Hi, Debbie.

Yes, it can get scary.

IBD does tend to go in cycles: good, bad, better, good, not so good, better, and so on - and it can take awhile to even out.

The symptoms you mentioned can indeed be symptoms of bowel cancer, but they can likewise be symptoms of someone with IBS who has a hemorrhoid. Your doctor is probably just wanting to cover all of the bases to be safe. However, in no way am I trying to discourage you from a colonoscopy if you feel you need it.

I can remember how scary and frustrating it can be when dealing with a downturn. Am I doing the right thing? Why did this happen? Should I continue? Should I change what I'm doing?

I found it very comforting at those times to read certain sections of Chapter One and Chapter Five of Listen to Your Gut, where Jini talks about tough times and shares some of her own experiences. I guess I figured, Jini was much worse off than I am, so if she can get better.... Reading about someone else's experiences helped strengthen my trust in my own intuition and it gave me hope.

So please don't feel bad at all about posting often. I remember what it was like on my own healing journey and I'm genuinely glad to be here as much as I can for you and everyone else.

Regarding the magnesium, I'm not really sure. When Dr. Dean introduced me to it, she told me to dilute it half-and-half with distilled water, spray thirty sprays on my torso and rub it in/let it dry. I found it took too long for thirty sprays to dry, so I cut it down to fifteen. Jini tried that and found it torturously itchy, so she puts two ounces in a foot bath and soaks her feet in it for thirty minutes (I think that's the time frame she told me). You might try one of the above methods and see if it makes a difference in any way, symptom-wise.

I'd actually suggest ramping up to the full Phase One dosage (as gradually as you feel you need to). I think you'll find that will help things calm down/even out as quickly as possible. You'll probably still do a good deal of cycling back and forth between the three phases according to your symptoms, but I think you'll find there'll be fewer swings back and forth symptom-wise and you'll be able to check them before they go too far.

As far as why you can hold one enema in at length while the other one only lasts 15 minutes or so, let me sleep on that one and get back to you. I doubt I'll be able to give you any single hard-and-fast answer, but let me mull things over.

Take care,
Nicole

Hello Nicole

You are up very late, I forget the time differences as its Friday morning here and once again thanks for your reply.

Well I seem to be tolerating the 2 doses of WOO a day so I might try to go up to 3.

You are right it does get frustrating and you do start to think is the holistic approach working, I really want to try and find someone that I can talk to here as its so hard to try and find a good therapist in any field around my area (outer Sydney) as they aren't really into the holistic approach here and without having to travel into the city of Sydney which is horrendous.

It's also hard when you are travelling along pretty well and then all of a sudden things go backwards again and you think what is wrong but I will definitely go back and read Jini's progress as she has come a long way in her journey. I do read other peoples posts of this forum too and see that alot of people are worst off then me and they are going along with ups and downs to so that is also encouraging as well.

As for my doctor you are right he is just covering all his options (or covering his ass as we say here) but it does put a thought in your mind especially when he was surprised that I have been bleeding on and off for a while as he thought that wasn't right and my bowel changes as well and especially when I also told him I'm not on the prescription medication anymore since February !!

I have decided not to go with the colonoscopy and just treat my symptoms as I'm doing and just deal with my ups and downs the best I can until the path of getting better comes along again, also I remembered that my Gastro had said when I asked when I have to have my next one, he said not until 10 years as apparently after this time is when Ulcerative Colitis progresses ??? so hopefully by that time I will be healed as much as possible and not have to have one.

At the moment I'm still holding in the enema but my stomach is getting a bit sore and making grumbling sounds I'm assuming from gas ?? it does feel like I have to go to toilet but I am holding it in - should I just go and let it all out ?? as I don't know if its been in long enough for the benefits of the probiotic to work ??

Once again thanks for replies.

Cheers
Debbie

Hi Nicole

Just another update, I finally had to succumb to emptying by bowels but I did hold it in for quite some hours (prob approx 5hrs) - is that beneficial enough to work a bit ??? and when should I try another one ???

I have been back and forth to the toilet with just air (very loud) and then some little bits of stool coming out as well, it can be a bit painful in the stomach but I'm bearing with it, must admit feels better after letting it out tho.

