I have had Ulcerative Colitis since 1991, so you can say i have it for the last 20 years. It started with ulcerative proctitis luckily it was diagnosed correctly by my gastroenterologist and i was put on steroids and salazopyrin.The steroids i took for a couple of weeks and then tapered it. The flare ups and remissions continued over a period of time.Slowly the disease progressed into the sigmoid colon and then into the descending colon over the years. I continued the same medication with mesacol enema included.I started taking the enema almost everyday. It was never in total remission always there was a little mucus and blood in the stool and used to feel sore in the rectum area.
Then in 2009 October, i had a bad flare up. I lost a lot of blood i had cramps and watery stools like 15 to 20 stools a day. The situation was bad and my gastro suggested surgery for which i was not willing.Then i was put on Imuran for 2weeks on 50mg and then on 125 mg. with constant monitoring.this was in march 2010. In august my Red Blood Count and hemoglobin counts went dangerously low and i had bone marrow toxicity and stopped imuran immediately.Although the doctor wanted me take a smaller dose i refused as i was feeling terrible with that drug.
By now my colitis was some what under control though not in complete remission.I thought once the effect of imuran wears off i will flare up again.I started this Probiotic Garden of Life Primal Defense
I kept my fingers crossed and my colitis has been in total remission from aug 2010 until now, it has been six months now.I feel like my pre colitis days. No symptom what so ever.I feel it is the Probiotic which is nothing but live bacteria and which is good for the gut that is working. Slippery elm heals the colon and helps in mucus formation. And boswellia serretta is an anti inflammatory herb.
Recently i read an article about how a man in california swallowed eggs of a worm which has put his colitis under remission. So the bacteria must be close although not as powerful as the worm. This is my opinion.If this article helps anyone i will be glad as i found this combination by reading many blogs.
author (the self doctor)
Current Medications/Treatment:
Primal defense, Slippery Elm
More About Me:
–I live in Hyderabad India, my daughter who lives in Newyork procures the Probiotic and slippery elm
My doctor is the renowned gastroenterologist Dr Nageswar Reddy And Dr Rupa Banerjee of Asian institute of gastroenterology.
All of the posts from “Annonymous UC” are from ulcerative colitis people who anonymously submitted stories or Doctor Reviews, medication, supplement reviews etc… I post all these stories to the site, but they’re different from my own personal stories so hopefully this account makes more sense:) -Adam – founder of iHaveUC.com
That is such a positive story. I too have tried Primal Defense, but it didn’t completely work for me. I have recently switched over to Natren probiotics. Are you doing anything for diet?
I am a vegetarian. Have always been one.My main diet consists of rice ,wheat, milk products i.e a little milk in coffee and plenty of curd [yogurt] home made of course ,fruits and vegetables. I always felt that a normal diet which your body is used to is best for you. This may be an autoimmune disease but it definitely has something to do with your mind and personality. In India people always suggest meditation and pranayam [ deep breathing to calm your mind.] Just let go of things over which you have no control and be calm.
A doctor once told me to learn to manage my colitis.You must know what is good for you and what is not.And i have been doing just that. My colitis is 20 yrs old. Now i have pan colitis.But i must say that the periods of remissions have always been longer than the flare ups. I probably had 4 or 5 bad flare ups until now.Each flare up took about 3 to 4 months to get it under control and then remission.
Good luck to you.Manage your colitis and get well soon.
Uma ji ,New detection ,always been in India no foreign tours but don’t know how I got UC. Am very worried about future of my daughters.
After reading your comments ,wanted to ask you some questions (reply if you can )
1. How many flare up in 20 years .
2.Longest remission period.
3.Advice on diets
thanks
An believer
Hearing your story is very inspirational. My name si Dayna and I have had Colitis for about 8 years. I have been on Colozal for about 5 or 6 and have been in remission the whole time. Well, this week something has changed. I am seeing signs of a flare up (while still taking the medication) and I have been very worried. My worst fear is having to take steroids or ending up having surgery. Before going back to the doctor I wanted to see if there was any success with “home remedies” and I cam across your story. It gives me hope to know that you have found success with this treatment. Your symptoms sound very similar to mine so I am going to try your course of action. I ordered the Garden of Life yesterday and plan of picking up the rest today. My question for you is what is Sazo EN? Is that the medication your doctor has you on? I Googled it and cant find the name anywhere. I have started the relaxation practices, breathing, meditation. Life has been very stressful lately and I am afraid this is my wake up call. My body is talking to me, I better listen.Thank you so much for any input you can give, I am very grateful for it.
