the bleeding and diarrhea stopped. It was almost miraculous. I introduced some of Teds recommended supplements like Iodine, NAC and some basic minerals the naturopath had recommended (zinc, magnesium, selenium etc). I stayed SCD with my foods for a few weeks (except Sweet Potato). My weight increased. I was still eating raw Aloe Vera inner leaf morning and night from my garden and found some 99% Aloe Vera juice to drink as well – I looked for stuff with pieces of the gel floating around in it. As the weeks went by I got more adventurous with my food – introduced Kamut bread (low gluten) and white rice. The Kefir Grains finally arrived and I started making Kefir using raw organic milk. I eat it daily with almond flour and a banana. I also eat the excess Kefir Grains as well. OK, so I have been in “remission” for over 4 months – I have been blood and diarrhea free temporarily while on Sulfasalazine – but somehow this feels different – I feel cured.
The big test was Christmas – I ate what I liked on that day and no flare. The Christmas before that was an exercise in restraint due to the state of my colon. I am not a drinker so haven’t touched alcohol but I got caught out with a Thai curry straight from hell – it was that hot. I ate it as a test – no flare. I had an Aussie meat pie the other day – full of gluten – no flare. My daughters birthday cake – no flare. My current diet consists of mainly whole foods. Eggs, meat, fruit, vegetables (organic where possible). No sugar but if I’m at a restaurant and I like the dessert I will eat it (not often, SCD teaches you restraint). I eat Kamut or Spelt bread as toast with my eggs in the morning. As I have harvested my Aloe plants almost to nothing I found a local supplier of a freeze dried Aloe powder with a high polysaccharide content which I still drink every morning. I am currently trying to put back my weight and muscle so have started the Stronglifts 5X5 program of weight training and am back at 65 Kilos.
In a nutshell I feel cured and believe the Aloe did it. For some of the long term UCers here it probably sounds premature (it’s been only 4 months), and I must say reading the scary experiences of others who had got to the surgery stage is quite alarming when you see how far this disease can progress. If my story and Aloe Vera fixes one person then that would be the best gift.
What have I learnt? Western medicine doesn’t have the cure, never do anything that’s going to give you life-sapping stress and eat a diet of whole foods as much as possible. We definitely are what we eat. Also please be aware of companies peddling high polysaccharide content Aloe on the internet. Some make claims about the content which is BS. A lot is mixed with supplements like glutamine. Can give you contact for my supplier if needed – although have not used it for cure just for daily drink (I have no affiliation with him or get anything by recommending him). If you can, fresh Aloe is best. Buy a plant and grow your own (a bit difficult if you are in a cold climate) or keep an eye out for it where you live. There are many different varieties – I took a punt on mine – I was 90% sure it was Aloe Barbadensis. I have nursed my poor old plant back to life by taking cuttings from it – so if you are on the Gold Coast and need some leaves – I am happy to supply for free once they grow to a reasonable size.
Medications:
Aloe Vera worked the best
written by Chris M
submitted in the colitis venting area
March 15, 2013 at 2:16 pm
Hi Chris,
What a fabulous post!
So far, what I have learned on this site that actually HEALS the colon, is extra virgin olive oil, probiotics, L-glutamine, and now…real aloe vera!! Hurrah for natural remedies. This is the ONLY way to manage this condition…naturally. The meds are not only dangerous, but eventually stop working, if in fact they work at all.
This is all so very hopeful for UC sufferers. I went 14 years straight on mesalamine, (asacol), and it never once put the UC into remission, and only left me feeling sicker.
Now, in remission for the first time in 15 years on NO meds, but on only probiotics and L- glutamine, it makes me feel wonderful to know that I have other options to try as well, should I ever need them, like extra virgin olive oil, and now aloe vera.
Thank you SO MUCH!
Bev
March 24, 2013 at 10:20 pm
Bev,
Thanks for reading my post. Go easy on the olive oil, I was taking quite a bit of it for it’s anti-fungal(Candida)properties and soon discovered it was causing me diarrhea! But then I was drowning my salads in it… Glad to hear you are in remission. I am a big believer in probiotics, I was taking a handful of varieties from my naturopath but had also considered using VSL#3 as an enema as well as other people had good results with that. I thoroughly recommend reading all about real Kefir which is an amazing probiotic (not the commercial Kefir drinks you might see in health food shops). While most probiotic pills you buy have a few strains, real Kefir has about 50 strains of beneficial bacteria and yeasts. It has an amazing history. I received some milk Kefir grains and started making my own – you do become a slave to the process though. Helped me put on weight and also repopulate my gut with good bacteria. Dom from South Australia is the undisputed authority on Kefir: http://users.sa.chariot.net.au/~dna/kefirpage.html – in fact he cred his UC with it. Might be another weapon in your arsenal or for anyone else who may read this.
