Opinion please

[Jeanemcl]

I have been really good about following the diet and I have good days and bad days. Went to a gluten free group last night and someone suggested the professional listed below. I am overwhelmed about what vitamins and supplements to take and how much I should be taking. I am taking a multivitamin and vitamin D3 in gummy form because I hate pills and the aftertaste( gluten free, soy free and casein free). Some people talk about enzymes and probiotics. I don't want to take things I don't need to, but I don't want to miss something. Read below....worth it or not? . Opinions welcome!
I emailed her....this is the reply:

I do work with the gut in all its glory and forms of issues. My focus is autoimmune diseases like your colitis and calming and rebuilding normal signaling in the immune system I treat functionally which is more apparent the difference on my website. my job is to try and remove why you got this and how seriously it presents not just support making the pathology manageable. I do look at complete digestive analysis to see what is growing down there normally and rebalance gut microbiology as 80 % of your immune system response comes from the gut. My first appointment is 1 1/2 hours plan 2 and is $350 and I will give billing statements for you to submit to insurance and labs as best as possible will go directly thru insurance as we discuss how it benefits getting the info the test would provide.
Let me know if you are interested in going further and setting up some time I am booking in the new year currently

[Gabes-Apg]

Jean
Two of my closest friends are naturopaths, prior to MC Dx,(and after) I was having regular acupuncture appointments

I have also had treatments by other wholistic therapy practitioners

My learnings over the past 4 years is that MC is different to the other IBD’s
The ‘stock standard’ approach that most of these practitioners use for other IBD’s has not worked so well for me.

For most other IBD’s taking probiotics helps alot
The experience of quite a few people on this forum, is that many don’t have much success with probiotics – some do.
IMO until the inflammation has reduced, and considerable healing has occurred will then Probiotics be able to help

My other learning is our system is quite delicate, any drastic changes in foods, drinks, supplements, liquid herbs especially those with lots of ingredients, don’t work so well. Slow and steady works very well.
It can take anything from 3 months to 12 months for good quality healing to occur.

My opinion is, spend the time now, eliminating triggers, getting the gut healed, and then maybe start things like probiotics etc.
Low inflammation easy to digest meals, make sure you D levels, B Levels and iron levels are in a good place.

There is no fast track for healing per say, Spending that sort of money on appointments while you are in the healing stage to me is a bit of a waste. (does this make sense)

For $350 you could have 4-7 appointments of things like acupuncture that will reduce inflammation and get the digestion organs in tune....

[DebE13]

This is just strictly my opinion, but I would save the money and spend your time here. I have spent thousands on similar offers. Most, were trying to be helpful and were very nice but also had a product to sell. I've seen six, all well intentioned medical people with various backgrounds and ALL did not truly understand MC therefore, were unable to help.

The supplements, tinctures, and pills all went in the mouth and down the toilet. It was devastating to feel like a failure and it was a drain on the pocket book when I didn't see results with all the effort. If you haven't tested through Enterolab use the money for that to give you some direction and a place to start in your diet.

The information here is what you need to start your own plan to better health. Of course, maybe what is offered to you will help, I can't say but there is so much you can do on your own. The funny thing is, what helps the most is very simple yet the hardest thing I've ever done- be careful and vigilant as to what you put in your mouth. Either the gut experts aren't really experts or they don't want to tell you that and loose potential income.

Whatever you decide, good luck and keep us posted!

[tex]

Jean,

I have to agree with Gabes and Deb (because for one thing, they are speaking from experience, and when it comes to treating MC, 1 actual experience is worth at least 10 promises of help by doctors). And overall, our combined experience on this board shows that less is more, when treating MC.

IOW, we can't force MC into submission by throwing supplements at it — instead, we have to remove the sources of inflammation from our diet. If we are successful at doing that, then with any luck at all, the gut will heal itself, once the inflammation is no longer being regenerated.

