Diet and Health FAQ

Tagged As: Natural Cure For Ulcerative Colitis

Question:
My best friend was recently diagnosed with ulcerative colitis.  She has lost nearly 20 pounds already, and is currently using steroid (hydrocortisone) enemas as prescribed by her gastroenterologist this week. I am hoping that some of you might be willing to share with us some natural remedies which you have found to be successful in treating a flare-up and preventing further flare-ups.  She would love to avoid steroids and other medications wherever possible. However, the more I read here and elsewhere online, the more I seem to think that no one is finding relief with natural or alternative remedies...everyone seems to require steroids and other medications. I would appreciate any enlightenment and education you might be willing to share with us.

Answer:
Natural means can supplement treatment, but they should never replace it.  She should not use anything w/o speaking w/ her GI to be sure they don't conflict with the medication she is taking.  Research is showing that most IBD patients will be able to be healthier when on maintenance medication. She should not use anything w/o speaking w/ her GI to be sure they don't conflict with the medication she is taking.  Research is showing that most IBD patients will be able to be healthier when on maintenance medication. Why would you say that supplemental treatment should never replace medication for IBD?  For what reason?  Why would anyone use steroids unless it is absolutely necessary?  Which is precisely why I'm asking...is it absolutely necessary to use hard-core medication in order to achieve a remission and maintain good health?  My friend has had four prior flare-ups, though the first two were not as bad.  But she has always achieved remission on her own, not using these medications.  The reason she has been given the steroid enemas now, is that she finally had a colonoscopy last week, and was officially diagnosed. There HAVE to be SOME natural means of dealing with this illness, aren't there? Right now my daughter is on 5 tablets of Molocure (http://www.molocure.com) and 2grams of Omega 3 fish oil (1gram 2x/day).   She has been off all meds for about 4 weeks now and so far is doing fine. This is all being done under the watchful eye of her GI. I think people need to be careful with natural medicine.  Lots of people come looking in this group for natural remedies, herbal supplements, dietary suggestions, etc.  All great stuff to compliment (and hopefully replace) medication, but it should all be done under the watchful eye of the doctor. When people say they get off all the medications and can stay in remission only using natural means, it's great and I'm proud of 'em for it.  How much is the natural remedy helping vs. how much is coincidence is hard to say.  Remember, if these natural remedies passed double-blind trials and had success rates that matched the other meds, your doctor would be far happier to tell you take them instead!  Most studies show the biggest harm that comes out of natural remedies is people use them without consulting a doctor and instead of using proven medications.  So for something like UC/CD you're intestine is just flaring and scarring away with damage that can never be healed. Why must there be natural treatments for UC, or any other illness? I'm not trying to be contentious. I =am= trying to suggest that you're working from a flawed premise. What, specifically, is wrong with taking medicine, particularly if it works? If you're trying to avoid side effects, natural treatments can cause unwanted side effects, too. You can take your chances, but I don't advise it.  Don't think for one moment that those natural means are not chemicals effecting how your body functions.  The difference between them and medications is medications have been extensively tested and are dose controlled. I read horror stories about the side effects of steroids like prednisone. Can you please tell me what you've experienced in the way of side effects (that you know of anyway...I realize that they can show up only later in life as well.) Also, the doctor only gave her enema steroids so far (the UC runs 20 inches up into her colon from the sigmoid.)  He hasn't given systemic steroids as yet, as he is hoping to relieve the symptoms with this method. Any comments in this regard? Does walking really beneficially massage the colon?  I've never or read anything about that before, but it sounds really nice.  I'm sure my colon could use some good massages. It’s very important to get this disease in remission as quickly as possible to avoid scaring of the bowels.  Prednisone works within a day or two for my daughter.  When she was really bad about 9 months ago, she was on 20mg/day.  Her face got puffy. That was the only side effect. Her second bout was treated with much less Prednisone but with the same effective result and no puffy face.  Other than that, she has had no apparent side effects. I’ve had colitis for over 25 years. I was able to get away from Drs, their drugs and 90% of the suffering 5 years ago by taking a nutritional supplement called multi-enzymes.