No, but at this point, I'm willing to try just about anything. I've been abandon by my doctor because he denies the painful side effects of Remicade that I'm experiencing and he blames it on my Crohn's disease.

Let us know how things work out for you.
Best, H

Considering it myself, since none of my current meds are working. Plus my crazy doc wants me on a med that I've told him I'm allergic to.

I know how you feel. My meds aren't working for me anymore either and my doctor wants me to enter into clinical trials. Not feeling too happy about my options.

Will be looking into naturopath sometime this month as my medical coverage finally covers a decent amount. Unfortunately it's expensive to see one!! I'll let you know how it goes when I finally do it.

Yes, I went to a very well known Homeopathic Dr. in the Phx area last March to May and was finally admitted into Mayo Clinic in the ER. My Homeopathic Dr. firmly suggested against it, but I was so sick and bedridden all that time, I could only make it to his appts. Remember they use no Western medicine and heal from a cellular level that can take years. I had blood clots in my legs and C-DIFF colon infection, was malnourished from severe diarrhea and needed blood transfusions from the loss of blood. The Homeopathic Dr. told me that my UC was caused from a bad root canal, so I had to go to a Homeopathic Dentist for oral surgery. $4000.00 to each one of those Drs. and I was almost dead when I got to Mayo Clinic. Mayo told me I was one of the lucky ones if you remember Steve Jobs.He would still be alive if he would have listened to more than the Homeopaths, cancer metastasizes and UC can cause colon cancer . I say this to tell you that I was sure I was doing the right thing. until I fell out of bed and had to be taken to emergency. I cannot tell you how bad it was. I was homebound for another 4 months and could not drive. I ended up on blood thinners, was in a wheel chair, strong antibiotics for the C-DIFF, found out that I had CMV another viral infection in my colon, which they had to treat with antiviral medication. four colonoscopies and the threat of colon removal. I am now in remission. I am taking 150 mg of Imuran, 9 capsules of Balsalazide and down to 10 mg prednazone. I think of that period of time when I thought the Homeopathic treatment would heal me and how foolish I now feel that I spent so much money on drops to put in my water, and full body scans to show inflammation, and tests that showed I had high lead and on and on, but nothing ever helped the UC. Be very cautious and don't believe that the little bottles of drops are going to do anything special for you right away. I call that period of time my learning experience, so as not to get too angry that these people are allowed to practice their religion on really sick people and of course there are signs everywhere where they cannot be held responsible for any treatment given.

Sorry I hit the button by accident to send. I am not good at this, really am a creeper, I read everything here on this website, but have been too sick to respond. I am doing so much better now and hope to get off the Balsalazide and prednazone soon. G I appt. tomorrow. I don't like to take the drugs either, but hope that new treatments are on the horizon, that's what I have been tol, so God Bless and hope this helped you a little bit at least.
Sincerely,
Raindown

i haven't - i tend to be reluctant to trust these kind of practitioners (not for any real reason, just my own quirk), however, i have had a lot of success with diet. When i eliminate grains, sugar and dairy, i feel great, full remission. As soon as i start eating those things again, i flare. I'm not saying this is for everyone, but i think diet is worth investigating. cheaper than naturopath or homeopath, no side effects, no risk. Paleo diet seems like the best option for me. Again. not for everyone, we're all snowflakes. good luck!

Raindown,
I'm so sorry to hear about all that you went through! That's crazy. One of my coworkers has been pushing me to see a homeopathic doctor for a long time now. I see her taking these drops and things and thought that she is nuts. I know for myself that I would never stop the meds that I am on.. even if they only help some of my symptoms. So if they wanted me to stop them all together there is no way in HELL that I would give them up. In which case, it would not be for me.
I'm glad that you're doing better right now. Thank you so much for your imput. Your message only confirmed (and more) what I feared may happen if I were to stop what I was on all together.

Terrifico,
I just recently started researching the paleo diet and am very interested in it. Will be buying some of the cookbooks soon too to try. Also, the quirk about not trying the naturopath and homeopath is something that I feel too. I just don't really believe in it. But I am about willing to try anything. Haven't done it yet and I feel like if I really felt confident about it I would have called and made an appointment by now. Thanks for your imput as well!

It seems to me that its hard to know which alternate medicine practitioners are good and which are scary.

there are some herbal meds that have evidence of being helpful for IBD, for example turmeric. the Curcumin in it reduces inflammation, and while i was taking the supplements, i did feel better - could be coincidence, but when i cheaped out and stopped buying them, i flared.

raindown, let me be angry on your behalf. It pisses me off to know end when I hear about homeopathic doctors being so freakin' arrogant as to not recognize when the situation is completely out of their league.

I've had blood clots, both in my lungs and limbs. They are so dangerous. If you have IBD you have a higher risk for blood clots than someone without IBD. There have been people on the Pulmonary Embolism group here on DS who were told by homeopathic doctors to not take warfarin, but rather take a natural alternative supplement. We had a chiropractor come on the board and tell people that they were nothing but sheep to drug companies for using warfarin, scaring people into believing they were harming themselves by taking it. One person was seeing a chiropractor and he was pushing her to come off warfarin. I mean, it's insane that people are being manipulated this way in the name of taking a "natural" approach. It's so irresponsible.

I think a complimentary / holistic / natural approach is not a bad thing in itself. I've tried acupuncture for the pain associated with my UC, and some supplements to see if there would be some positive outcomes for my UC, but I've always done it while on my current meds. We have to really trust our instincts about what sounds like good advice and what sounds like rubbish. If you do see a holistic practitioner, I'd interview them first before having them start treatment, just to have a very clear idea of what they were about, what their approach is, how they feel about you continuing to see your GI, how they feel about you taking medications as needed etc.

