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Yes, thank you very much for such clear information Jason
- I sent this info to my friend in England who is still in much pain
and distress with this condition.
Here is a little of what she wrote to me - to give those who are not
familiar with the condition some idea of what it involves ---
This was written after about 2 weeks of being ill.
" hello you
I dont know how long i can write for as im
pretty spinny, but ill fill you in on my week. I was still not
eating and in loads of pain on thursday so i went to the doctors. I
used up all the immodium and it didnt work one bit. So she wrote a
letter and sent me to the hospital. I picked hubby up on the
way to help drive etc.
Then i got taken in and put on a drip for 24
hours as i was so dehydrated from so much diarrhea and not eating (i had
been drinking lots though, just nowhere near enough to cope with my
bowels) and they did lots of tests and i was kept in until monday
afternoon. Im still in lots of pain and everything i try to eat
comes out 3 or 4 hours later. So im feeling really light headed all
the time. Anyway, from the tests they concluded that this is a
colitis flare up, as there was no infection in the urinary tract and no
bowel infection either. I thought all the bloody poos and stomach
aches and steroid enemas to calm the swelling was colitis, but it would
appear im having an attack. So its all about not being able to eat
solids for weeks and having to stay near a tiolet, and pain that makes you
black out every time you go to the loo too. I know the baby
isnt helping at all, as i have to rotate my sitting/lying position every
few hours to give each area of my bowels a rest form the pressure.
They started me on some steroid tablets
yesterday in the hope that they will calm the swelling all over.
Being tablets they work everywhere, as opposed to the enemas i was doing
which only went a certain way up. Im feeling pretty low as nothing
is happening so far...i dont know how long the steroids will take to kick
in but i hoipe its soon. Im living off bland soups (still! its been
2 weeks now!). No dairy (no cheese!!!) or chocolate or anything
really. I tried some pasta and it made me really bad.
Thats the firmest textured food ive dared to go and it was pretty
bad. Unfortunately 6 of the 15 tablets im having to take per day
make you nausius if you dont have them with food, which is a viscious
circle for me because if i eat food it really hurts, but if i take them
with just the soup then i feel sick for hours. So i decided to take
just 3 a day until the steroids kick in and i can eat more solids, then
ill take the full 6. Phew. Im knackered. I keep
having big sleeps in the afternoon...i feel like an old person! Im
on lots of iron too, so hopefully that will try to make me constipated and
counter ballance this endless flow of diarrhea.
Anyway my eyes are hurting now so i have to
stop for a bit."
She is due to have her second baby in May and developed the Colitis
after the birth of her first (possably brought on by antibiotics for
mastitis when breast feeding) Her first baby had a condition called
gastroskysis and she had a C/S at about 34 weeks - she was hoping for
a natural delivery but with her condition I am worried that it will
give them good reason to recommend another c/s.
Lets hope that she can get some relief from what you have
posted.
Regards
Rhonda
-------Original Message-------
Date: Saturday,
February 22, 2003 22:33:52
Subject: Re:
[ozmidwifery] Colitis
Wow, Jason, what a thoughtful and complete reply,
printing it off.
marilyn
----- Original Message -----
From:
"Jason Hawrelak" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To:
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent:
Thursday, February 20, 2003 5:37 PM
Subject: Re: [ozmidwifery]
Colitis
> Hello Andrea,
>
> I'm guessing that by
'colitis' you mean ulcerative colitis, which is
> characterised by
episodes of abdominal pain and bloody diarrhoea. I'm a
> naturopath,
and I am also doing a PhD in the area of gut health and the
>
intestinal micro-ecology, so I know a fair bit about ulcerative
colitis
and
> its management with natural
medicine.
>
> During the acute stage of the condition (which
it sounds like she is in)
> one would usually put the client on a
elemental or hypoallergenic diet.
For
> this it is best to use a
formulation based on rice protein. Try to get one
> that has
additional vitamins, minerals and essential fatty acids (e.g.,
>
RejuvenX from Bioceuticals - can be contacted on 1-300-650-455 -
3-4
> serves/day will keep the protein level up to what is needed).
At this same
> time I would suggest clear vegetable broths, and more
importantly fresh
> fruit & veggie juices (at least 4 glasses
daily). These are very
> antioxidant rich and will help 'calm' the
inflammation. I would especially
> recommend fresh wheat grass
juice, as a recent trial found it excellent in
> alleviating
ulcerative colitis symptoms (try to give 100 ml/day) - it
works
>
well combined with carrot and apple. Normally, this is all that would
be
> eaten until the diarrhoea and pain stop.
