After Every Difficulty Comes Ease

Meet Haadi:

I am in late 20s, male, living in Australia. Diagnosed in October 2013. Getting stronger every day, food diary has been invaluable, Low Fodmap diet with SCD wisdom, honey instead of sugar in baking, EVO oil and antibacterials have paved the way to my remission

Some more about Haadi:

I like travelling, reading, and recently cooking.

Symptoms:

In remission. Recently got a bit of mucous from trying soy sauce. But back on track …

After Every Difficulty Comes Ease

I was diagnosed with UC in October 2013 after three months of mucous, bleeding and constipation. When the bleeding had escalated, the doctor who had been advising me that I had hemmorhoids referred me for colonoscopy. The results were: 15 to 20cm of chronic ulcerative proctitis/colitis. I believe my troubles had started long before in the beginning of 2013 after a bout of stress and taking antibiotics in 2012 for really bad cough from passive cigarette smoke. I don’t smoke and have always had a bad reaction to cigarette smoke. I also had to take a cocktail of antibiotics when I was struck with tuberculosis several years ago. I believe my tb history and subsequent allergy to cigarette smoke and any pollutant is related to my uc and compounded with an intolerance to gluten that I probably had for ages. I used to have mood swings which I no longer have on an almost gluten-free diet (Low Fodmap) that I’m currently following. I do well on two slices of sourdough spelt bread, one of the brands of which is permitted on Low Fodmap, once a day. In early 2013 I had started to feel weak, dizzy while riding in the bus, and was losing my hair, had become thin. The blood was the last straw.

Well what’s to say after learning of this? I was even more depressed that I had an incurable disease. I continued to take the colifoam enemas and the first night had a pain in my ears and then bad toothaches after a few weeks. This was a rather benign drug when it comes to UC and the thought of progressing on to other drugs naturally scared me. I went to visit a new GI, a very good one, who prescribed Pentasa. I took the script but never got the Pentasa. Instead, after many days and hours of scouring the Internet and learning of side-effects and that this disease was not curable (just manageable), I thought: why should I try something that is not going to cure me? The doctor had already warned me of headaches and dizziness. I was bound to progress from Pentasa to the immunosuppressants which, according to the doctor, could retrigger the tb and I would have to be regularly monitored. I refused to let my life slide in this direction.

I read many stories on the UC online boards and one was a very confident one told by ‘QueenoftheColon’ who had put her UC in remission with probiotics. I followed her to the letter and bought every probiotic she had. In hindsight, VSL3 would have been cheaper. The colifoam was no more helping. I noticed a drastic change when I took antibiotics for my toothache, one of my teeth had gone bad. Combined with probiotics and spinach shakes, I had reached remission. I would be well, or as good as I thought I could be, until consuming lots of cashews. Don’t listen to those who say food has nothing on UC. Things like spinach were decreasing my inflammation just as cashews had increased it. I have recently learned I cannot tolerate soy-products either.

Enter SCD. I was feeling a lot better, all my bloating and burping had disappeared. I believe the Prozymes were really helping in addition to the l-glutamine. However, I could no longer afford the probiotics. I thought I was feeling well until I had something from some restaurant. I started to flare. I was not the same again and was gradually losing more weight. My mother moved in to help me. Under her I started following SCD strictly. It took me a while to note that fish oil was making me worse, I could flare from avocadoes and red meat, all SCD and Paleo autoimmune legal. Well I stuck to my guns and pulled myself along. When my mother left, something did not click and I was in a flare again. Bleeding, lots of bleeding in the morning, getting worse. I had also got a urinary tract infection. Hey, I pulled out my bottle of oregano. Bleeding: gone. In just one day. I have proof that my UC is bacteria-related. I took the oregano with extra virgin olive oil for a month and have a chieved the best and truest remission I have ever had. Occasionally if I eat something wrong I’ll see some mucous. I have also gone from the SCD to Low Fodmaps. Fibre has been helping me a lot. I begin every day with a big bowl of porridge with lactose-free milk. I make fried quinoa rice and chicken. UC has taught me how to cook. Along with Olive Leaf extract, which made me sleepy for the first two days before propelling me with more energy than I have ever had, the oregano oil has brought me in a state of equilibrium. It has been two months, I don’t take oregano oil every day but rotate the antifungals. I am still underweight but am slowly picking up weight, I feel energetic, happy and driven. UC is no more a problem. And did I mention green bee propolis? I take two of these God-given natural anti-bacterial remedies each day. I am currently not taking lglutamine because I read some amino acids don’t go well with the olive leaf extract. I eat Low Fodmaps, high fibre. No onions or garlic which I was eating on the SCD. No fish oil, krill oil helps. We are all different, but I don’t think anyone can go wrong with probiotics (I eat the SCD yogurt), lglutamine and antifungals/antibacterials like oregano oil, olive leaf extract, grapeseed extract and bee propolis. Oh and I also drink two cups of coffee every day, the caffeic acid content in it has definitely been part of my successful strategy, though coffee has adversely affected others. My GI has be amazing, has written me a script for LDN telling me I don’t need it. So I didn’t take LDN and don’t need to try it now. I am in remission, a long remission and I know and come to know what foods bother me. He is very happy that I have found a natural solution to this disease. “Natural” has taken a beating, but in UC it has worked for me. It is better than any current medical solution for UC. I am, lastly and ultimately, grateful to God.

Current Medications/Supplements:

No medications.

Supplements:

First thing: bee propolis

After breakfast: Vit D, Astaxanthin, Krill oil (no krill oil and astaxanthin during first week of every month to get rid of the astaxanthin build up) take flaxseed for a change

Yogurt

Lunch: digestive enzyme

Evening: second bee propolis

Before dinner: multivitamin, Boswellia

Before bed: EVO oil and an antifungal (rotate caprylic acid, olive leaf extract, grapeseed extract and oregano oil)

Take a heaped tablespoon of l-glutamine if I’m not taking Olive leaf extract

written by Haadi

submitted in the colitis venting area