I took my teenage daughter to the doctor, who sent us to the specialist. The specialist thought my daughter had irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and scheduled a colonoscopy. After the colonoscopy the doctor came out and told me he was surprised because it wasn't IBS, instead it was ulcerative colitis. He prescribed some medicine and scheduled a return visit. My daughter did not like the medicine, it made her sick so she quit taking it.
Then she went away to college and the symptoms worsened and she struggled through it all. A few years went by with the schooling and the crash recoveries during the school breaks and summer. As you can all guess the symptoms worsened and I wasn't sure what to do. I discovered slippery elm powder and she agreed to try it. She took it for six weeks and she did get a lot better. At this time a roommate suggested not eat wheat. She tried this and felt a dramatic difference. Then one day whilst eating yogurt and contemplating why she felt so much better but not great this same roommate said to her, “most people I know who can't eat gluten also can't eat dairy”. That is when she tried eating neither items and did much better. She knew the gluten and dairy definitely made her sicker. She was still sick though, I think this is because we did not understand how much gluten was in. We thought all meat was safe, we never thought to check soy sauce, spices, boullion etc.
After correcting her diet she still had a lot of healing to do. We tried digestive enzymes but her digestive tract was so torn up they made her sick too. My daughter started eating only what didn't make her sick which primarily consisted of cooked vegetables (not green beans though) and rice. She also tried cabbage juice and an assortment of viatamin supplements.. Gradually she got better, she would try a new food and if she didn't get bloated or feel sick from it she added it back into her diet. In all I would say it took about 18 months to 24 months before she was able to eat most everything again. She still cannot eat gluten, dairy, oats, and avocados. She had a colonoscopy done about 4 years after changing her eating habits and there was no ulcerative colitis. Hurray!
So here is the program that finally healed my daughters ulcerative colitis...
- Eat primarily rice and cooked vegetables. I know it is hard but when you are that sick you notice the difference pretty quickly. From what I can figure out rice and cooked vegetables must be some of the easier things to digest. Gradually try new things one at a time and see if you feel bloated or sick from it. If you do go back off of it. If you don't feel sick then add it back into your diet. It took a long time before my daughter could eat beans again (pinto, white, etc) so don't get discouraged and think you will never be able to eat anything again. You will be able to. Remember it takes a while for your digestive system to heal itself. Be patient.
- Use slippery elm powder to coat the digestive track. It takes about 6 weeks for an ulcer to heal so do it for six weeks.
- If you can handle digestive enzymes take them. They will help, but make sure they do not have gluten or dairy in them or anything else you may be allergic to.
- Use Flora to build up the digestive track.
This is the program that finally healed my daughter. She did not use medicine. She only used diet, slippery elm powder, and a cabbage juice regime that really helped her. I hope you get healthy fast! If it works for you please post it. If something else worked or helped you please post that.
--Peggy