Intro:
I am a 53 year old female living in Ohio. I was diagnosed at age 34 with Ulcerative Colitis left side.
Stress is definitely my trigger for flare ups. I have never noted any foods or drinks, except for caffeine when I’m having a flare up that bother me. I typically have one flare up a year and have only had one really bad episode where I was laid out on the couch for 2 weeks and lost 20 pounds. I am currently on Colazal 9 pills a day and just coming off a round of prednisone.
recent picture of Debra!
Some more about Debra:
I live in Ohio and love to walk. I walk daily and try to go to as many walk-a-thons in the area as I can find. I also like to fish. My husband and I go fishing in Ohio and in Florida whenever we get down there.
Symptoms:
I am just coming off a flare up, ( I am planning a 50th birthday party for my husband and of course got stressed). The prednisone has cleared up all the symptoms except for a anal fissure which I tend to get with my flare ups.
Debra’s Story:
Diagnosed in 1997 when I was 34 yrs old and planning my wedding. Stress is my trigger for UC. I started out on Asacol 3 pills a day and am now on Colazal 9 pills a day. I typically have one flare up a year and always at a stressful time, or when I’ve tried to lower my dosage. I am put on prednisone for those and it clears it up. I stumbled across Graham Lees’ insights to EVOO while googling the benefits of Ozonated Olive Oil for anal fissures (which I tend to get with my flare ups). I am extremely excited to finally find some natural help for my UC and also about to cry because I never saw this website before! Needless to say I’ve got my husband in the shower now getting ready to head to the Vitamin Shop to get some L-Glutamine, Astaxathin and a higher dose of Probiotic. My doctor actually suggested a Probiotic but never mentioned how much. I went to the Vitamin Shop and got the Ultimate Flora 30 Billion but it didn’t seem to help so I quit taking it. I will now go get the 50 Billion and the other things listed and see if I can finally get off these drugs! I will also be buying the EVOO and giving that a try.
My question for others is how do you know when to get off the drugs you are currently taking and do you go off the pills completely or taper them off slowly? I’d also like to know if there is there a best time to take the natural remedies.. I noted that Bev said she took the L-Gutamine at lunch time, and someone else mentioned they took the Probiotics in the evenings, and Graham says EVOO 3 tablespoons a day so I’m assuming with your 3 meals. I’m a organized person and scheduled times work best for me lol.
Medications / Natural Treatments
I’ve never tried to treat my UC with natural remedies, because most the sites I’ve looked at for UC are medical and just tell you to take medicine. I did try probiotics after my Dr mentioned it, but I believe it was too low a dose plus I wasn’t trying anything with it, so it didn’t appear to work.
written by Debra S
submitted in the colitis venting area
I am a 53 year old female living in Ohio. I was diagnosed at age 34 with UC left side. Stress is definitely my trigger for flare ups. I have never noted any foods or drinks, except for caffeine when I’m having a flare up that bother me. I typically have one flare up a year and have only had one really bad episode where I was laid out on the couch for 2 weeks and lost 20 pounds. I am currently on Colazal 9 pills a day and just coming off a round of prednisone.
