Well I figured out what the painful buises are , is there a way of getting them so calm down. I was in excruciating pain last night with one on what is left of one of my breast ( after weight loss ) and I have a huge glowing red spot that is just burning non stop. Any suggestions?

Also is Olive leaf caps what you recommend for alternative to Oregano oil or extract/ tincture?

Barb

Hi, Barb.

I'm so sorry to hear that you're having such a hard time. I was really sick for about six months before I finally ended up in the ER and then in a gastroenterologist's office (I'm diagnosed with Crohn's), and I remember how miserable it was to feel so awful. So I'm truly writing with sympathy.

I read all of your posts, so I'd get a little feel for your history. I could be wrong, but I really wonder if this is a detox symptom. You had a very strong reaction to the probiotics, which indicates a lot of pathogenic activity in the gut. You've recently started the elemental diet, which also provides a level of detoxification within the body. I wonder if your body is letting go of toxins and this is how it's showing up. What do you think? Does that "click" with you at all? (By the way, perfectly okay if it doesn't.)

The suggestion I'm going to make isn't really a "physical" one, but rather one that I think might enhance your ability to heal and get the most out of the physical therapies you're pursuing. You're obviously going through a very stressful time. You mentioned bleeding and now these painful nodules. Bleeding is scary and pain is a stress that can make you wish you could run away, but there's no way to leave your body behind. You mention that you're a homemaker, which is something we have in common. Maybe we also have some feelings in common. When I went on the elemental diet, I remember that I didn't want to be anywhere around food. But I still had a husband and two children who needed to eat. I didn't enjoy making meals during that time period. It was expensive to follow the IBD Remission Diet. I worried about the money. I worried about all the things I wasn't doing for my family that I considered it my role to do. I worried that I might never get better.

All these worries and fears and stresses are perfectly understandable in circumstances like that. Who wouldn't experience such feelings?! But they also suck up a lot of energy. I know I derived a lot of benefit from using EFT, both for physical and emotional issues. I share some of my experiences with it in a discussion thread titled "EFT - specification of the problem of ulcerative colitis" dated December 6, 2006 here on the main discussion forum.

I'm not trying to say this is the only thing you should do. I'm suggesting it as an adjunct to what you're already doing. You may find, as I did, that it enhances your other efforts.

You may have already read it, but Jini shares some words of wisdom (which includes the relating of the experience of someone with erythema nodosum) on pages 297 through 301 of Listen to Your Gut. I re-read that several times over the course of my healing journey and got a lot of comfort and encouragement from it. Maybe it will give you the same.

Thinking of you, with both empathy and hope.

Nicole

Thank you for your reply. First , I am working my way into the elemental diet, not sure if it is right for me due to high concentration of candida/ yeast. My doc had test down thru Great Smokey and it was the major player in chemistry. I am very concerned that I won't be able to get a handle on the yeast. I haven't seen any blood in the stools in two days, so the little rest I have given it seems to have helped. I am the mother of 6 sons. Three are out of the home, one is in Iraq. I know that send flares in the air, for stress. Yes it is stressfull, it is his second deployment. He comes home in March. The three guys at home are 17 14 and 6. The 6 yr. old is good and I can get breaks when I need it , we home school and the 14 year old is VERY good with his brother. The 17 yr old works with his dad full time and is in Comm. college. I have eliminated aLOT of stress. I used to work Real Estate, I am fully disengaged from that don't miss it. I was part time. I have a strong faith in God, and I look to Him at every turn. Thats not to say he makes it all better, its just that I trust He is in this with me. A miracle would be nice, but that is not always His way .
The nodosum has been very , very painful, up two nights with pain in one breast that is like fire. Against common sense I tried a epsom salts soak, and it seemed to help temporarily. I caught some sleep sitting up last night.
I eat simple things, egg whites in the am, a totally yeast / gluten free waffle in the mid morning, I do the Asorb Plus in the noon hour and chicken or fish in the eve. I am upping the fish oil and bosweilia, and I am doing the probiotics in the am and pm. My md gave me something called kaprex to add to my stash. Any thoughts on that. Its a metagenics product. I have loose stools with occasional formations. I am as weak as a kitten. I had these nodosum things in my legs at seperate intervals and I couldn't walk . I HOPE THIS IS DETOX. Lord knows I am full of bad bacteria. My whole thing started with a severe bacterial infection I picked up taking care of a friends 7 New Foundland dogs. For 6 weeks I tried oregano, olive leaf, garlic, colloidal silver, fasting , you name it . I lost 15 lbs. I finally went to the doc and he put me on Cipro and Flagyl WOW..... talk about killer drugs. It killed the germ but the colon went nuts. this started in Aug. I feel somethings are better but I just look at the over all stamina and I am so much weaker. I am not sure i am winning. I have now lost a total of 35 lbs. I could afford maybe 15.
When does it turn? I know its different for everyone. I just need to know that it will . I am constantly having pushed at me Asacol and Prednisone. I have done my homework on those , I just think I would not have a good outcome. I react to drugs badly usually. A friend had colitis and she said ' O yeah I just take Asacol for 6 weeks and I am fine. some time that is so tempting...... especially as I get weaker and weaker and the constant diarrhea. I am hanging on to the natural , my family is supportive. I just want to see some light at the end of the tunnel.
I don't want to be incapacitated when my son comes home.
I am rambled. But maybe it'll give a little insight for encouragement and ideas. Your are all so dear to be so 'in it ' with all us sufferers. Thank you.

Hi, Barb.

You're not rambling. Chances are, everyone on this forum has been in a really low state of health at this point and so know how that feels and understands.

I'm not telling you what to do, because I don't think that's my place, but here are some thoughts.

I did look up some information on Kaprex. At first glance, nothing stands out as harmful in the ingredient list. However, you sound like you're in a really delicate condition, so I think it would pay to be quite cautious and to introduce it really slowly if you decide to test it. Do you have Listen to Your Gut? If not, post me back and I'll write you all about Jini's supplement introduction recommendations, found on page 55 of her book.

It's definitely possible to improve. This is speaking from experience. I went from diarrhea up to 12 times a day, unable to sleep through the night, losing weight, so tired I used to be glad to hit a red light when I was driving because it meant I could close my eyes for a little while to what I would consider a normal life at this point. Usually two (sometimes three) solid bowel movements daily, sleep through the night, normal weight, excellent energy. (In fact, for the last month, I've been physically working....helping with framing, electrical, etc....on a home improvement project my father is helping my husband and I with and feeling great. You just can't do that when you're sick like I was.) So don't lose hope.

Keep in mind that it might not be possible to address everything at once. Many people have to concentrate on their most serious symptoms first and let less serious ones ride for awhile; trying to do too much at once can also be a stress on the body and aggravate symptoms.

I can tell you from all of the anti-microbial substances you've been on that one of the things which will ultimately make a huge difference is probiotics, but it sounds like you're going to have to progress slowly in that area.

The elemental diet should help you greatly to build some foundational strength, as a place to start. You might write to Chris, the moderator of the IBD Remission Diet forum, and ask him exactly what his custom elemental shake recipe was since you're particularly concerned about yeast. That's been a problem for him, too. I know the first big difference I noticed on the elemental diet was much better energy....that was about two weeks into it. By six weeks into it, I felt like a different person. I still had more "work" to do after the elemental diet....one of which was addressing yeast overgrowth...but it gave me a big jumpstart on healing.

Thinking of you.

Nicole