Ulcerative Colitis Remedies

I've had ulcertative colitis for over 35 years and have been on medications of one sort or the other for most of that period. For about the last two years I've been either off all meds or have taken an off-label medicine (low dose naltrexone), that apparenty has no known side effects. I no longer feel like a colitis patient; my overall health, including my lipid panel (cholesterol) have improved markedly.

My disease has been mostly limited to the distal (towards the rectum) part of the colon. My GI doc treated me with prednisone (oral hydrocortisone), hydrocortisone suppositories (when my symptoms weren't so bad) or hydrocortisone enemas (when my symptoms were not bad enough to justify prednisone and not under control enough to justify the suppositories. I'm highly allergic to sulfa (azulfadine) and asacol and asacol like drugs (which have a sulfa molecule bound to aspirin in the case of asacol).

A colonoscopy in 2009 found that my disease had spread, for the first time, throughout the colon, yet my symptoms weren't all that bad; my GI doc suggested strong immunosuppressive medications which I didn't want to take.

Since my symptoms weren't that bad I decided to look for alternative treatments, which, have completely changed my life and my overall health for the better.

After diligent research on the web I tried these treatments which each has seemed to help. In combination, I now feel like a new person.

Probiotics - more is better. The ones you buy at the health food store mostly don't cut it. Look at VSL#3 (can be special ordered with a Rx at most pharmacies) which has 250Billion colonies per packet (I find the packet more effective than the tablets for some reason). VSL#3 has been clinically proven in peer reviewed studies to help colitis.

I also take Probiotics (search google) 11 strain probiotic powder and for a year I took a probiotic (hard to get in US but is sold over the counter in Canada and is manufactured in Germany). I found an alternative medicine doc who recommended and wrote an rx; a pharmacy in the US purchases this expensive probiotic from Canada where it is sold relatively inexpensively.

I took multiprobiotic in the AM before breakfast, VSL#3 before lunch and Probiotics before dinner or before bed.

I also saw an alternative care physician who recommended I eat a diet she called an 'anti inflammatory diet' where you consciously try to avoid sugar spikes in the blood. A book called 'Beating Cancer Though Nutrition' discusses the concept and many web sites are available to discuss what to do.

Briefly: eat protein first and avoid high glycemic carbs (see www.nutritiondata.com), avoid sugar, fructose etc.

My waist size dropped from 36 to 34 on this diet and the love handles that I lived with since my 20s on prednisone disappeared. My HDL went up (the good cholesterol) and my LDL went down (the bad cholesterol) and I looked and felt great.

With diet and probiotics I was able to significantly reduce the slight symptoms I had.

After about 6 months I ran across a diet called SCD diet (Specific Carbohydrate Diet) which I understand has helped thousands if not hundreds of thousands with colitis problems. I incorporated some of the ideas from this diet and made the decision to eliminate wheat from my diet. I believe I was getting a sub-clinical reaction to wheat consistent with what is called Leaky Gut Syndrome.

I lost more weight and felt even better after eliminating wheat. I would cheat a little bit, once in a while, but overall was wheat free.

I ran across the work of Dr. William Davis, a cardiologist who promotes a diet similar to the one I was on for people with heart disease or who want to prevent heart disease proactively. I joined his Track Your Plaque program and read his book (today he has a book you can purchase from Amazon). I also embraced what is called a Paleo diet and the advice of a blogger named Mark Sisson. I don't eat as much meat as most Paleo people or Mark Sisson seem to, but otherwise am now on a Davis/Paleo/Sisson program.

My waist went from 36 to 32; I have a six pack. I weigh the same today as when I graduated college. I am fit, healthy and I eat as much as I want, whenever I want and I don't gain weight and I had almost no colitis symptoms.

In February 2011 I started to have some mild colitis symptoms; I wasn't taking any Rx meds for any condition at this time; strickly the program described above.

