Tough times
My symptoms seemed to have gotten a lot worse over the past few weeks. Although the Ginger, Marshmallow, Licorice, Slippery Elm and Pau D'arco help with the UC symptoms, I still had almost constant watery stools.
I went back to the naturalist store and talked some more with the guys there. They suggested that I was making a mistake by taking everything at once. That I needed to take them separately.
So I decided to take the Pau D'arco and Licorice together, because according to them, they are antibacterial/antifungal. Then I would take the ginger, marshmallow, slippery elm together to try to soothe the colon.
They gave me two drops of Hydrogen Peroxide in a small cup of water and told me to make note of the effects. The very next day I had one of the worst flare ups that I have ever had. It had definitely done something.
After losing a lot of blood, I went on a fast and eat only baby food for almost a week. I also took massive amounts of probiotics. I grabbed a handful of them and downed them with apple juice.
For the next few days I gradually added the supplements back in and continued taking a large amount of probiotics.
I went to the GI doctor and he wanted me to really try to take corticosteroids and get on it immediately. For a moment, I was convinced this would really work. This had to be the answer. But I held off.
The day that I took the licorice and slippery elm for the first time, I felt hot and decided to take a nap. I woke up later with a fever of 99.4 degrees and I had multiple flu-like symptoms but no sniffles or cough or anything like that. The fever seemed to originate from my torso. I called out for my gf and she brought me a vitamin water.
My knees were killing me and I had body pain all over. I decided to let the fever run its course and kept drinking liquids. The fever eventually lifted and most of the symptoms alleviated on their own.
I have noticed that the number of times I go to the restroom has decreased, somewhat.
After doing some reading, I have learned that UC patients have an increased level of interleukin 13, which seems to be a response to parasites. In an effort to get rid of the parasites from the body, this cytokine seems to increase contractions and secrete mucus to try to slough off the parasite from the body. There is no definitive link to IL-13 and UC, but it seems to point to a plausible cause and not just a symptom.
If I do have a parasite (and I am not sure just what kind of parasite would illicit this type of response, be it bacterial, fungal, protozoan or other), I fail to see how taking a steroid, which suppresses the immune system, would help in the long run.
The GI tract is all about tolerance and suppression.
The other thing I read about was Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes. Two very different phylum of bacteria that exist in the GI tract. Healthy people seem to have more Bacteroidetes and people with IBD have more Firmicutes.
Going to take some probiotics, and get some that are high in Bifodobacterium (like the one from RenewLife).
I went back to the naturalist store and talked some more with the guys there. They suggested that I was making a mistake by taking everything at once. That I needed to take them separately.
So I decided to take the Pau D'arco and Licorice together, because according to them, they are antibacterial/antifungal. Then I would take the ginger, marshmallow, slippery elm together to try to soothe the colon.
They gave me two drops of Hydrogen Peroxide in a small cup of water and told me to make note of the effects. The very next day I had one of the worst flare ups that I have ever had. It had definitely done something.
After losing a lot of blood, I went on a fast and eat only baby food for almost a week. I also took massive amounts of probiotics. I grabbed a handful of them and downed them with apple juice.
For the next few days I gradually added the supplements back in and continued taking a large amount of probiotics.
I went to the GI doctor and he wanted me to really try to take corticosteroids and get on it immediately. For a moment, I was convinced this would really work. This had to be the answer. But I held off.
The day that I took the licorice and slippery elm for the first time, I felt hot and decided to take a nap. I woke up later with a fever of 99.4 degrees and I had multiple flu-like symptoms but no sniffles or cough or anything like that. The fever seemed to originate from my torso. I called out for my gf and she brought me a vitamin water.
My knees were killing me and I had body pain all over. I decided to let the fever run its course and kept drinking liquids. The fever eventually lifted and most of the symptoms alleviated on their own.
I have noticed that the number of times I go to the restroom has decreased, somewhat.
After doing some reading, I have learned that UC patients have an increased level of interleukin 13, which seems to be a response to parasites. In an effort to get rid of the parasites from the body, this cytokine seems to increase contractions and secrete mucus to try to slough off the parasite from the body. There is no definitive link to IL-13 and UC, but it seems to point to a plausible cause and not just a symptom.
If I do have a parasite (and I am not sure just what kind of parasite would illicit this type of response, be it bacterial, fungal, protozoan or other), I fail to see how taking a steroid, which suppresses the immune system, would help in the long run.
The GI tract is all about tolerance and suppression.
The other thing I read about was Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes. Two very different phylum of bacteria that exist in the GI tract. Healthy people seem to have more Bacteroidetes and people with IBD have more Firmicutes.
Going to take some probiotics, and get some that are high in Bifodobacterium (like the one from RenewLife).
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