The Will To Try Anything

Lilja · Post by **Lilja** » Sun Aug 30, 2015 1:21 am

Hi,

I was diagnosed with CC in 2010, and was given the standard Entocort treatmet, which didn’t help at all. After 7 months of watery D, I was given Prednisolon, which had bad side effects. I endured the D for 3 years, and finally got some good advice from holistic doctors; avoid gluten and casein.

I followed their advice, but the fatigue, the brainfog, the nausea and the stumbling gait etc was awful. When I discovered this board a year ago, and understood how complex this disease really is, I have been following all the good advice here on the board, and I've experienced huge improvement. I have changed my diet completely, but I had to take Entocort for 10 months (stopped 2 months ago), since my trips to the bathroom were up to 20-30, 24/7.

I can now say that my health is 90% better, I don't take any medications - except for a Zyrtec now and then - but I have some minor issues I would like to get to the bottom of; like profuse night sweats, lower back, leg and feet pains, rashes on my chest, insomnia, plus the fact that I can’t seem to gain weight (lack of appetite). When I can’t sleep, I get up, and as soon as I have had something to drink, and walked around a bit, I have a BM. After this, I can go to bed again and sleep till the morning. So, I have concluded that for some reason my digestion keeps me awake, without any pain/noise, that is.

I went to an acupuncturist for my lower back pains etc. from October last year till April this year, and she said that all the pain stems from the CC, and gave me the name of a homeopathic remedy. Back then I was so confused and exhausted, so I just put the note in a drawer and forgot about the whole thing, until 5 days ago. I have so much more energy nowadays so I decided to clean up some of my drawers and throw away clutter. I found the note, and remembered what she had said. I felt so full of energy that day, so I went downtown and bought the remedy, and I have now been taking it since Tuesday.

Wow! I have never experienced such quantities of BMs and so much gas. Firm stools, but a lot of it. Since I don’t have much appetite and don’t eat much, I find the quantity overwhelming. The remedy (Podophyllum Peltatum) is for people with Crohn’s disease. On one of the internet pages I have been reading it says «Recommended for patients at the risk of dehydration and hemorroids from violent stooling; for those who lose appetite at the sight of food; and those who experience cramps in the lower legs and feet».

I’m going to continue the pills for a couple of more days. The only things I have noticed so far, is that my stools are normal, (as they already were), slightly more frequent and there is a lot of it, and that I feel more refreshed after sleep. The leg pains are not as bad as they used to be, but that may be coincidental.

Well... I don’t mind if the cat is black or white, as long as it can catch mice …

I'll let you know later on if this experiment has been successful.
Lilia

Post by **tex** » Sun Aug 30, 2015 8:52 am

Lilia,

It's no wonder that you have been having more BMs. I'm surprised that they do not consist of diarrhea. Have you looked at what Wikipedia says about it? The plant is used as a purgative and a cytostatic. A purgative is a laxative, and a cytostatic is a medication/drug that inhibits cell growth, a characteristic that allows it to be used for purposes such as treating warts.

Toxicity

The ripened fruit is edible in little amounts, though when consumed in large amounts the fruit is poisonous. The rhizome, foliage and roots are also poisonous.[14] Mayapple contains podophyllotoxin,[15] which is highly toxic if consumed, but can be used as a topical medicine.

Medicinal use

Mayapple has been used by American Indians as an emetic, cathartic,[16] and antihelmintic agent.[16] They also boiled the poisonous root, and used the water to cure stomach aches.[citation needed] The rhizome of the mayapple has been used for a variety of medicinal purposes, originally by indigenous inhabitants and later by other settlers.

Mayapple can be also used topically for warts, and two of its derivatives, etoposide and teniposide, have shown promise in treating some malignant neoplasms.[17][18]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Podophyllum

Some homeopathic practitioners (like some of our grandmothers, back in the "good old days") think that a laxative is the cure for all digestive ailments.

Tex

Lilja · Post by **Lilja** » Sun Aug 30, 2015 12:34 pm

Yes, Tex, I know this is a crazy experiment!

Homeopathy is said to be based on the principle: “like-cures-like” whereby a substance that causes a symptom is used in diluted form to treat the same symptom in illness.

I will stick to it a few days more and see what happens.

I'll tell you the truth, whether it's going to be D, C, or improvement, or no result at all

Lilia

Post by **tex** » Sun Aug 30, 2015 9:31 pm

Well, you said right from the start that you were willing to try anything.

