Ulcerative Colitis

Filed in archive Digestive Health on February 19, 2007

It seems like I've had ulcerative colitis forever. At first I got other diagnoses - hemorrhoids, diverticulosis, fissures. But after I had a colonoscopy, the final diagnosis was ulcerative colitis.

I was put on a drug called asacol - eight a day. The specialist said that eventually I'd be able to taper off. Not so. That was years ago and I'm still on the same dosage and I still have ulcerative colitis. When I get a bad flare-up, I'm put on prednisone - pills, enemas. I've even taken it by intravenous . The bleeding and diarrhea clear up, but guess what? Thought it was a goner but the colitis came back.

One thing I've learned is to watch my diet. I avoid hard to digest foods like corn and popcorn. Eating lots of whole grain foods is helpful. In a book by Jeff Leach called It's the Fiber, Stupid we read:

Dietary intake of fiber has been linked to a dizzying number diseases and ailments including heart disease, colon cancer, IBS, diabetes, obesity - and the list goes on. Importantly, fiber is food for the good bacteria that live in our bodies and our low fiber diet is literally starving them.

And I know I get tired of everyone from the dietician to the doctor to my weight loss group telling me to drink lots of water, it's true. Water is good for many health problems. Ulcerative colitis is one of them.

Another aid to ulcerative colitis relief is the use of probiotics. What are probitoics? Dr. Joseph Mercola, in his blog, tells us:

Probiotics are preparations of living microbial cells that, when ingested, are thought to positively influence the composition of microbes in the gut and improve the health of the intestine. In this clinical trial, 86 percent of those treated with a probiotic bacteria mixture experienced relief of their mild to moderate ulcerative colitis.

Well, I've tried all these things, the pills, the diet, the enemas, and I'm still struggling. Ulcerative colitis puts a real cramp in your lifestyle. I see the specialist in March and I'm crossing my fingers, hoping for a new miracle cure.