Anyone, do you have information regarding enzyme supplements lipase, protease and amylase? I've been taking them for a month, but just read something about increased serum levels of cyclooxygenase and lipoxygenase in ulcerative colitis patients, which are enzyme products of (I am one who suspects that UC and Crohn's are steps down the line from MC.) I now wonder if these enzymes are actually eating at my poor intestinal wall...
I have Celiac Disease and MC, my grandmother myself and my daughter all hyperthyroid, my father type 1 diabetes, my brother has UC and schlerosing cholangitis).(my family; poster children for the autoimmune disease club vroom vroom)
Enzyme supplements
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MBombardier
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- Joined: Thu Oct 14, 2010 10:44 am
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Jody, I don't have an answer to your question, but I wanted to welcome you to the forum. I am a newbie myself, but in the few days I have been here, I have already learned a great deal. No doubt someone will be able to answer your question.
Marliss Bombardier
Dum spiro, spero -- While I breathe, I hope
Psoriasis - the dark ages
Hashimoto's Thyroiditis - Dec 2001
Collagenous Colitis - Sept 2010
Granuloma Annulare - June 2011
Dum spiro, spero -- While I breathe, I hope
Psoriasis - the dark ages
Hashimoto's Thyroiditis - Dec 2001
Collagenous Colitis - Sept 2010
Granuloma Annulare - June 2011
Hi Jody,
Welcome to the board. I hope you can find some answers to your concerns, here.
I certainly don't claim to be an expert on enzymes and their roles in body chemistry, but by personal experience, I have found that "messing" with them does not always bring the desired results. When I was in the healing stage, one day I got the bright idea of using some enzyme supplements, to aid my digestion. So I bought a pricey concoction that sounded good in the ad, and within about 2 hours after swallowing the first capsule, I was sick as a dog. I vomited a number of times during the day, (ending with several sessions of dry heaves, late in the day), and it took me several days of feeling rough as a cob, before I got up the nerve to try eating solid food again. That pretty well sums up my position on taking enzyme supplements.
I'm not saying that they might not be helpful for some individuals, but they certainly don't work as advertised for everyone.
To get to the point of your question, though, I believe that you will find that those enzyme products are typically present with all IBDs, (including MC, and possibly with all GI system diseases, including celiac disease). At least it is certainly true that a significant percentage of the members of this board who have MC, also have pancreas issues, (mostly pancreatitis), and I see no reason why it wouldn't also be true for Crohn's and UC. Some of our members have had doctors who happened to discover the pancreas problems, and insisted that they needed treatment, or additional risky tests, but our position has always been that once the MC symptoms are resolved, (IOW, once remission is in place), those pancreas issues always disappear - EXCEPT for certain patients taking mesalamine, (Asacol, etc.), because the 5-ASA drugs have been shown to cause chronic pancreatitis, in some cases. Usually, stopping the use of the drug will resolve the pancreatitis, but if it goes on long enough, that may not resolve the issue, and the consequences can be quite serious, obviously. Anyway, my point is, I suspect that a lot of us, (maybe all
), have some degree of pancreas involvement, presumably because of the prostaglandin issues that may be attributed to the enzyme products that you mentioned. Remember, though, that the prostaglandins whose synthesis involves the cyclooxygenase-I enzyme, or COX-1, are responsible for maintenance and protection of the gastrointestinal tract, while prostaglandins whose synthesis involves the cyclooxygenase-II enzyme, or COX-2, are responsible for inflammation and pain.
Obviously, they are the cause of pancreatitis:
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1 ... x/abstract
Note that according to that article, flavocoxid will resolve the problem. Consider the article at the link below, which discusses the effects of the enzyme products that you mentioned:
http://www.molecular-cancer.com/content/2/1/10
Note that the article claims that the use of NSAIDs significantly reduces the risk of women developing pancreatic cancer. The research report cited below, however, claims just the opposite effect.
:
http://www.kedu.us/Ask%20the%20Doctor/c ... NSAIDS.pdf
Though much research has been done on enzymes and the other components of body chemistry involved in the digestive process, precious little information can actually be relied on to provide therapeutic benefits. The sad truth is, this stuff is so complicated that medical researchers are only capable of scratching the surface, in regard to what is actually happening with the various processes, and how they are all interrelated and interdependent. We simply don't know enough about it to draw many valid, reliable conclusions, that will hold up to close scrutiny.
Research, by it's very nature, is limited to the investigation of only one or two items at a time, (to the exclusion of all others), due to the constraints imposed by our knowledge, and by our research facilities and capabilities. For many concepts, that simply doesn't work, due to complex interdependence and interworkings between components. Because of that, we simply cannot successfully comprehend, and cannot "deconstruct", or "reverse engineer" certain processes, in order to independently investigate individual components. Researchers usually try to do it anyway, but the results are worthless, because of faulty assumptions made in the process of trying to "isolate" certain components, or certain reactions.
The bottom line is, if we get our symptoms under control, (all of them), then all of the increased satellite risks, (such as pancreatitis), will disappear, along with the risk of developing additional autoimmune diseases. While meds that suppress inflammation can help, they cannot completely eliminate the inflammation, and to accomplish our goal, we have to eliminate all inflammation. For a few of us, certain medications are the cause of the inflammation, and if the problematic medications are withdrawn, then the inflammation will slowly fade away, without further intervention. For most of us, though, only diet changes can bring complete remission, because food sensitivities are the source of the inflammation, for most of us.