This is probably an impossible question to answer - but how long would it take for me to actually have bit more of a solid bowel movement ??

Also I thought I would just give you a bit of a rundown on the foods I eat, I really haven't found that any food effects me to much, but I do limit my dairy intake and very rarely eat wholegrain bread, my food intake is usually Porridge (Oats) in the morning with milk, mid morning snack of an apple/pear/ or handful of almonds and maybe sneak in a biscuit or 2 mid afternoon, lunch is mainly Tuna/Salmon/Avocado on wholegrain biscuits or a salad and at tea time I try to have a mixture of these vegetables most nights like Broccoli, Cauliflower, Zucchini, Carrots, Sweet potatoes, beans, asparagus, bok choy (which I know a few of these do cause gas so usually only a little bit of these), sometimes a couple of eggs and rice and my meat is either of these a bit of red meat, chicken, pork, kangaroo. I drink atleast 2 litres of water and always drink white, green, chamomile and peppermint tea depending on how I'm feeling.

The supplements I'm taking at the moment are:

WOO - 5 drops first thing in morning

Mucosaheal - 2 tablets about 1/2hr after WOO (1/2hr later have breakfast)

WOO - 5 drops when I get home from work approx 5.00pm

Probiotics - 1 tsp of each before bed

I will start adding another lot of WOO as well and see how I tolerate that.

If there is any other suggestions it would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers
Debbie

Hi Debbie,

Even if you only manage to hold the probiotic mixture in for 15 minutes, that is enough to benefit, so 5 hours is very good and you should congratulate yourself!

You should soak your porridge oats overnight before cooking them to encourage digestion (otherwise, can be quite difficult to break down). If you have Nourishing Traditions, the recipe is in there for soaking them in whey (ideal). But if not, the quick version is:

1 cup oats, rolled or cracked
1 cup warm filtered water plus 2 tablespoons whey, or yoghurt, or lemon juice

Soak porridge overnight or longer. Once soaked, oatmeal cooks fast - in 5 minutes or less.

Mix oats with warm water mixture and leave in a warm place for at least 7 - 24 hours.

Bing an additional 1 cup of water to a boil with sea salt. Add soaked oats, reduce heat, cover and simmer several minutes.

Serve with plenty of butter or cream and a natural sweetener like honey, rapadura, maple syrup, etc.

You may also want to test replacing your milk (on the porridge) with raw milk, or just water and butter, to see if you tolerate that better.

Also, make sure you're not eating too much tuna (once a week, or bi-weekly) since it contains high mercury levels.

Lastly, I would like to see you add a LOT more natural fat to your diet. Cod liver oil (up to 10 capsules per day would be great) and 1/4 lb of organic butter per day - cook with it, slather it on thick whenever you can, melt it into soups and porridge, etc. Here's why:

http://www.colicinfant.com/blog/health- ... imal-fats/

take care,
Jini

Hello Jini & Nicole

Thanks for the info on the oats as here I was thinking I was doing a good thing to get some fibre in the morning not knowing that it takes a bit to break down. I am now also eating a bran type of cereal as well. Unfortunately Raw Milk is illegal here in Australia, a pity my grandfather isn't alive as he had a dairy farm where we always drank the milk.

As of Friday I have added another dose of WOO and seem to be tolerating it sofar.

I just received my order of Mucosaheal and Fissureheal from your shop and in it is a sample of Emergen-C - what is this good for and can I try it or will it upset my stomach at this point ??

It is also good to know that the enema of the Probiotics had some benefits for staying in for that long as I thought I might not of gotten any benefits. When would be the best time to try again ??

My bowel movements - well I didn't have to go again after Friday until Monday where it was about 10cm of broken stool with some bright red blood mixed in with it. Then I have been 3 times today with them being about the same (broken stools), some with blood and other bits not but did see a bit of mucus mixed in with the 2nd one today. I am not pushing myself to go and going when I feel the need to I usually sit there for a bit massaging my colon and thats when I get a bit of wind first and little drops of stool and then the stool comes out like in a gush of air and that has been happening yesterday and today.

