Against MEDICATION

by Maranda
(Kansas)

With my Crohn's the medication seemed to make me more sick. I was vomiting more and not tolerating my food at all! Once i went off the medication(Sulfa-Salazine, and Asa-col) I felt 10 times better! Now I'm working on changing my diet and trying to exercise more. My only worry is that we caught mine early and I'm just not having the severe symptoms others are...any comments?

Comments for Against MEDICATION

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Against Medication NEW
by: Annette Young

Hello there,

I read your post with great sympathy and I can understand completely why you wanted to come off your medication. I do think that you should go back to your doctor however and discuss any current symptoms and requirements and take professional advice.

I come from a natural health background and I know that many medications if not all, have side effects, but with a condition like Crohn's I do believe that you have to be sensible and take medication if necessary.

I understand that you are not experiencing severe symptoms currently and that's fantastic, it may be that you are able to control the condition at the moment by eating healthily, exercising and eliminating unnecessary stress and this would be the best option. However I do want to make you aware that Crohn's is a very aggressive disease and flare-ups can occur sometimes without any reason seemingly, so you need to be prepared.

There is no cure for Crohn's disease at this time anyway so it is a case of managing it and learning to live with it and at the moment you are able to do this but it may stand you in good stead to learn all you can about the disease and to understand how it affects you personally so that you have a better idea of what to do should flare-ups occur.

Crohn's has a habit of smouldering away presenting very little symptoms but then suddenly flaring-up in an acute manner and whilst it smouldered, it could have been causing a lot of damage. So do get another check-up to just establish where you are at at the moment and if necessary, do try some other medication.

Very few people can come off of medication permanently without some setbacks. I think you are doing the right thing in a holistic approach but I would be happier if you would also seek guidance from a professional.

I wish you the best of luck, please do let us know how you get on.
Annette
Against MEDICATION
by: Lydia D.

Well, I can understand that you are against medication that makes you sicker. I suggest that you make an appointment to discuss your issues with your doctor who should strive to increase your quality of life and not to decrease it. The trick is to find the right dose of the right medication for you.

If I have to stop medication or make any changes I ring up my doctor and inform the practice what I have done and why. For example, I had to stop taking 6-Mercaptopurine because I developed acute pancreatitis on top of the chronic hepatitis, liver pains and leukopaenia. I followed up the telephone call with an appointment with my doctor. On occasion I have sent a fax with everything detailed in writing. This ensures that the doctor-patient relationship remains intact and that the ball lands in his/her court. I was still on other medication (Entocort) so had not stopped all of my treatment.

The caveat is that if you do not take maintenance medication you run a high risk of intestinal fibrosis due to smouldering Crohn's, which accelerates your path to resection and all the potential complications and dangers of an operation.

I suggest that you keep a patient "food, mood and symptom" diary for a few weeks prior to meeting up with your doctor. Doctors respond very well to evidence.

Use the Crohn's daily activity index(CDAI) to monitor your Crohn's activity: http://www.ibdjohn.com/cdai/

Use the Bristol Stool Scale to describe bowel movements: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bristol_Stool_Scale

Use the comparative pain scale (1-10) to describe any pain you might have: http://www.tipna.org/info/documents/ComparativePainScale.htm

Use the fatigue severity scale to describe exhaustion and malaise: http://www.cfids.org/archives/2002rr/2002-rr4-article02.asp

Analyse the content of your diet and you might find that avoiding fast and fatty foods, sodas (cola and co.), coffee, tea, alcohol, sweets/refined sugar sources, etc., will all help you.

I suggest that you look closely at the anti-inflammatory diet: http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/ART02012/anti-inflammatory-diet

All the best,

Lydia D.

P.S. The references are only suggestions and there is plenty more information in the internet.
Against Medication
by: Kit

Medication is literally poison, ask any chemist or doctor.
It is used, sometimes very successfully, to treat symptoms. What it is doing, is creating a reaction to alter the present symtoms. However, it can then affect the body in another way that causes other problems.
Salazopyrin damaged my kidneys and I now have reduced flow function in them.
You have the opportunity to remove the cause.
Look at that.
After 40 years of Crohns for me, many drugs and operations, I no longer 'have it'.
How you think affects your body on a cellular level. Check out Neuroscience and Neuroplasticity.
So how does your mind treat your body?
How do you deal with situations that you don't agree with, or particularly like?
Change non-acceptance with acceptance. This will give you room to act with a clear mind.
And there's the key :) A CLEAR MIND.
Your mind has been programmed to be what it currently is, with the past and contains all perceptions of what you made the past events mean, including other peoples perceptions as well.
In 2000, I was bleeding severely from the bowel and about to go in for yet another bowel op.
Then I came across a way to fundamentally change the way I thought and the bleeding stopped in 7 days.
I am now writing my book "The Irritable Brain Syndrome", in an effort to give simple tools to those who suffer from similar symptoms, also including Ulcerative Colitis, Colitis and Irritable Bowel Syndrome.
I am the talking pig :) How many talking pigs do they need to meet to believe? :)
The pharmaceutical industry is not going to like me once I've completed this book. There will be a lot of factual evidence, backed up by interviews with doctors and chemists.
It will take me until late next year, but I know it will be worth it, giving future sufferers the power to make changes for themselves by dealing with the cause of their suffering, as opposed to taking medication to 'deal' with the symptoms.
Please know, that if someone believes that they need to take medication, then they need to take that medication. Likewise, if they feel it is necessary to have surgery, they need to have surgery :) I would never tell them otherwise.
I am now free from Crohns disease, a name given to a physical affliction, but I am not free from the results of the bowel removal and re-sections that were done to me. But that I can manage :)
If you want to write to me, my email address is
creatingchange1@gmail.com
All the best for your journey :)
Cheers
Kit

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