Incidentally, IMO, the primary reason why pancreatic cancer seems to be increasing so rapidly, is probably related to the increasing use of drugs to treat all sorts of other issues, but in the process, they corrupt the balances of prostaglandins, resulting in an increased risk of pancreatic cancer, (and who knows what else?). As Pogo Possum once said, "We have met the enemy, and he is us".
I hope this helps. Again, welcome aboard, and please feel free to ask any questions that come to mind.
Tex (Wayne)
Welcome to the board. I hope you can find some answers to your concerns, here.
I certainly don't claim to be an expert on enzymes and their roles in body chemistry, but by personal experience, I have found that "messing" with them does not always bring the desired results. When I was in the healing stage, one day I got the bright idea of using some enzyme supplements, to aid my digestion. So I bought a pricey concoction that sounded good in the ad, and within about 2 hours after swallowing the first capsule, I was sick as a dog. I vomited a number of times during the day, (ending with several sessions of dry heaves, late in the day), and it took me several days of feeling rough as a cob, before I got up the nerve to try eating solid food again. That pretty well sums up my position on taking enzyme supplements.
I'm not saying that they might not be helpful for some individuals, but they certainly don't work as advertised for everyone.To get to the point of your question, though, I believe that you will find that those enzyme products are typically present with all IBDs, (including MC, and possibly with all GI system diseases, including celiac disease). At least it is certainly true that a significant percentage of the members of this board who have MC, also have pancreas issues, (mostly pancreatitis), and I see no reason why it wouldn't also be true for Crohn's and UC. Some of our members have had doctors who happened to discover the pancreas problems, and insisted that they needed treatment, or additional risky tests, but our position has always been that once the MC symptoms are resolved, (IOW, once remission is in place), those pancreas issues always disappear - EXCEPT for certain patients taking mesalamine, (Asacol, etc.), because the 5-ASA drugs have been shown to cause chronic pancreatitis, in some cases. Usually, stopping the use of the drug will resolve the pancreatitis, but if it goes on long enough, that may not resolve the issue, and the consequences can be quite serious, obviously. Anyway, my point is, I suspect that a lot of us, (maybe all
), have some degree of pancreas involvement, presumably because of the prostaglandin issues that may be attributed to the enzyme products that you mentioned. Remember, though, that the prostaglandins whose synthesis involves the cyclooxygenase-I enzyme, or COX-1, are responsible for maintenance and protection of the gastrointestinal tract, while prostaglandins whose synthesis involves the cyclooxygenase-II enzyme, or COX-2, are responsible for inflammation and pain.Obviously, they are the cause of pancreatitis:
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1 ... x/abstract
Note that according to that article, flavocoxid will resolve the problem. Consider the article at the link below, which discusses the effects of the enzyme products that you mentioned:
http://www.molecular-cancer.com/content/2/1/10
Note that the article claims that the use of NSAIDs significantly reduces the risk of women developing pancreatic cancer. The research report cited below, however, claims just the opposite effect.
:http://www.kedu.us/Ask%20the%20Doctor/c ... NSAIDS.pdf
Though much research has been done on enzymes and the other components of body chemistry involved in the digestive process, precious little information can actually be relied on to provide therapeutic benefits. The sad truth is, this stuff is so complicated that medical researchers are only capable of scratching the surface, in regard to what is actually happening with the various processes, and how they are all interrelated and interdependent. We simply don't know enough about it to draw many valid, reliable conclusions, that will hold up to close scrutiny.
Research, by it's very nature, is limited to the investigation of only one or two items at a time, (to the exclusion of all others), due to the constraints imposed by our knowledge, and by our research facilities and capabilities. For many concepts, that simply doesn't work, due to complex interdependence and interworkings between components. Because of that, we simply cannot successfully comprehend, and cannot "deconstruct", or "reverse engineer" certain processes, in order to independently investigate individual components. Researchers usually try to do it anyway, but the results are worthless, because of faulty assumptions made in the process of trying to "isolate" certain components, or certain reactions.
The bottom line is, if we get our symptoms under control, (all of them), then all of the increased satellite risks, (such as pancreatitis), will disappear, along with the risk of developing additional autoimmune diseases. While meds that suppress inflammation can help, they cannot completely eliminate the inflammation, and to accomplish our goal, we have to eliminate all inflammation. For a few of us, certain medications are the cause of the inflammation, and if the problematic medications are withdrawn, then the inflammation will slowly fade away, without further intervention. For most of us, though, only diet changes can bring complete remission, because food sensitivities are the source of the inflammation, for most of us.
Incidentally, IMO, the primary reason why pancreatic cancer seems to be increasing so rapidly, is probably related to the increasing use of drugs to treat all sorts of other issues, but in the process, they corrupt the balances of prostaglandins, resulting in an increased risk of pancreatic cancer, (and who knows what else?). As Pogo Possum once said, "We have met the enemy, and he is us".
I hope this helps. Again, welcome aboard, and please feel free to ask any questions that come to mind.
Tex (Wayne)
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.