The corollary to that is that if we take enough supplements (or add enough ingredients to our food), we are virtually guaranteed to perpetuate our reaction, because from a mathematical viewpoint, as the number of ingredients increases linearly, the risk of an adverse reaction increases exponentially. And no supplement on earth will make up for a single overlooked food sensitivity in our diet.

Tex

[Jeanemcl]

I thought so....I went to that group at the health food store, but I came away thinking that I get more education/ info here. The health food store women was very nice, but my goodness she pointed out so many things I need to take that I could see the money just flying out of my purse and perhaps down the toilet!!!!

I had been doing better until a few days ago when I had my Annual Christmas party. I stayed away from all the sweets. I ate cooked green beans, shrimp, quinoa, and mixed nuts. And not very much of anything as I know quantity can be a trigger. The only thing I hadn't eaten before was shrimp. I was really sick with a horrible stomach ache and D. Maybe the combo. Maybe the shrimp? Damn, this is frustrating. I want to keep my Endocort to every other day so I used Imodium and Pepto....I ate only my chicken soup and sweet potato. Relief is here today!!!!! How could the doctors say this doesn't have anything to do with FOOD????? So, I will scratch the shrimp and mixed nuts. I have had a handful of almonds in the morning before after I am up for about four hrs as my "breakfast" and that seems to work, but maybe mixed nuts put me over the top. The good news is I am better and I am thankful for sweet potatoes and soup. I am trying to stay positive. I have a Christmas party this weekend and I am thinking I may skip it. It is just too frustrating ....or am I being a baby?????

[DebE13]

You are not a baby. Do what's comfortable for you. My work Christmas party is next week and I'm not sure if I will go. It's during lunch time during work hours so it's not a huge social thing. I haven't decided yet. I could run home, eat, and come back to chat with friends or bring my own lunch. My boss offered to order me a special plate which I thought was very thoughtful but I didn't want something different than everyone else and more importantly, didn't want to take the risk of someone else preparing my food. Depending on my mood I may go or not. If I feel it will stress me out more than not, I will skip it.

Maybe the nuts are too hard on your guts right now. I remind myself of that too. I love nuts and find them very satisfying, easy to prepare , and is easy protein.

If you decide to go to the party, eat before you go or just stay for a short time. You'll have time to make an appearance, chat with friends, and not get too stressed out because you didn't go. If you find you are enjoying yourself then it won't matter if you stay longer because you will already have eaten.

[lorimoose]

I have 2 work related Christmas parties this year. I have called both restaurants to see if there is anything for me. Each has assured me they can cook for me. I am hopeful and nervous. They are both on Saturday nights, so I have Sunday in case to recover.

Too bad we can't just go into a restaurant kitchen and supervise!! It would take all the stress away.

Lori

[tex]

The health food store women was very nice, but my goodness she pointed out so many things I need to take that I could see the money just flying out of my purse and perhaps down the toilet!!!!

That's one of the reasons why I stopped going to health food stores. They're always pushing their house "expert", Dr. Supplement-your-way-back-to-health-regardless-of-what-ails-you. It makes me very uncomfortable repeatedly declining their "gracious" offer to spend an hour or 2 learning how to "restore my health".

but maybe mixed nuts put me over the top

I agree with Deb. Whole nuts can be hard on our intestines while they're still hypersensitive. And of course if you are sensitive to soy, then peanuts can be a problem. Not only because of the fiber, but because of their general abrasiveness. Many members here can tolerate nut butters much better than they can tolerate the nuts themselves. I seem to have problems with all nuts, and all nut butters, but I'm not a typical case.

That's good news that you're feeling much better again. The faster we bounce back, the easier it is to continue to make progress. And having confidence in our treatment program, and feeling at ease with our overall progress, makes the recovery process easier and much more enjoyable.

or am I being a baby?????

Nope. I've been GF for over 9 years now, and I still do a lot of virtual teeth-gnashing and soul-searching when it comes time to decide whether or not to go to certain parties or other events that are centered around food. It only takes a few seconds of "fuzzy thinking" to slip up and get sick, but unfortunately it always takes hours to days to recover from the mistake.

Tex