Hi,

I have been following Jini's "Listen to Your Gut" for my 17yo son who has Ulcerative Colitis. I have posted a few messages in the Main Discussion forum, and Nicole has been vey helpful with her replies. My son has been in a flare-up since Feb 2007 and now with his vacation starting, we have had him start IBD Remission Diet as per that book. I have some questions as follows.

Background:
He was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis in 2003, and was in flare-ups / remissions since - the longest remission was for about 2 years (steroids only in the beginning, then only Colazal.) He was hospitalized in October 2006 due to a flare up that started in March 2006 and became severe. He was put on Prednisone whose last dose stopped in December 2006 by when he was in full remission. He is currently on Colazal. He started seeing blood again in Feb 2007. I put him on the "Stop Intestinal Bleeding" diet and supplementation regimen based on your book at that time. He has been seeing some blood every other day since Feb. His current weight is 84 lb and hemoglobin is at 9.8. He has begun following "IBD Remission Diet" since Sunday 6/10/07 - the beginning of his summer vacation so that he will be able to rest at home. We are going by the book in terms of AbsorbPlus and supplements incl. iron (25 mg once a day - twice a day seems to cause bleeding). He is taking 5 shakes a day, intends to increase to 8 next week. We are planning on a 6 wk course.

Questions:
1. He has chicken broth based on your book. Can he have broth made from the following?
- gram flour (i.e. the Indian channa dal = chana dal = gram dal), dal being split lentils)
- moong dal (mung beans that have been skinned and split)
- tur dal (toor dal = tuvar dal = arhar dal = yellow lentils = tur dal)

2. Assuming his hormones are ok, when should we expect to start seeing weight gain?

3. Any do's / don'ts based on our situation?

Appreciate your help,
Khushroo

Hi Khushroo,

No, he cannot have broths made from any dahls or lentils, beans, etc. Only from meat, bones and mushrooms.

Since he is a teenager, his minimum calorie requirements JUST for proper growth are 3,000 per day. Then any desired weight gain will be on top of that. So I suggest 4,000 per day to see a 2 lb per week weight gain.

Don't be afraid to keep giving him the shakes even after he's back on solids just to supplement his intake and keep him growing/gaining weight.

I also suggest you consider weaning him off his remaining drugs whilst on the Diet and beginning Jini's Wild Oregano Oil Protocol.

take care,
Jini

Hi Jini,

Appreciate your prompt reply. We will continue with the broths from meat etc. as per your advice.

Also, I will have him go up to 9 shakes a day (4000 calories). He will wean off Colazal by end of next week.

Questions: (sorry to bother you again!)
1. He had tried Wild Oregano Oil Protocol once in the past and thought it caused him more bleeding. Should we try again with the elemental diet?

2. He prefers having 2 shakes within an hour and then waiting 2-3 hr rather than having shakes equally timed during the day (which he perceives as "feels like all I am doing is having shakes during my day"!) We make 2 shakes Together (= 2 cups of water, 8 scoops of AbsorbPlus + 2000 mg Vitamin C + 2 capsule of Bioflavonoids + 2 tbsp of Udo's Oil + 1 capsule (30 mg) of CoQ10 + 1 capsule (30 mg) of Pycnogenol). Then he drinks 1 shake, keeps the other 1 shake in the fridge and drinks it within that hour. Is this ok?

Thanks,
Khushroo

Hi Kushroo,

Wild oregano is an anti-inflammatory and should not cause bleeding. However, listen to your gut above all else! If bleeding continues, then he should do Jini's Healing Implant Enema to get it stopped. Start the wild oregano whenever he feels he can - but the sooner the better because unless you get the underlying infection resolved, he'll keep having flares.

Regarding shake frequency. I totally understand how he feels. That's exactly how I felt! And it is really really hard. However, if he has 2 shakes within a short period, he risks not being able to utilize the protein. Absorb Plus was set at 28 grams of protein per serving according to trials done to show how much protein could be absorbed at any one time - the rest is just peed out. So a waste of money and you will not see the weight gain.

So, as unpleasant as it may be. It's best if he can have them evenly spaced, all day long.

take care,
Jini

Hi Jini,

Thanks for your guidance. We started the 17 yo on Wild Oregano Oil (10 drops three times a day) on 6/23. His blood did reduce as a result of that and elemental diet (2nd wk by then)! Initially he was at 1 tsp per 8oz cup of blood visible in bm (a visual-only measure invented by us) and came down to 0.5. Average bowel movements are 5 per day and he sees maximum that much blood in 3 of them. He also gained appx. 2.5 lb in 3 weeks (86 lb now) with 5-6 shakes a day (he can't imagine taking the 9 shakes for the 4000 cal you have recommended)!

Now we have a problem. since Thu 7/5 he has been feeling full and can barely take more than 4 shakes a day - which also seems to be becoming increasingly difficult. In the last two days he had a few explosive bm and he also threw up once or twice. He has lost 0.5 lb in the two days. Says that his gut generally feels squeazy (constantly wanting to go). Any guidance will help on resolving this.

Also, this is the 5th week of the elemental diet. Although his blood in stool has decreased, he does keep seeing it. If elemental diet is giving rest to his colon, why does he bleed at almost the same rate every day (has the healing stopped or the rate of healing dropped)? Will it stop when he starts eating again? Should we continue to the 6th week of elemental diet as we had planned, or stop it at the end of the 5th week?

BTW we saw a pediatric GI who also practices alternative med. He spoke highly of you! I will share that info on the forum soon.

Thanks,
Khushroo