I sought out a local doc (San Francisco) who has incorporated a very small (one tenth the usual dose) of naltrexone, called LDN or Low Dose Naltrexone. LDN shows tremendous promise for treating MS, Crohns, Ulcerative Colitis, several cancers and basically any autoimmune disease; search google.

I started LDN in April of 2011 and my remaining colitis symptoms simply dissapeared and have been gone ever since. LDN is not something you take by itself; you need to employ other lifestyle changes; to me it was the last boost I needed to feel completely disease free.

In February 2012 I had another colonoscopy and the doc said I had very mild inflammation in the distal part of the colon and the rest of the colon looked normal. He said the inflammation I had was no big deal and I should keep doing what I'm doing.

As they say in the automobile advertisements: your mileage may vary. Overall, low glycemic eating is helpful for any autoimmune disease, weight loss without actually counting calories.

Hope this helps someone else.

Kay, I had horrible bouts of this for years. I had surgery to remove most of my lower intestine.

Tried everything. Really could not leave my house. I finally found relief. It was in Teds remedies here on E.C.

DHEA and Melatonin. The high dose DHEA and Melatonin reset everything. I had been so exhausted from it all. A real miracle.
50mg DHEA in the am 5mg Melatonin at bedtime. I was better the first day. Normal by the second. This is based on 130lb person for the Dhea. I think the melatonin is fine at 5 mg, my husband is much larger than I and we only upped his DHEA.

I stayed on it for 5 days. I honestly thought it was some fluke, for $15 and a little faith the horrible could be overcome.

I now take DHEA 2 or 3 x a month and melatonin a few days a week. Janet

Hello Ted, I just wanted to tell you that You SAVED MY LIFE. I was diagnosed UC almost 1 year ago. My entire colon was UC. Doctor gave me Asacol and Canasa. They worked 3-4 months, after that stopped. I have done SCD diet. Scd diet worked for awhile after 5 months stopped to work. I was going to bathroom 20 times a day with bloody diarrhea.

I found your article on this website. I have been using humic acid 3 months. It cured my UC. As far as I can see that people can not find Humic acid on the web. I would like to suggest 2 website link. People can find them. Thank you so much, this has changed my life!

1. website (cheaper)

http://www.iherb.com/Morningstar-Minerals-Vitality-Boost-HA-Mineral-Supplement-32-oz-946-ml/16746?at=0

2. website (expensive)

http://www.supremefulvic.com/products.php

I'm the same guy that wrote my experience back in 2012. Praise God I'm still living a normal life and have completed many Ironman triathlons. There is hope!!! The brand I've used is Morning Star Minerals- Vitality Boost HA.

Take 1oz in fruit juice or non chlorinated water (very important).

If that doesn't work, you can up the doze. I started at 1oz and was up to 2ox twice a day at the beginning. With time, I was able to reduce that. I now only take it occassionally.

Hope this helps

Raw apple cider vinegar is alkaline producing so I think it would be beneficial for those suffering from colitis. Here is a list of alkaline/acid producing foods. http://rense.com/1.mpicons/acidalka.htm

Remember that it doesn't matter what the food's ph is or what it tastes like that determines whether or not it has an alkaline or acid effect on the body. For eg., after digestion, citrus fruits are alkaline forming in the body and animal products are acid forming.

Pedro, please search more about organic Apple Cider Vinegar. It is acidic in its natural form but once it enters your body it is in its alkaline form. ACV is one of the best remedies for UC.

Colitis: Slippery Elm Powder

Slippery elm kick-started my return to good colonic health. After enduring several years of extreme colitis symptoms I spent a whole week without food except for a teaspoonful of slippery elm powder mashed with banana. It can be mixed with water but it is a bit of an art. I preferred the banana method.

This was taken first thing in the morning and again in the evening before bed. Sipping only water all day, taking hot baths and lots of rest. Going to bed no later than 9 or 10 O'clock ensured that my colon had plenty of opportunity to heal itself.

The first 4 days were spent feeling weak and lethargic but I feel that it was my body busy repairing itself. By day 7 I was symptom free. From then on it was a matter of avoiding harmful food and drinks and generally living a less stressful and abusive lifestyle.