Could there be any reason for this ??? and are these bowel movements normal when your gut is trying to get better and going through these stages of health ??? Just asking for the reassurance

Oh I forgot to mention in my other post that I do take Fish Oil tablets too.

Any other suggestions to what I am doing would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers
Debbie

Hello to you both

Just another quick question for you, my bowel movements have still been all over the shop with the above symptoms which I'm not too worried about but every now and then when I have a bit of a formed one they are usually about 1/2 to 1inch wide so not that thin but sometimes it looks like it has a bit of a flat side to it (squareish) I do have blood every now and then still - would you have an idea of what might cause this ??

I have looked on the web and some sites say it could be an obstruction or internal haemorrhoids or fissures so just thought I would get your opinion or anyone else's that this has happened to.

Sorry to keep asking questions but you are both so helpful while I go through this healing crisis and when things come up that I think are unusual I hope you don't mind me asking.

Cheers
Debbie

Hi, Debbie.

The foundational period of healing is often the most frustrating because that's when you're doing a lot of work without seeing a whole lot of results.

You've only just recently increased to the full dose of wild oregano oil within the past week or so (if I'm reading things right). Yes, you're likely to see your bowel movements be all over the place for awhile. If you're anything like me, you'll see them improve, get worse, improve and stay improved for longer, regress, and so on. It's like one of those old-fashioned scales....take the weight off and they'll swing up and down a lot at first, then less and less, before they settle in balance with each other. That's what you're looking to see is a gradual return to the middle, where the ups and downs and less and less pronounced over time.

Once you're on Phase Two of Jini's Wild Oregano Protocol, if you're up to doing the Probiotic Retention Enema once a month that would be great. You can do it more often than that if you want to, but once a month is good, too, while you're rebalancing. I wouldn't bother with it while you're on the Phase One dosage of wild oregano oil.

Not sure what would cause the particular shape you're talking about when you have a formed stool, but that's great if they're that formed. Over time, you should see them formed more and more often till that's all you ever have.

The Emergen-C is great. Even at my worst, I almost always had two packets every day. A few people react even to the mineral ascorbate form of Vitamin C with diarrhea.....the only way to know if you're one of them is to test.

Take care,
Nicole

Hi Nicole

Once again you have given me the kick up the ass that I needed to stop worrying so much and just go with the flow of what is happening and know that it will get better and better and that I will have ups and downs along the journey but I have to admit it does get frustrating sometimes as the symptoms change all the time and thats when I worry but knowing that you and Jini are there for support is fantastic as you both have been through it. My husband is always telling me to stop worrying maybe I should listen to him hmmmm........

As for the bowel movement I was talking about with the square bit it is hard to describe but it was a soft formed stool and it was flat on one side with an edging like an edge on a box and the other side was round, oh well I will just keep on going as I am.

Yes I have only added the extra dosage just over a week ago (Phase 1) so I will stay on that until I think it is getting better, overall I have been taking the WOO since June as that was when I only started on phase two but been off the doctors drugs since February !!

I have also started taking the Mucosaheal again and fish oil tablets and probiotics before bed.

Thanks again for your response and I know if I have any more questions you will be there.

Cheers
Debbie

Hi Ladies

Just an update of how I'm going and some advice of course.

I'm just a bit upset this week as on Saturday I had diarrhea where I ended up being totally empty (before that I was going but only like small stools with blood around them) I'm not sure if it was a bug again or whether the WOO worked again as I did increase the dosage. Anyhow I thought well I'm empty so may as well do the Probiotic Enema which I kept in for about 5hrs (pretty good I thought).

Anyhow, my biggest worry is that I can't seem to get rid of the blood in my stools, Monday I had a soft bowel movement which I was happy with but now I'm back to the same again where it feels like I need to go but I sit there and pass wind and the only thing that comes out are bits of stool with blood and then I only have pellet like stools which has blood around them. Sometimes the inside feels sore afterwards too.

At the moment I am on 5 drops of WOO 3x day, the high dose of Mucosaheal, and all three powdered probiotics of a night time (1 tsp of each).