>
>
Ulcerative colitis (UC) is often considered to be caused by an
imbalance
of
> intestinal bacteria, so probiotics are potentially
useful. Unfortunately,
> most probiotic supplements on the market
are very poor, and what is
> generally not well known is that each
supplement will contain a specific
> bacterial strain with a limited
range of therapeutic actions. Not all
> 'acidophilus' is the same,
just like not all breeds of dogs are the same.
> All dogs are the
same species, but as we know German Shepards are very
> different
from chihuahuas. This same principle is at work in the probiotic
>
field, in that the different strains of 'acidophilus' are like the
>
different breeds of dogs - they are all the same species but some
are
> German Shepards and others chihuahuas. You just need to know
which one is
> which - unfortunately very few naturopaths, GP's or
consumers know this.
> There is one probiotic product that has been
clinically trialed and proven
> effective in ulcerative colitis. The
product is called VSL#3 and it is
> available mail-order or over the
internet from Orphan Australia
> (www.orphan.com.au or 1-300-656-755).
It is more expensive than other
> probiotic supplements, but it has
been proven to work in UC and no others
> currently available on the
Australian market have. So I would certainly
> recommend taking this
with the juice, broth and protein powder
combination.
> To this I
would also add slippery elm (1 heaped tsp 4x/d) - blended with
>
apple juice for easier compliance. I understand that the loss of
caloric
> intake on this dietary regime would be a concern in
pregancy, but the
> energy defecit shouldn't be too great if the
regime is follwed for 7-14
> days, by which time the UC should have
truly settled down. And her current
> diarrhoea and intestinal
inflammation is already severely hampering her
> absorption of
nutrients.
>
> Once the UC has settled down, I would recommend
that the client keep
taking
> the VSl#3 and slippery elm (you
could halve the dosage of both at this
> point). Juices should still
be consumed daily, but 1-2 glasses per day
> should suffice (but
keep the wheat grass up). At this point, a fibre and
> anti-oxidant
rich diet is essential. So lots of fruit (especially
berries),
>
vegetables, whole-grain products, nuts and seeds (preferably
freshly
> ground) should be consumed. Brown rice, barley and oats
would be
especially
> good. Avoid eggs, potatoes, wheat-products
and all junk food as these are
> common exacerbating factors. If she
can get traditionally-made sauerkraut
> this would be excellent as
it contains more health-giving bacteria that
> yoghurt, as well as
anti-oxidants and healing factors for the gut.
>
> To improve
her essential fatty acid balance, recommend oily fish
> consumption
at least 4x/week (e.g., sardines, salmon, herring, ocean
trout,
>
mackerel, mullet, tailor, and sweep) and ground flaxseeds/flaxseed
oil
> daily. Alternatively fish oil capsules can be used but the
dosage needs to
> be 6-10 capsules per day, so it can be expensive
taking this route.
>
> Additional research has shown that
psyllium seeds (not the husks) at a
> dosage of 10g twice daily is
as effective in keeping UC in remission as
> pharmaceutical drugs,
so I would definately add this to the treatment
> protocol (if you
can't locate psyllium seeds, the next best option is
> barley bran -
2 Tab twice daily). Implementation of these measures should
> not
only improve her UC but will also improve the overall health status
of
> the impending mum and her bub.
>
> Jason
Hawrelak
>
> Jason Hawrelak BNat(Hons)
> PhD Candidate
and Researcher
> Australian Centre for Complementary Medicine
Education & Research
> School of Natural and Complementary
Medicine
> Southern Cross University
> PO Box 157
>
Lismore, NSW 2480
> tel: (02)6620-3308
> fax:
(02)6620-3307
> e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
>
>
>
>
>
At 04:57 PM 19/02/03 +1100, you wrote:
> >Can anyone help me with
a problem for one of my clients: 28 weeks, 1st
> >baby, suffering
from colitis and getting worse - main symptom seems to be
>
>rectal bleeding, which she says happens 3 times a day. Otherwise very
fit
> >(yoga, gym, power walks daily) and healthy (very diet
conscious). From
what
> >I have read, there is not much she
can do - drugs are contraindicated and
> >the pregnancy hormones
are probably exacerbating the condition, which
will
> >improve
once the baby arrives. Any suggestions most welcome!
> >
>
>Many thanks,
> >
> >Andrea
> >
>
>-----
> >Andrea Robertson
> >Birth International *
ACE Graphics * Associates in Childbirth Education
> >
>
>e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
>web: www.birthinternational.com
>
>
> >
> >--
> >This mailing list is
sponsored by ACE Graphics.
> >Visit <http://www.acegraphics.com.au>
to subscribe or unsubscribe.
> >
> >
>
>
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