The slippery elm powder I am convinced gave me the encouraging cure start that I needed.
Carl

A dietary change helped cure Ulcerative Colitis, after much suffering and trying different things

The carnivore diet with a little bit of honey and some specific fruit seemed to cure it.

Germinated Barley Foodstuff (Mai Ya) for Ulcerative Colitis

There have been studies done on GBF that show it reduces clinical activity and mucosal inflammation in Ulcerative Colitis. I know that every time I have gone into remission, I've started taking this supplement. I recently had another flare, which was getting progressively worse, but as soon as I started taking Mai Ya, the urgency decreased, and is decreasing day by day. Just for clarification, Mai Ya is the Chinese herb that, I think, corresponds directly to Germinated Barley Foodstuff, on which the studies were done. I've been taking two grams twice daily (one gram of the supplement equals 10 grams of the bulk herbs.)

The people who tell you to juice or eat raw do not know what serious UC, Crohn's, or ibs-d really is. Do not listen to them, you will hurt yourself. To calm your gut, try brown rice (L---bergs has no arsenic). This packs your gut with soothing mucilage that absorbs toxins and lets them exit. Then eat well-cooked vegetables, adding them slowly to your diet. Then proceed to well cooked fish or chicken as tolerated. You have to do what soothes your gut, not causes more irritation.

Just wanted to add to my earlier comment. When your gut is inflamed and raw, you need to soothe it and then work at keeping it calm moving forward. Raw has lots of insoluble fiber, which acts as a brillo pad on your insides. You want soluble fiber--the stuff that gets gooey (mucilagineous). This is what you get from applesauce, lima beans and anything that is very mashable when cooked. There are herbs, too, that generate mucus, which coats the gut linings and further acts to protect it. This is like marshmallow and slippery elm, among others. Other things, like glutamine, help to restore the gut lining. The problem with all these suggestions is that you do not get an overnight cure. It can take years and not really cure it, just make it manageable. Do research and read as much as you can, make a notebook and keep track of what you tried and how it worked. Also keep track of how you eat, sleep, exercise, etc. You will notice a pattern--when I do a,b & c, I feel better. When I do x, y and z I get worse. 2 things I highly recommend are bone broth and kefir. Start with bone broth, as much as you like. It will nourish you and provide the building blocks for healing. Eventually, once your insides have calmed down a bit, add the kefir very slowly, maybe a teaspoon per day to start. It will give you plenty of probiotics as well as minerals and vitamins, is usually well tolerated, and is easy to make at home so you have plenty on hand. Really, you have to go back to bare basics and get calmed down before you can hope to proceed. It's tough, but what is 2 weeks when you have the rest of your life ahead of you?

I have had what I feel sure is ulcerative colitis for quite a few years now and because I didn't want to used prescription drugs I tried Turmeric. It took 5 weeks before it began to kick in and the relief I felt from not having to lie awake at night with the pain was wonderful! If you want to try this you could probably use something for the pain until it kicks in for you?

I use the bulk organic turmeric from iherb and fill double 00 capsules, I found this as good if not better than the extract tablets and a lot cheaper too. [Do use disposable gloves whilst filling the capsules or you'll end up with yellow fingers! ]'

I take two of these capsules with every meal and have found this suits me. A few times I tried to cut down the doses but the symptoms started to re-appear, so I've pretty much kept to the same dosage for years now, with NO side effects.

I hope that other people with the same awful problem will find this useful.

Best wishes, Angela.

Im not usually a blogger - but feel it necessary to write about my positive experiences. I have first flare up of UC around 4 months ago. Following numerous tests and colonoscopies my GI prescribed Pred and MP60 pills. Both of which were horrible for my system, I put on weight, lost hair, felt tired and irritable. After the course had finished, nothing had worked, so my GI upped the doses and I started all over again. Once again it failed to get me into remission.