Dayna
Sazo EN is Salozopyrin 1000mg prescribed by the doctor. I take one in the morning and one at night. I am still in remission. No symptom what so ever.My daughter is asking me to continue doing what ever i am doing with out changing anything. I am doing just that. Primal defence, slippery elm, Boswellia, along with Sazo EN, folic acid and multivitamin.
Alcohol is a strict no no. From my 20 years of colitis i know that for a fact. And hair colour seems to be a trigger for a flare. I have stopped colouring my hair. I am 53 years old. The grey’s are visible but i dont care .My colitis started when i was 32.
I am fine now, but the evil dragon called UC may be lurking somewhere. I only wish it is gone forever.
hi
i am also living in hyderabad and consulting Dr monoj from same hospital, even after all heavy doses still not going to remission since 1 yr, loosing hope of normal life, recently i started DR harish verma treatment (he is well known Ayur vedic dr from delhi) my remission last for only 1 or 2 weeks then flare up occur but with the help of ayurvedic medicine it settles with a couple of days, still urgency to bathroom is not settling down and lost my Job aswell thanks to this curse, i would be great full to you if u give your contact details to me so that i can discuss in detail about the approach and how can i get those medicines you are taking.
Hi. So you mean the ayurvedic medicine from harish varma did not work at all. they have some tall claims on their website though!
Hi Mirzaji,
My symptoms resembles with yours.I face urgency to pass stools because of that i have lost my job…How ru feeling now ??Has your symptom of urgency gone?
Sorry Mr Mirza i did not see your comment until today. My phone no is 66104817. I think it will be better for you to consult Dr Rupa Banerjee at Asian institute of gastroenterology, as she deals only with Crohn’s and Colitis patients.
Hi Uma, Can you please mention the name of the brands that you use for both slippery elm and Boswellia.
Many thanks in advance.
Hi Concerned, Well the slippery elm is Oregon’s WILD HARVEST, and the other is avesta BOSWELLIA. both are available at the whole food store. Good luck.
i am ashish from india i have UC SINCE 10 years i hve tried asacol steroids . i am taking boswellia serrata . i want to know what dose i take for my UC. IS IT realy work for ulcerative colitis . is there is alternative for steroids.
Hi Ashish, Boswellia helps , but take a good probiotic too. Dont eat spicy food and dont touch alcohol. You must watch what makes you feel better and what worsens your symptoms and manage carefully to bring it under remission. Try to avoid wheat, raw fruits and vegetables, and hard to digest stuff during a flare. Good luck and best wishes. Happy Diwali too. Dont eat too many sweets.
yes and alternative to steroids may be curcumin extract, it acts very like the steroids but without the adverse efects.
i have lots of cramping pain all time . is there any solution naturally.
Hi……. I am a student from canada, suffering with ulcerative colitis, i really need help to cure this problem, i m suffering since 2006……. i tried every possible thing but problem is still there ……….. still have to run to the toilet like 7-8 times, every single day getting red blood through rectum, diarreha is still there…. I m vegeterian so taking only Yellow Daal, roti,and light india foods.. have not even looked at milk since 2006, all kind of milk available here in canada are just killer for me… plzzzzzzzzzzzz help :(
my id is rjsandhuu@hotmail.com feel free to email me thanx!
RJ,
I’m a plant eating pussy too. Last year I eliminated gluten (wheat) from my diet and have been ticketyboo since. Worth a shot dude.
Good luck,
Peter
Hi RJ, As you must be aware there is no cure yet for UC. Hopefully there will be one soon with all the research that is going on.But you can definitely manage it.In addition to the regular medications take a good probiotic i feel that really helps.I am taking Garden of life’s Primal defence.Wheat contains gluten. Some people may be allergic to this.So instead of rotis try well cooked soft white rice.You can eat dhal, vegetable curry and curd with this.Take slippery elm and Boswellia too.These supplements are really good.You must do what works for you.Each one is different.Dont eat spicy food.Minimum spices please.
Get the UC under remission with prednisone, asacol, or what ever it takes and then maintain the remission with diet.Good luck.
Hi Uma ji,
It was great talking to you over phone the other day.. Can i have your email id so that i can write personally to you in case of any need.
Best wishes!
Hi Umaji ,
Good Day!!!
Can you please give me the source from where can i get Primal Defence ???
Thanks
Vishal…
I hope you are continuing to do well. Thank you for stating the brand names, could you also recommend what dosage (mg) you take of each and at what times of day (e.g. before/ after meals, empty stomach, etc). Importantly, whether you are still continuing the combination of probiotic, slippery elm and Boswellia i.e.whether it is still helping (I pray they do).
Best wishes.
Just wanted to say I’ve basically been doing the exact same, along with finding out which foods I have a sensitivity too and eliminating them (dairy, gluten, soy).