Agree on the L-Glutamine – I still take L-Glutamine occasionally – it is beneficial for building muscle as well as healing the colon.
Chris
March 15, 2013 at 4:55 pm
Hi Chris,
Great story glad you are feeling better. Can you send me details of your Aloe vera supplier I live in Sydney. Many thanks michael mickyt1@hotmail.com
March 15, 2013 at 5:00 pm
Hi Chris,
Just reading your story and could not believe how similar you sound to myself. I am from Brisbane, Australia and work in IT as a Systems Engineer, I have just been diagnosed with UC and currently in a flare. The docs have me on prednisolone and sulfasalazine (can’t stand being on this crap) as I have only had UC for a phew days I am already on the search for natural treatments/cures and have my first naturopath session this Wednesday.
My work in IT definitely has a lot of stress, however I considered myself an extremely healthy and fit active young 27 year old.
If you are willing, I would like to connect with you on a personal level and discuss how you are going with your natural treatments using Aloe and this could be something that may help me as well.
I am best contactable via Joshua_cavallo@hotmail.com, and would really appreciate your help.
Thanks so much for you story I am sure it is giving a lot of hope to UC sufferers out there.
Josh
March 15, 2013 at 7:19 pm
that’s so great you are feeling well. i tried bottled aloe vera with little success and haven’t used fresh aloe before. i follow scd now and try to not eat any of the illegals. how do you decide what you can cheat with?? i feel like if i don’t follow it strictly that i’ll be screwed. my doctor told me today that i need my colon out very soon due to all my bleeding. i’m very frustrated but have tried everything but worm therapy at this point.
March 24, 2013 at 8:10 pm
Joanna, SCD is hard going especially if you are on the road with a job as I was. I tried not to cheat, however I have come to the conclusion that some people do OK with certain SCD illegals – in my case Sweet Potato. SCD can be a long road to remission and Elaine Gottscall herself says it will not cure everyone. Bottled Aloe Vera has varying qualities and ingredients – the best I found was 99.9% pure. It was quite expensive. I cannot imagine how bad it must be for you if you are at the point of needing your colon out. I had heard of worm therapy and also fecal implants (try not to think too much about that one). I was at a point of desperation and in a pretty dark place so took a drastic measure of raw aloe vera enemas. I would have tried the kefir as well if that had arrived. Will they work for everyone? Don’t know but worth a shot – beats surgery. Best of luck
March 16, 2013 at 1:07 am
I recall I used to drink organic pure aloe extract withot aloin. I remember being very soothing and energizing, I should restart that again. I remember as soon as I stopped taking it, there was no lasting effect. I think it sooth the inflamed area. I wonder if you stop taking it you would flare again. Have you stopped taking it?
I looked up some info on aloe, and appearantly it acts as anti-inflamatory, antibacterial, antipathogenic (works against shigella, streptococcus pathogen in our colon). It aids digestions as well. I think taking aloe is better than taking harmfl medicine!
March 24, 2013 at 8:36 pm
Ellen, my late reply was due to being away for 3 weeks. I took powdered Aloe with me but as we were camping and staying with relatives over the holiday, I only used it once. I caught up with 3 different cousins and an old mate from 20 years ago. Each visit involved a meal or two out and I admit to indulging in a large sugary dessert every time. Tempted to have a drink of alcohol but didn’t go there. No flare up and solid bowel movements. Have been back for a week and still haven’t taken it. As stated in my story, my belief is that UC is caused by mycobacterium so you need something which will kill them and also aid in healing. Most other things seem to have a soothing or anti-inflammatory effect, which is great but doesn’t kill the root cause. Antibiotics to kill the mycobacterium will probably not be effective and do more harm to beneficial bacteria. For example I came across an Aussie GI specialist who is having success with three heavy duty antibiotics simultaneously to kill one pathogen in the stomach and small intestine called HelicoBacterPylori. Drinking Aloe has to get past stomach acid (if you are digesting at same time) and small intestine before it hits the colon. You have to target the specific area to hit the pathogens so enema is the most direct route (and the least comfortable). As mentioned to others I wonder if production of Aloe Vera powders and juices removes beneficial properties of the raw Aloe plant. I would be interested to see if organic 99% Aloe Vera juice taken as an enema would have a similar effect as the raw Aloe did for me.
March 16, 2013 at 8:24 am
Yes, thank you! I would definitely like to know who your supplier is. I will also try to grow the plants but would like to start with the powder. Thanks, again.
March 16, 2013 at 9:52 am
Please send details of your supplier to ysolorio2002@yahoo.com. Thank you!!
March 28, 2013 at 4:09 am
Hi Chris!