I then (after finishing the course) put aside western medicine, and tried some eastern cures. First attempt was using pro-biotic tablets, I used it for 2 weeks, and it didnt really do much for me. Then I turned to cats-claw tablets, again no real response. Finnally I stumbeled across Aloe Vera. This worked instantly for me. One shot in the morning orally and once again in the evening. Withing 2 days I noticed the bleeding and the bloating reducing, and within a week it had fully subsided. I now keep one gallon in my fridge, and whenever I have flareups (like last night) quick dosage of AV nips the UC in the bud and I return to normal life. I have no adverse side effects from AV (appart from the horrible taste! ). I also adjusted my diet, I reduced dairy and carbonated drinks, and reduced cafine. I also stared yoga and running more often. I can say emphatically that AV along with diet and more excercise has changed my life!

Hi Kay,

May I suggest a non-toxic, no side effects (except possible sleep disturbances for a week or so), inexpensive, FDA approved at 50 mg/day but used at low doses of 1.5-4.5 mg/day drug to help with your UC? It is LDN or low dose naltrexone. Here is an article on it that may interest you:

https://cureforulcerativecolitis.com/treatment-options-2/ldn

The official site is www.ldninfo.org

At the top of this site is a reference to a Yahoo LDN Group with over 13,000 people who use LDN for a variety of diseases. You can join and ask any questions you may have. They are very willing to share experiences and answer your questions. It is often used in conjunction with a gluten and sugar-free diet for UC or Crohn's, but not always. At about $45/month for compounded LDN capsules, or even less if you get it elsewhere, it may really be something worth trying to improve your health and give you some relief.

Best wishes.

WHICH Vitamin E supplements were supposedly shown "to enhance lipid coated viruses ability to replicate" ...? Synthetic ...?

This is VERY IMPORTANT ... Because Synthetic vitamin E is known to be either less or non-effective ... and there are more than one type of natural Vitamin E ... "[Studies] examining the role of vitamin E in the immune system have typically focused on α-tocopherol; however, emerging evidence suggests that *other* *forms* of vitamin E, including other tocopherols as well as tocotrienols, may also have potent immunomodulatory functions.

"Future research should continue to identify and confirm the optimal doses for individuals at different life stage, health condition, nutritional status, and genetic heterogeneity. Future research should also characterize the effects of non-α-alpha-tocopherol vitamin E on immune cell function as well as their potential clinical application...."

Regulatory Role of Vitamin E in the Immune System

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30501009/https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30501009/

Actually hydrogen peroxide comes in food grade. It is amazing for many different ailments.

Dear Freakzilla154,

Colitis, IBS, Crohn's disease, Ulcerative colitis are just names of infections of the bowels. Like an infection of a kidney can give you kidney failure, an infection of the bowel gives us all what I like to call bowel failure ( Colitis, IBS, Chron's disease, Ulcerative colitis, Ulcers, you name it). To reach your health again, you have to treat the infection causing your bowel failure. The first big bug than can causes those bowel failures is bacterium avium, which most doctors misdiagnose. This bug will suppress the immune system and invade all your body including your bowels. You will feel extreme fatigue and bowel failure. What you can do to treat this bug is to take H2O2 therapy. You can also drink ozonated water 6 times a day to kill the bug. I have read that magnetic pulser can destroy this bug. You have to take also ionic silver or colloidal silver internally everyday in order for you to weaken the bacteria. Ted also said that borax also kills those mycoplamas. Since your immune system is suppressed by this bacteria (AIDS like state is attributed to this bacteria), you have to take selenium, zinc, magnesium, potassium, 2000U VitD3, Vitamin B complex. You have also to ch-elate your mercury by EDTA or some humic acid or chlorella.

Candida also can be a cause, but Candida in many cases is just a symptoms of mycobacterium avium infection. Killing the mycobacteria will definitely kill the candida. Hope that will help you a bit

try bi carb soda for ulcerative colitis! It will corrrect bad flora in the gut and reduce symptoms quickly. 1 teaspoon in a glass off water 3 times per day.