I am a very active, happy person but after going to the toilet I do get down a bit and have to pick myself up by telling myself this is my healing journey but as I said the blood is the main worry for me at the moment.

Could it be because I have ulcerative colitis in the sigmoid colon and pretty sure in the rectum that it takes a while for everything I am taking to get down to that part ?? and is there anything else you can suggest I take as well.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
Debbie

Hi Darkangel

Thanks for your quick reply.

I'm glad you understood the shape of my bowel movement as it was pretty hard to describe. I thought it might of been something like that but then you start thinking of obstructions from polyps or bowel cancer and you get a bit scared.

Maybe I do have haemorrhoids or stricture and that could be causing my bleeding as it gets a bit sore after a bowel movement. Today I went and it was a soft formed one again but did have blood with it.

I can't think of anything that set me off for the diarrhea that was out of the ordinary. I went shopping all day with my friends and my stomach felt a bit weird and then there it was, lucky I was at my friends house when it struck.

No I'm not on any specific diet, I follow bits of all of them only because they are very similar of what to eat and what not to eat and because I go from diarrhea to constipation or normal it gets a bit confusing.

I will have another look at the diet for bleeding and ulceration and follow that to see how I go.

I do use the Fissureheal after a bowel movement, that is when it doesn't feel sore.

Can you think of any other supplements that could help ??

Cheers
Debbie

Hi

I did go in hospital and have a sigmoidoscopy back in May last year when I had my 1st flare up as I panicked and didn't know what was happening and thats when my gastro said I had 40cm of ulcerative colitis, I only had 10cm back in 2004 when I was first diagnosed but back then all I was taking was Mucosaheal and it took a while to heal. I asked when the next one was due and he said not for 10 years which surprised me a bit. I have been in two minds whether to have another one or not but I know if I go back to my Gastro he won't be happy that I'm not on the drugs he prescribed.

Yeah the blood is bright red and sometimes its a maroon colour but thats mainly when I sit on the toilet wanting to go but all that I pass is pieces of little bits of stool and blood. When I actually have a bowel movement it looks like it is just around the outside.

Also I find at the moment when I do push a Fissureheal in (I push it up as far as I can go) and when I do feel around a bit it is a bit sore just inside. I did get my GP to have a feel of my rectum a few weeks back but she said it was fine and couldn't feel anything but when she pulled her finger out there was some blood on the glove and she said it is just my colitis flaring ??

I have been keeping a diary since June (when I started on the WOO) of the stools I have and noticed last month when I had a diarrhea episode was about the same time as this time so don't know if that is a coincidence or not...but I did increase the WOO about a week before this last episode too so maybe that could of done it.

I will need luck to try and find Aloe Vera which is 100%, as I have tried some before but it had a very bitter taste to it, they say it is 99% pure ?? and Jini says the juice shouldn't be bitter, so might have to order some from the shop next time I place an order.

I was going to use the Glutamine but I have ever only taken it when I had diarrhea which works very well, and I really don't want to be any more constipated then I have to be especially when sometimes I only have a few round hard pellets come out which I think does cause some bleeding- when would be the best time to take this so I don't get the effect of constipation ???

Sorry this is a long post again but I like getting all the information I need by letting you know all my symptoms and by asking all the questions I do.

Thanks again
Debbie

Hello again,

Yes your probably right about it being a haemorrhoid, as it was a bit sore but has settled down alot today (not so sore to sit down), and I had a normal stool yesterday and it didn't feel as sore, still a bit of blood there but not alot, hopefully the fissureheal is dealing with that. I got my doctor to check it again on Friday as I had to have a pap smear and its a standard thing here to check that at the same time and I also had my routine blood test done today as well so hopefully everything will come back fine.

As for the diarrhea, yes it did come at the end of my period as I finished on the Friday and I had it on the Saturday, and it was the same last month too, I will see if it happens again next month then if it does I know not to worry to much about it - thanks for bringing that up.

I have to place an order soon for some things (waiting for the Aussie dollar to go back up) so I will order some Aloe Vera Juice then too.

Thanks again and I'm sure as things come up you will hear from me.

Cheers
Debbie