I tried going to an acupuncturist to help with my UC who also prescribed various 'naturopathic' or alternative medicines. Based on a 'finger' strength test I was prescribed powdered urchin. Nasty stuff. Anyway, it did not help and if anything it made me worse. After using it for about a week I went in again and she almost freaked out about how anemic I looked. Told me to stop using it and said I might need to go to the hospital. It was a Friday and I told her I would go home and eat some bananas, drink gatorade, etc. I think I drank ensure also at that point. Anyway, made me feel a lot better. Yeah, that was the end of my 'alternative' meds. I had also done a lot of research on my own and tried a lot of various supplements. NONE of which seemed to help at all.

I think there is a place to ADD some of these alternatives to western meds, but don't depend on a Naturopath and discard the western drugs. Many people have died doing that. It might work for some people, but if you are not feeling the 'vibe' then don't let your co-worker push you into it.

Boy can I relate. When I first was diagnosed with UC everybody and their Uncle had something for me to try or someone for me to go see. I finally got to the point that I knew more about it than they did. I was the expert on UC and MY body. Not them. So, when someone would tell me I should talk to so and so, I would tell them thank you and then not do it! LOL

As for your co-worker. Tell her that you are happy for her that it is helping her, but you are not interested. You don't have to justify it to her either. Just Thanks, but No Thanks. And brush it off. This is your body and you have to follow your gut. Her gut told her to do it and it seems to help her. I'm not saying it doesn't help people. I'm just saying it doesn't help everyone. And it is more important to do what you feel is right for you.

I was open to the idea of the alternative meds working for me. They didn't. That is just how it goes. Good luck and hope you feel better soon. I hope everyone feels better. IBD is not fun for anyone.

Thank you for your reply.
I have been hesitant to try anything new for a long time. And I think that I posed this question on here almost hoping to hear from people about experiences where it hasn't worked... almost like finding out that what I was afraid of was actually true. And so far it seems like that might be the case.
I have told my coworker that I am just not comfortable trying something that doesn't include western medicine. Just on a hunt now to help my condition through diet as well as the meds that I'm currently taking.
Thank you so much for your imput! It is much appreciated. All of you! =)

I feel like I have literarily tried everything.... I have been in a flare since 2007 but in December it got the worst it ever was. I had to go for 3 iron transfusions and I was at my wits end. So I spent $600 on a natural path. I did my research and thought he would be able to help me... He made it worse, and told me to follow the paleo diet which I was already doing.

So I was just getting sicker and sicker, more blood more pain and less energy. Then like a week and half ago I met a lady on a crohns and colitis fourm on Facebook and started talking to her about how she had been flare free. She started to use essential oils. I have heard of them before but was scared to use them since they aren't regulated.
The more I talked to her the more I learnt about this company called young living.
They produce essential oils and have been around for 20 years. They have a seed to seal promise where they test each of there oils and they are good to ingest.

So being willing to try anything i spent the $150 on a starter kit with 11 oils a difuser, that was 7 days ago.

I have slept through the nights!!!!!! Like 0 bathroom breaks last night slept through the night. I went from at least 10 bathroom breaks at night to 0.
A week ago I had a minimum on 8 sores in my mouth at all times. Now I have a tiny little one that's pretty much gone.
My legs that were swollen like bee stings from erythma nodusum only have a small bruise left....
I am happy and my cramping and bloating has gone down.
I want to eat!!!
I haven't taken my anxiety meds (lorazepam) for 5 days....
I seriously want to cry and scream on a roof top to all of us suffering with these insane diseases that there is something that will help the quality of our lives!!!

I didn't expet a miracle that my crohns and uc would go away , but I also didn't expect it to make such a difference so quickly.... Even my boyfriend with insomnia is now sleeping through the night.

I feel so lucky to have found these.

Umpienkn, you cant have both Crohns and UC. You have either UC or Crohns. UC is a disease of the lining of the Colon. UC does not turn into Crohns. You have either. If you have UC and your colon is removed you are cured. Many times UC is misdiagnosed and really is Crohns. You can have Crohns/Colitis which is Crohns of the Colon. Crohns can affect all layers of the colon and your whole digestive tract. Sara Ringer has a very good blog about this whole subject. I personally do not believe in homeopathic cures for UC or Crohns. I believe many of these practitioners are out to make a buck along with the companies that make their medicines. Raindown, I am sorry you had to suffer with your experience with these practitioners. I am glad the Mayo Clinic treated you. I have had Crohns for 40 years now with three resections. Humira is the only medicine that has worked for me besides using Prednisone for temporary relief of a flare. Crohns is a disease that can go in remission and that is when I think people believe they are cured but in time the disease almost always comes back. My advise to Firefly709 is to proceed with caution. I would not recommend homeopathic doctors or cures but that is my opinion and you should listen to others before making a decision. I wish you the best.

Bart4u there are many different views on if you can have both. They are two desperate diseases. Don't be so hard on the girl. Geesh! And just for the record I am on meds for my crohns but def am doing naturopath for other medical issues and love it.

I am still learning about all this only 2.5 years in. I was told I had UC, then after going to another (better in my opinion) hospital, I was told after all the testing, that I have Crohns not UC.
Had Terminal Ilium removed and am now on Humira.

I, personally, would not use only the homeopathic treatments,especially since pre-cancerous polyps have been found. I want the best possible treatments I can get.

I don't claim to be an expert, but am open to learning all I can about this disease.