I would like to tell you for 7 years we have been trying to find a cure for our daughter Natalie with chronic ulcerative colitis, she was just about to have her colon removed when a friend told us about black strap molasses. Within a week of taking 1 teaspoon daily she has been in complete remission and said she has never felt better am so grateful. I have been taking it too and have found a big improvement in my well being and nervous system. regards Judy Harrison

L-Glutamine (high dose): Upon the suggestion of a nutritionist I went to see, she claimed she didn't have a single ulcerative colitis patient to a L-glutamine. The one she gave me has a high dose of L-Glutamine along with other herbs like Slippery Elm and Marshmallow Root and not much else (sorry I don't have a bottle here). It's a powder you mix with water every morning 1/2 hour before you eat anything and you need to do this for 3-5 weeks before you see results. And let me tell you I was shocked in 3w when it finally went away after over a year of daily attacks.

The premise of how it works is that when you have impaired digestion, your body doesn't break down proteins efficiently causing you to become deficient in amino acids. L-Glutamine is the amino acid necessary for rebuilding you intestinal wall which sheds itself every 5 days or so? and without that amino acid becomes damaged. By giving yourself pure form, in liquid (requiring no digestion of pills etc) you give your intestines what it needs to make a healthy lining. It was really mad at the time that something so simple recommended by a nutritionist of all people cured my colitis when I had spent huge $$$ seeing naturopathic Dr's, chinese herbalists and acupuncturists, some of which helped temporarily but the L-glutamine was the magic ticket for me.

It took a lot longer for my digestion to return to normal but the L-glutamine totally took care of my diarrhea, spasms and bleeding in 3w of faithfully drinking it every morning.

I just wanted to mention to be wary of psyllium fiber. The first ND I tried gave me a supplement so close to the one that worked but it made me worse and I know now that I can't take psyllium fiber AT ALL, but I can handle the flax fiber in this drink. And I also discovered that multi-vitamins cause me to bleed. I can only take whole food vitamins. Two things you might want to watch out for.

I had was diagnised with severe ulcerative colitis and given steriods which I refused to take, held out and had acupuncuture reflexology each week, started on Tumeric and aloe vera juice everyday, along with higbee propolis bee pollen,echinacea etc, it cleared up, still take the aloe juice and recently had a flare up, jjust the start of bleeding etc, and immediatly reverted back to tumeric, etc, as above cleared up, without doctors orders.

In other words, drink buttermilk. We learned in cooking class that if you didn't have buttermilk, you could make some by adding some lemon to milk. It makes sense! Buttermilk contains all of the B vitamins!!!

I was diagnosed with UC 2 weeks ago. I've had this on and off for several years and have done a good deal of reading on this subject and it's causes, treatments, and cures (which so far none is know, but there are lots of things to try). I just started on Lialda a few days ago and have had some really severe cramping with constant "d" which I think is referred to as a flare on most of the internet.

As for the cause of UC, at this point after a good deal of reading on the net and watching a PBS program, I'm inclined to think that UC might just be a case of various severe food allergies as it's basis. I found doing/taking 4 things helped with the cramping, 1)& most important to stop all gluten & dairy & reduces other foods that cause "d" within 30 min of eating them, 2) a(1) hi potency probiotic; 3)30 min later "2" 500 mg of Quercetin & 4) 2 hr later a packet of the Rx Cholestyramine (it's an old Rx for stopping "d", that works for me. So for right now, that regiment stops my cramping and "d"for the rest of the day.

Also today, 2nd day of taking Lialda, my Dr.told me to cut back to 1 Lialda every other day, that they might be too strong for me (Important....I read, do not cut them to take 1/2 half a tablet or half a dosage, that will not work) Also, today, I talked with my health food store, (Sprouts, in east county of San Diego) told me about their client who had used the herbal mushroom Chaga who had very good and dramatic results with this UC. Since I'd researched, read, & taken Chaga in the past I was not worried about taking it and decided it give it a try to see if it would help me with my UC. Today I took 1 Chaga at about 3pm and it had dramatic results within in 30 min, on the physical, energy and cognitive level(fog lifted). I'm not recommending this, I'm just saying that it worked (so far) for me. Hopefully this helps some others.