That is so cool!
I’m going to try it with aloe inner leaf and enemas over easter.
I have also read about “green smoothies” which is a perfect way to get nutritions in our fast-food stressed society.
First, have a good mixer. And mix down all the green good stuff. Salads, Aloe leefs. To make it tasty top up with 2-3 cups of water, two bananas and an apple.
Another one is selleri with lemon. Take half a selleri, one ecological lime/lemon that you wash, then remove the cores from it as they will wear down your mixer faster. Put the WHOLE thing in the mixer with the shell. Add upp bananas(without shell
, maybe you like pineapple or some other nice fruit and then some cups of water.
Practical to bring, you get 1-2 liter of smoothie.
I’ll keep you posted about my aloe treatment.
All the best from Sweden
// J
March 29, 2013 at 1:46 am
Slingshot – please post back with your results from the aloe enema. Does aloe grow in Sweden? I guess in a hothouse or indoors. I like the smoothies – very alkalizing.
Good luck
Chris M
May 10, 2013 at 6:36 am
Hi!
I tried this during a 8 days period. I had somewhat effect but it was far from taking me into remission. I Guess it’s not at all a bad idea to eat or use Aloe Enemas. But it’s no wonder drug.
It would be very interesting with a list of foods and a voting function on this site to get an index of what people eat and react on.
May 21, 2013 at 1:53 pm
Slingshot
Sorry to hear it didn’t work. May I ask if you used the actual plant or a juice from the shops?
Regards
Chris M
May 22, 2013 at 6:44 am
Hello Chris!
As I wrote it gave some effect, and it was more effective than taking Asacol enemas. But didn’t get me into remission. But also it felt like it had some effect, not like the conventional medicine that just makes it worse..
I used the actual plant and filleted it and took out the “transparent” part of the leaf. Then I boiled water, cooled it down and put it in a mixer together with the aloe. Blended it and put it into an enema.
// Jo
March 29, 2013 at 3:30 am
Does anyone have an opinion on L Glutamine with Aloe Vera (powder)? I have seen this in my health food shop but it is fairly expensive. I’m still 90% with the the Evoo and desperate to not require meds following a late April colonoscopy.
I have just began juicing, confusing though, raw veg/no raw veg and so many conflicting do and donts. Sticking with fruit and wheatgrass, for now..
March 29, 2013 at 7:29 am
Hi Graham,
I’ve never even heard of L-glutamine WITH aloe vera in it, but you know how I feel about L-glutamine…lol…best thing since sliced gluten free bread…lol
I was supposed to have my fifth colonoscopy this past year, but I’ve decided not to have them anymore (unless I NEED one, that is, like if I’m in a terrible state already before I have it). I know…the cancer risk and all that…every time I have one, it messes with my symptoms. I am symptom free and really wish to remain symptom free…what a rebel I am. I have just decided…no more.
Anyway, I’d love to hear from anyone who knows about or has tried the glutamine with aloe vera…
Cheers
March 29, 2013 at 4:05 pm
Graham,
it’s good that they admit that the powder has glutamine and aloe in it. Some of the aloe powders I was warning against sold as pure AMP (aloe mucilaginous polysaccharides)for a very expensive price were found to be “cut” with other substances like glutamine upon laboratory examination. Worse still the AMP was found to have a lower polysaccaride count than advertised. Do a bit of research on the supplier online and see if their claims can be validated. I found two AMP powder suppliers had taken each other to court and had resurfaced with different brand names. I didn’t know whether either was trustworthy after that. I also couldn’t believe the price the AMP powders from the US are sold at. My 2 cents on raw/non raw – juice raw and eat cooked. Celery, carrot and cabbage juiced are very good for health. Carrot has more beta carotene available to the human body when cooked however. Also cooked veg is far easier to digest with a compromised digestive system.
cheers
March 29, 2013 at 9:29 am
Hi Bev,
I feel the same about the colonoscopy but December was bad and still 90% so I will go with it to be on the safe side. You know what you are doing, I am sure like in my case if there is an unexplained deterioration then you would want an (cancer) examination.
I love the sound of a 2 for 1 treatment so I may have to just give it a whirl, not sure how that fits with the one thing at a time though!
March 29, 2013 at 10:02 am
As always, Graham, I agree with everything you said. That 2 for 1 treatment does indeed sound promising…I may just add that myself if I need to. This aloe vera sounds like it does pretty much what EVOO does…
I don’t begrudge others a good colonoscopy!!
Happy Easter and all that…if you celebrate it…
April 1, 2013 at 4:44 am
Chris/Bev,
I appreciate your input and as always Bev, informative and entertaining. Sorry for the delay but happy Easter (if you are celebrate it)!