I hope that it does some good.

Tex

Marcia K · Post by **Marcia K** » Tue Sep 01, 2015 6:40 pm

Hi, Lilia. Glad to hear that you're feeling so much better! Have you tried magnesium? I had trouble sleeping and once I started putting magnesium gel on my thighs every night I finally was able to sleep through the night. Other on here use a magnesium spray. I purchase mine online at Vitacost. When I first started to use it I put it on the bottom of my feet but it dried my feet out. I don't have any issues with putting it on my thighs.

Marcia

Lilja · Post by **Lilja** » Wed Sep 02, 2015 1:52 am

Marcia K wrote:Hi, Lilia. Glad to hear that you're feeling so much better! Have you tried magnesium? I had trouble sleeping and once I started putting magnesium gel on my thighs every night I finally was able to sleep through the night. Other on here use a magnesium spray. I purchase mine online at Vitacost. When I first started to use it I put it on the bottom of my feet but it dried my feet out. I don't have any issues with putting it on my thighs.

Marcia

Hi Marcia,
I have taken Magnesium for one year, both oil and tablets (400 mg).

I think the reason why I can't fall asleep some nights, is my stomach. After having got up and walked around a bit, I go to the toilet, and after that I can go to sleep.

Lilia

Lilja · Post by **Lilja** » Sat Sep 05, 2015 1:53 am

Hi,

I've stopped the experiment. Summing up: I have slept all through the nights. Having a slight feeling of "lightness" in my body; i.e. no aching in joints and no night sweats. More frequent BMs, but they have been perfect.

Tex:
You and I have wondered if I might have Ankylosing Spondilitis. My doctor brushed me off, but he did test me for HLA-B27 (result next week), and he also filed an application at a rheumatologist. I have also been admitted a consultation with an ortopedist to check my lower back/hip/butt and leg pains. I think I have a pinched nerve in my butt, or a piriformis that is causing the trouble. But, can this lead to plantar fascitis? I have also pain under my right foot...

Feelin' good though

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D5Y11hwjMNs

Lilia

Post by **tex** » Sat Sep 05, 2015 6:59 am

Hi Lilia,

That's certainly good news that you will finally get to see some specialists. I'm not very familiar with orthopedic issues, but it does seem that with runners at least, piriformis and plantar fasciitis often go together, so there might be some sort of connection.

Thanks for the update report on your experiment. It will be interesting to see the results of your HLA-B27 test. Please keep us posted.

Tex

Blueberry · Post by **Blueberry** » Sat Sep 05, 2015 3:02 pm

Good luck Lilja with your experimenting! With your mention of try anything and brief mention of acupuncture, I've been using infrared acupuncture for the last month +. I've found it amazingly wonderful it relieving aches and pains, and believe it to be great with helping improve the grumpy gut.

Lilja · Post by **Lilja** » Sat Sep 05, 2015 3:35 pm

Blueberry wrote:Good luck Lilja with your experimenting! With your mention of try anything and brief mention of acupuncture, I've been using infrared acupuncture for the last month +. I've found it amazingly wonderful it relieving aches and pains, and believe it to be great with helping improve the grumpy gut.

I'm glad that your infrared acupuncture gives you relief. But, my acpuncturist said quite frankly, that she could only give me relief, like peeing your pants when you are cold (an internal joke in my country), but that the root cause of the problem had to be found.

Lilia

Blueberry · Post by **Blueberry** » Sat Sep 05, 2015 4:08 pm

Absolutely agree. The infrared acupuncture has been a nice addition to the diet changes I've made, along with supplements. On its own it wouldn't work as well for me, with the aches and pains and improved gut, I believe.

mcardle3 · Post by **mcardle3** » Tue Sep 15, 2015 12:28 pm

I'm new here, but when I read back pain I wanted to toss this into the mix. My legs and the pain in them from my back and tendon rub (I have connective tissue disease) were so bad we tried everything. One thing that helped me to sleep was using a table top foam wedge under my legs as I slept.

The thing that helped me the most, however was a rhizotomy. I no longer have pain in my back or down my hips and legs...but I do have to repeat the procedure every one and half years or so as the nerves causing the problem grow back.

Acupuncture didn't help me as much as I'd hoped, and I gave it a good long go...this did though. Good luck to you!