![[Hwan]](images/journal/hwan_singing_stance.jpg) While looking over those google referrals I've noticed that hwan.com has been receiving a fair number of people searching for (ulcerative) colitis (inflammatory bowel disease (ibd) and/or Crohn's disease) information. So here's a quick summary of what I think might/might not help, based on my 10+ years with the disease. That includes two stays at the hospital, one for about two weeks, the other nearly a week. MEDICATION: I've taken the steroid prednisone, cortisone and asacol tablets. These are the primary drugs that will be (or probably already have been) prescribed to you. The prednisone works wonders, but it has some rather unpleasant side-effects. Of course, if you're in the throes of pain, you don't exactly have time to worry about looking fat or breaking out (or later, osteoporosis). I didn't use cortisone all that much (outside of my trips to the hospital), so I can't say as to whether it really helped or not. But I went though lots and lots of asacol. It might've helped during my first few years with colitis, but in my later years it didn't seem to have much effect. DIET: Your doctor may say that diet hasn't much effect on your colitis, other than to "eat sensibly". However, I have found that diet can make a dramatic difference. I have tried the specific carbohydrate diet (SCD), but had a lot of trouble sticking to it. It's a very strict diet which, much like the popular Atkin's diet, forces you to cut down on breads and sugar. Unlike Atkin's however it's "zero-tolerance", so any cheating will supposedly set you back immensely. The other tough bit of the SCD is that you need to be on it for at least a year before you can re-introduce breads and sugar to your plate. Anyway, I wasn't able to keep it up for more than several months, so it's hard for me to say how much difference it made. I have also tried fasting, which I think could work. Unfortunately, you won't be able to do much other than watch tv or read in bed. Don't worry about starving though; you can last for many weeks on just water and other clear fluids. This is probably an extreme measure, but it could prove to be the difference if you can afford the downtime from work. I personally only tried it for about a week, inspired by a case where a man went to an institute and fasted for several months, with very positive results. The most useful piece of advice given to me was from my (second) acupuncturist, who in addition to my acupuncture stated that I needed to change my diet. I was to eat only "smooth" foods. No ruffage, no grains, no raw vegetables, nothing with a lot of small undigestibles like seeds or kernal shells (like popcorn) etc. Stuff like white bread, bananas were ok. And that's pretty much it. It seems so simple but the difference it made in my level of comfort (and quality of bathroom time) was dramatic. I don't want to raise your hopes too much, but it really did work for me. The theory is that "hard" food will scrape the lining of your stomach, which will just irritate your inflammation and make it worse. One needs to both nourish oneself while allowing the stomach/colon to heal. So I stayed on this soft food diet for several months (which is pretty easy to do, avoiding salads was not a big deal for me) and am now at the point where I can eat those foods again. I didn't miss bran or brown bread though, so I'm still a Wonder Bread eater. Oh, one other thing; eating at regular times makes a difference too. And eating right before going to bed is a really bad idea. These are pretty common sense, but every little bit helps. PAIN: I found that applying heat directly to my abdomen often relieved much of the discomfort I was experiencing. My personal, no-medical-education explanation is that it unclenches and relaxes your muscles, which are squeezing themselves into agonizing knots. A heating pad will work, the hotter the better; you'll be surprised how much heat your body can really take. For me, the best therapy, for when I was in true clutched-over, unable to think agony was to get in the shower and use the portable head to spray steaming hot water over my stomach for several minutes. And then lie down in some hot water, relaxing myself as much as possible. This method worked every time -- the problem for me was when I wasn't near a shower. Also, it's kind of disruptive to your daytime activities to be taking a bath every few hours or so. In terms of medication that relieves pain, TRY to cut down ASAP! If you're in pain, then by all means take some Tylenol or buscopan to help bear it. But keep in mind that these kind of pain-relievers thin out your blood, making it even harder for your stomach to stop bleeding and recover. Gravol (or whatever anti-nauseant you're using) however is fine, the only side-effect is the drowsiness which is good anyway since it'll help you relax. STRESS: Which brings me to that other ibd "possible cause/aggravator", stress. I can't really give you much help here -- everyone has their own way of dealing with it. For me, I have found that exercise works well, but up to a limit -- don't over-exert yourself. Seriously. Last year I rode up and down the DVP on my bike for the Becel Ride for Heart. I felt fine, and had a great time (I plan on doing it again this year). But about 15 minutes after it was over and I started walking around, I had one of the most incredible, bowel-shaking (literally) sessions in a port-a-potty. Not fun. So stick to light exercise. ALTERNATIVE HEALING: I tried two acupuncturists, as well as some traditional chinese herbal pills and a fairly disgusting boiled vegetable broth. The first acupuncturist I tried for about two months before deciding that I wasn't getting any better. The herbal pills and broth didn't seem to help, though I should note that I didn't try either of those for more than a month each. I kept with the second acupuncturist (who was advised to me by girlfriend; he was "working wonders" for her mom's knee problems), and since he gave me that extremely helpful diet tip I stuck with him for about seven months, which brings me to the point I'm at now. Which is to say, fairly healthy, with no signs of colitis in my system. I rather think however that he is the exception rather than the rule -- your mileage may vary. SUMMARY: Eat soft foods; no raw vegetables, whole grains, bran. Get some exercise (for digestion and handling stress), but don't overexert yourself. Avoid painkillers if possible. Try to use heating pads and hot showers/baths instead. Accordingly, keep your abdomen warm. Note that most colitis and ibd episodes occur in the fall or winter, when the weather becomes noticeably cooler.
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