C00kie

Hi Bruce,

I have Crohns disease which is very similar to UC. The diarrhea should stop when you have the condition under control. You didn't mention if you're taking any medication and what success you've had with it? Perhaps you should discuss chaging your medication with your doctor if it's not working. Also are you getting the severe pain when you go to the loo or is it just diarrhea? In which case it could be an infection if just the diarrhea. I've battled with Crohns for almost 4 years now, chaning medications so many times I've lost count as they didn't work. After I reached a dead end last year I came across the work of Elaine Gottschall who devised a diet based on a gastroenterologists work as her daughter had severe ulcerative colitis. Have a look and see what you think, it's really restrictive at first but then you may find after a year that you can eat many of the things you couldn't. Do discuss this with your doctor if you want to try it, it is a strict medical diet.

All I can say is that I'm not on medication (which really is amazing for me) and I've taken back the control it had over my life - so long as I stick to the things I can eat that is! I have hardly any symptoms at all now from something which is so aggressive. If you do want any more information about it just look her up or the 'specific carbohydrate diet' and no it's not a fad diet. You should find after about three weeks of being on the diet a great improvement in your bowel movements. Do contact me if you want to ask anyting about it.

The question about it being an infection is difficult as well, when I was suffering with diarrhea and a lot of pain, I'd already tried another courses of steroids but that time it had no effect on bringing it under control. So along with my usual medication he precribed a really high does of anti-biotics for about a month (which probably ruined any good bacteria I had) - this kills off all bacteria good or bad and it did stop the flare up. So in a way it is an infection anyway. The good thing is this diet deals with that. The science behind it is too complicated for me to explain but reasearch it and see what you think, it makes sense. I was surprised that my doctor had never mentioned this diet to me but from seeing him every month I'm now not going to see him for two years unless I get ill in the mean time. Fingers crossed.

Hope you feel better soon, I know what hell it can be and yes it is normal with this condition when you hjave a flare up to go that often. At one point I would eat and whilst I was eating after a few minutes (not even 10) I would have really severe cramps and have to go to the loo, you're not alone!