Ulcerative Colitis:

Open up a capsule of 600 mg of sodium butyrate and mix with warm water, add 1 tsp of l glutamine. Use as an enema and retain over night. Twice if possible once in am and once pm. Read up on butyrate, a probiotic for the human gut. Can taken orally at the same time when eating a meal (600 mg). More effective as an enema. Take Activated charcoal when going to bed. Watch diet. Avoid sugar, include fruits that are sweet. Incorporate kimchi, raw fermented food.

I wanted to report back on my wonderful healing. After almost three weeks of being off all my 'health' foods that contained Carrageenan I am almost totally back to normal after suffering all of 2015 with ulcerative colitis. I was also taking whole leaf aloe vera juice ( the gel contains carrageenan) and also a slippery elm capsule instead of turmeric for inflammation. This has been nothing short of a miracle for me as I could barely leave the house or sleep at night. I am so grateful to God. Please be cautious as to what the ingredients are in your healthy regimen. You never know what can cause an adverse effect.

I was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis via biopsy during colonoscopy. I am allergic to the drug used to treat UC and was advised by regular MD there was nothing they could do. Dr said if I didn't find a way to get it under control on my own I only would last about 5 years. After bleeding internally for 1.5 years going a D.O., ARNP, DC & acupuncturist, helped me get it completely under control.

Here is how: Chiropractor found I was highly intolerant to wheat, that was the first I eliminated. so no wheat, no gluten.

Further food logs revealed no more dairy either. There are other foods that I found as triggers & I avoid them and the regimen I take daily is:

4 probiotics a day they also contain a yeast cleanse this is crucial. I get them from AST enzymes on line. When I tried to take less I found myself catching the colds and flu bugs everyone else was getting. At this dose I seem to never catch what everyone else is getting.

I tried every other brand of probiotics and was super sick due to the dairy. Also tried non-dairy I ordered on line but didn't work.

I drink psyllium husk this is a bulking fiber it helps sweep the intestines and keep bowels regular

I take omega 3 every day to reduce inflammation

I take Quercetin 500 mg a day this is to help with the allergic components.

I eat whole foods only and very little processed foods such as gluten free bread. Very little meat as it causes inflammation. Drs. said no pork although I do cheat and eat a small amount here and there. Eating alkaline foods and no acidic foods is very important

It is highly likely you may have a yeast problem which was confirmed for me in a stool sample. In order to get rid of it you have to eliminate sugar and take the probiotic yeast cleanse I mentioned earlier.

A food log is the best way to start. Aloe Vera juice did not help me nor did a lot of the other over the counter natural things. To a speedy recovery!

Try slippery elm capsules for all intestinal issues. Take at least 2 capsules with a full glass of warm water about one half hour before all meals. They are not expensive, just make sure its a good brand. Slippery elm will coat stomach and intestines. No side effects.

I Cured U.C

Apple Juice, store bought 4 glasses a day, having suffered for 7 years with heartburn and brown blood and mucous in stools daily after 3 days all symptoms entirely gone.

Had tried bicarb regularly to get rid of the heartburn, now I have no heartburn either, I did have a bit but a teaspoon of white vinegar got rid of it on two occasions and then a 3rd occasion I used apple cider vinegar.

Also have had fresh lemon juice and honey a few times.

Can't promote enough to those with brown blood and mucous in stools, try apple juice about four glasses a day, totally has cured me first 5 days in a row with not one symptom and I feel like I did when I was a kid ( almost : )

Oh yeah sexual function has gone from uh oh to finely, back to normal... Even better actually ; )

I was very worried for years... not now worried at all.

Just wanted to Yay you :) That's pretty awesome. I know how amazing apples are (an apple a day...) so I suppose that's a clue. Glad to hear your amazing recovery, and why I love EC!