My Story: When the old treatments don't work anymore

I was looking for alternatives since the old treatments don't work anymore (for me). Today I found your writing. I'm impressed that you continue to respond 6 years after the original posting with nothing to gain except helping others.

MY HISTORY
I was diagnosed with moderate to severe ulcerative colitis in 1984 following years of symptoms, but no blood. I didn't tolerate sulfa drugs (my stomach hurt every day) and the steroid foam enemas made me depressed. The diet they gave me was just "off the shelf."

I accepted what the doctor told me... "there is no cure and you will have it for the rest of your life."

Over the years (decades) I was able to find a diet that worked for me which included fiber (KONSYL worked the best and had no sugar) in the middle of every meal, even if I was out to dinner. No exceptions.

Some flare ups lasted for over a year. Remissions lasted for months or years. I stumbled in and out of remission over the years. I accepted this as my fate.

About 10 years ago, during a "bad" flare, my chiropractor recommended a product called UltraInflamX. It worked great, and combined with ASACOL (Which didn't work originally) and ROWASA enemas at the first sign of a flare, I remained relatively symptom free for years.

THE WRONG DIET
That was until this year. I started a new diet to lose weight that included fruit, vegetables and protein drinks. Stopped UltraInflamx because of the calories (dumb). I lost 20 pounds! But, I went into a flare in August (2008). I didn't want to stop the diet, so I increased the ASACOL dose and added the ROWASA enema. This always brought relief within a month. That was over 4 months ago. My gastroenterologist added steroid suppositories three weeks ago and all that did was make me depressed. Maybe these medications never really worked for me and it was just the normal cycle of my disease. The benefit may have only come from the UltraInflamx and the Konsyl fiber.

MY PLAN
Tomorrow I go back on the UltraInflamX. Only now I'm looking for more. I think I climbed a huge mountain, but stopped short of the top!

MY LAST COLONOSCOPY
First, you need to know that my 3-year colonoscopy (12-19-08) showed only 4 to 6 inches of inflamed tissue. But those few inches are wrecking havoc!

MY QUESTIONS
Thank you for reading this far. I have found it better not to make abrupt changes. My system gets used to a regimen and it's hard to determine what works. I want to try your Vitamin-E enema. I understand that you are not a doctor, but I have found that suffering with a disease teaches more than a classroom can teach a non-sufferer. I would appreciate your opinions:

1. Would you recommend that I start the Vitamin-E enema by alternating nights with the ROWASA enema?

2. How important to you feel it is to avoid fruit? I was under the impression that it was just the processed sugars that were the problem. On the other hand, I have seen what large quantities of bananas, pineapple, and blueberries have done to me over the last year.

3. Did you steadily get better, or was there a cycle to the improvement?

THANK YOU
I'm sure I will have more questions as I proceed. Thank you for helping.

Tweet