I have been 100% for going on 6-7 years now.
Also take psyillium fibre and fish oil, but I think Boswellia and probiotics are the most important (along with not eating the wrong foods).
Good luck everyone!
Metoo, can you share your brands, dosage, and time of day you take fish oil and Boswellia?
TY in advance. Jon
Thanks for your story, Uma. I am suffering from a pretty moderate UC and have a flare at the moment. I believe my UC was initially caused by lots of various migraine medications I had to take. The last prescribed medication sent me immediately into this flare I am trying to combat. I am keeping a strict diet, taking Boswellia, Probiotics, fish oil and alfalfa powder in juice in order to heal the colon. I will certainly try slippery elm too. My question is, once you go into remission, do you still have to keep this strict diet or do you start tolerating more foods? It’s kind of hard to say no to so many tasty and healthy things at the moment :-) Thanks.
I m prince from haryana n i hv uc from 7month.now i m taking 15mg pred. N3.2g mesacol from last 45days.i want to leave the medicne because i m tired to take the med.now i taking kichdi in morning n curd and in lunch 4roti,s and more vegitables and in dinner i take rice n feel better from last 2month.but could anybody tel me from these diets can i extend my weight.i m 5’9″n weight 57 kg.can i add some fruits in my diet before this diseae i had 67 kg weight.one more thing now i also taking extra virgin olive oil which has greatt impacted on me.i m vegitarian thats why i m asking u friends which diets will be helpful in order to increase the weight.thanks frends if anybody has timee for my questions then plz give me suggtions .gud luck all.i m only one son of my mom no sis n bro n23yrold n pursuing b.tech in kuk university.and now i left the the uni. From last 6month.in addion to more i m likely to go to colleage n struugling from life.ye allarhamat karna muj garib par or sab par.
I want to leave the medicne because i can not afford the medicne cost.i m so poor man n hv no job now.this bullsit disease have tottly broken me and my mom.
Hi raj,
U must try the extra virgin olive oil which is very helpful in uc.u can also research on that before try this .it is anti inflammatry oil n give relief from uc.it may be alternatives for u bro.
Hi Prince, you must be lucky that you can tolerate virgin olive oil. I cannot. I do take capsules with fish oil though. I am a vegetarian too but for the sake of this awful disease I decided to take fish oil as an exception. Certain fruits can be tolerated in this condition. I can always eat mangoes, bananas, pears for instance. Citrus fruit and apples are too harsh for the colon during a flare up. I am also struggling with a huge weight loss but I am waiting till the flare up is over to start putting on more weight. I rely fully on herbs for healing as I am sick and tired of medications and their side-effects. Good luck with your treatment. You can continue studying and have UC. I am studying accounting from home. When I eat foods that agree with my colon and do not send me running to the toilet every half an hour, I can work and study with peace. Hang in there!
Thank katie, which fish oil u r using ,i mean which company or how much dose in a day.
Hi Prince, I come from Holland, so I just bought a local generic brand available at the health store. Each capsule has 1000mg fish oil. The manufacturer recommends taking 3 capsules a day. That makes 3000mg for me. I also close to 1250mg boswellia (in capsule form) a day. Alfalfa powder (you can take anything with chlorophyll)mixed with a fresh carrot juice and stinging nettle or dandelion teas should also do the trick of healing the wounds in the colon. I take those every day. That’s also a great source of essential nutrients which we miss due to strict diets.
I heared katie one thing some people says doing smoking is also helpful in uc(nicotine).
I read lots of stuff about it in the Web. Nicotine seems to supress the symptoms of UC and there are certain nicotine patches that can be worn on the skin. Smoking cigarettes can actually be very harmful and can cause cancer and heart problems among others. The nicotine patch can also cause many side-effects. I would not apply it without a doctor’s permission. I myself am trying to go natural and use the most benefitial supplements and foods. We’ll see what the outcome will be!
I come from india katie,thank again dear
Katie when u got uc
I got it somewhere in my late 20’s. I first noticed an unexplainable weight loss. Later a lot of mucous in stools. Then blood. For many years I could just live with it and I didn’t take much notice. This year, as I started a new prescription medication for migraine, things got lots worse. I didn’t want to leave my house because I had to be close to a WC. The next prescription medication made it absolutely unbearable. Then I decided to stop with all those drugs and research on the Internet what I can do for myself without any doctor’s care. Things are getting better, let me tell you. I realize I might always remain sensitive to certain foods and UC doesn’t really go away for good, but I can’t wait for this flare to stop so I can enjoy more foods than now :-)
How about you?
