Hope you guys can help me out here. I have a disease known as ulcerative colitis for which I have to take prednisone and sulfasalazine. Is there anyone out there that knows the effects of these drugs on training. I cant get any info on my disease or the drugs that I have to take in relation to training. Any info would be greatly appreciated.
I also have UC and I’m taking prednisone but that’s actually for antirejection of a liver transplant that I had a year ago so I’m really having a difficult training time. You do have a reason to be concerned because prednisone is catabolic but I’ve been able to make minor gains even while on it. You probably have a lot more immediately trouble with weight loss/ anemia/ dehydration that comes with this serious disease. There may be something you might want to look into. It’s called the SCD diet. It’s based on the book, “Breaking the Viscious Cycle” by Elaine Gottschall B.A., M.Sc. Theres also a web site. This diet has tremendous success with UC/ Chrohns patients with stopping the progression of the disease permantly and getting them off medication. It’s high protein, with the TOTAL elimination of lactose containing dairy, starchy carbs and refined sugar… I’m talking about even sugar in ketchup. I’ve just started it so I can’t offer an opinion but I would curious about how you’re doing if you decide to investigate it yourself. Good luck
Hi Shawn. Sorry to hear about the colitis, that’s a real bummer. My reading of the dietetics literature has shown lots of dramatic results from managing various forms of colitis through diet, so I agree completely with Shannon. The sulfa compound and the corticosteroid only treat the symptoms. So they may help you some with the inflamation but may not give you a long-term solution to the problem. You don’t give any info about health history, diet and such, so I’m assuming that your condition is fairly recent. Do some research on the web about other approaches to dieat and treatment and you may find yourself some better help. The one book I know that has some good research in it is Adelle Davis’ “Let’s Get Well”, published in '64. The research is still good and she had many good outcomes with her clients with similar problems. I don’t mean to imply anything about Shannon’s suggestion, as I’m unfamiliar with that book. By all means read it and anything else you can get your hands on.
You don't give any personal info on your post, so please don't take the next bit personally. But it is my impression that these kinds of bowel problems can have a strong psychological component, if all other factors are taken into account. If you haven't given it some thought, you might want to talk to a really good psych who has experience guiding people through these problems.
That’s a good idea I’m personally planning on reading, "Let’s Get Well. I’ve learned in my studies that you should never totally rely on one book because there are almost always certain narrow predespositions involved. There’s also some research with the use of DSMO applied topically to the digestive area. DSMO is a compound which can enter through physical membrane, directly to the colon. It acts a free radical scavenger which has been seen to stop the destructive mechanism of the disease. Since DSMO is a transport carrier. Adding B12 and a folic acid with the substance is also drawn in. This helps rebuild your blood iron and helps fight colon cancer. Although I still think diet is going to be the key. If you check through the search engines with: DSMO colitis, and SCD Diet colitis, you might find a better explanation of the research which what I’m capable of explaining. There’s also a colitis chrohns support newsgroup you can search for. They usually tried everything and know the latest information. Once again good luck. And thanks Greg, for the book suggestion.
I think what Shannon was trying to recomend is a product called DMSO not DSMO. DMSO stands for Dimethyl Sulfoxide it is a transdermal transporter that in lamens terms allows substances that would not normally be absorbed by the skin to easily be taken in. It is some nasty smelling stuff but I hope it can help you.
He’s right, I meant DMSO. It does smell pretty nasty. There’s a DMSO creme by a company called Nature’s Gift. It’s actually rose scented which does a very good job of eliminating the funky old cabbage smell. Most health food stores carry some version of this compound. Although the transdermal carrier aspect is a plus for the B12 and folic acid. From what I understand it’s the antioxident properties of the DMSO itself that’s benificial. Also there’s seems to be some research of the antioxidental properties of Melatonin that also work very similiary and of course this doesn’t smell at all.
Greg did mention about the psychological factors that sometimes increase the symptoms. He’s right about that. So researching into some stress reduction might also benefit. Perhaps the relaxation supplement Brock’s been working on might be an advantage later on down the road.