I m student of b.tech final yr of elect.engg.in kuk uni in india.i was a very person took participatte in sports like volleyball n cricet.after giving my 3rd yr exam i come to my home from hostel in jan 2012.at home i i saw little bit blood in my stool.i thought they may be pilles n consulted from doc he told me these are pilles may be one or two.he gave me med but the problem become more day by day .at this time i had not loose motion from till end of march.i took some herbal med but the blood did not at all .then i consulted from other doc because the bloody dirrriha have been started in april.the doc gave me advice u should do endoscopy from gastro.then i .went to the gastro he did endoscopy n biospy from my large intensine.the doc told me u hv uc n u have to take medicne life time .after that i started meds mesacol one in morning n one in eve of2.4g.because i used to toilet four times a day n some meds like folic acid n calcium.i asked doc is there any diet restrictions for this he told u have to stop only milk or u can take anything.but after t2month the hv started again n again because i took more butter n roti n juice of orange n beer.n sweats made by milk.i went to the doc i asked him why it started again n again after two months.he told me it auto immune system.he put me on steroid n then after few weeks i changed this fucked doc.now i m some light foods n more fresh veggies nfeel better from past.now i m on mesacol n pred 15mgn3.2gmesacol.b
I m 23yr old.now i m going to sleep.my no isi 9050029226 if u wana talk with me.u most welcome dear.take care byi.
i want know what helps fatique due to ulcerative colitis. i am feeling more tired due to uc. i want to stop steroids.
Ashish, I have never taken pills for UC (at least not yet). I don’t know if the meds are making you feel weary. If so, you can’t help that until you stop taking these specific medications. I personally find that on the days when I have less diarrhea and I take my alfalfa powder supplements along with bee pollen in my yoghurt, I do have abit more energy than usual. But until the flare subsides, I don’t expect to be really strong and energetic.
Katie plz tel me i m also on steroid n my bones are going so weak day by day .but doc did not give me vitamin d.shouldd i take vitamin d katie.plz rply dear
Prince, I honestly have no idea as I have not had any experience with steroids myself. I do think it’s a good question for your doctor. He has to know about such serious side-effects. Maybe he will wean you off these steroids.
I have U/C since last 1.5 years and i reside in mumbai. I have tried masacol 2 tabs of 400 mg thrice a day but i used to get flare up n remission say each twice a month. Then gradually i started Dr. Harish verma’s medicines with mesacol. Then i reduced masacol and even stopped masacol. Then gradually i stopped masacol. Remission was for about 2 months.
Then i went to Goa for sight seeing and had all kind of eatables for a week. There i got my stomach upset and flare up of U/C. I also developed bleeding piles grade 3. My doctors were unable to dignosis whether bleeding is due to U/C or piles. I changed 3 doctors (all gastro).
My present doctor dignosed and gave me medicines for piles that cured and changed medicines for U/C from masacol to rowasa powder 1 gm twice a day. But he said you have to undergo surgery for piles after remission of U/C but i didnt want it. Thanks to doctor, there was remission for both for 1 month but piles was not fully cured. I took annaproat for 15 days twice a day. Then i again started “annaproat” for piles and “ulcerin” 1 and 2 of Dr. Harish Verma, all 3 medicines 1 daily and continuing “rowasa” powder 1 gm twice daily. By god’s grace i have complete remission for U/C as well as piles and i wish it continue. I have to avoid sweeets, milk and fried n junk food outside. You may also try that.
continue…My main mistake after 2 months of Dr. Harish verma’s treatment was that i even stopped Dr. Harish verma’s medicines after reducing them whereas i was advised to continue the course for 6 months on reduced basis.
continue…Dr. Harish verma’s medicines are good for U/C but it creates (red) constupation which leads to piles so keep in touch with dr. verma and ask him about constupation.
HI Vinodji,
I am planning to start Dr Verma’s medicine…How is your colitis now?
Hi
This is a very positive store. My dad is suffering with the same symptoms. Can you give me the contact info of the doctor you are refering to ?
Thanks
Arjun
I have had U.C. since I was 14. I am now 64. I have not had a flare-up for about 15 years. My secret is keep away from ALL Nsaids. Aspirin Aleve and so on. Keep your vitamin D3 level at 40 or above. A little magnesium at night not too much. Probably the most important is get rid of any Mercury fillings in your teeth. When the last two came out about 3 years ago within a day no more loose stools. That is how I got this in the first place. I went to the dentist came home started getting diarrhea and it never went away. Now 50 years later almost perfect but not quite. I detox SLOWLY by taking Milk Thistle Alpha Lipoic Acid and most important CURCUMIN. Feel Great still go 3 times a day but we all should. Take care everyone and good health.