My son has Chron's Disease. He has two fissures and a reacurrent hemorroids problem for four months. He is a Senior in High School and he has no life. We went to see a College up NOrth and he couldn't even walk on the tour. He is so depressed and frustrated. I am so worried about him because we've tried so many things and nothing works. He has been on two antiobotics, plus 1500 milligrams of Pentasa, Rutin, probiotic (Culturelle), Vibe to get all the minerals, Monavi drink for antioxidants, Fish oil and I've even tried epson salt, witches hazel and a homepathic heel cream for hemmoroids. Can someone give me any suggestions.

Hi Ana,

Please visit the FissureHeal website - all the Testimonials on there are real:

http://www.fissureheal.com

For the hemorrhoids, they will be soothed by the FissureHeal, but to heal you need to take 400 mg of Rutin - 2-3x/day. The dosage must be this high to have an effect and it must be consistent.

take care,
Jini

I Jini,

I am the mother that wrote about hemmoroids. I took him to the GI today and the doctor said it was not a hemmoroid, but an absess and it is about to explode. He sounded very concern and ordered a Pelvic and Rectal MRI. He then put him on 3,000 mg of Pentasa, 6-MP, Prendisone, Flagyl, and Ciprofloxacin. Thank you so much for your suggestions on how to treat hemmoroids, but its an absess and he's concerned that it's made a track in my intestines. He is even checking for fistulas. This poor boy is graduating in a few weeks and he can't even sit down to take his finals. Please help!!

Hi, Ana.

Your poor son; you must feel at your wit's end, too!

Please check out the following link regarding severe infection, which I think contains a lot of information you'll find helpful. Infection is what causes an abscess; the body "walls" the infection in in an attempt to contain it. Fistulas are similar in principle....only instead, the body makes a drainage canal to allow the infection out. (Just like you have a runny nose when you have a cold; all that extra mucus is the body's way of moving the pathogen outside itself.)

http://www.jinipatelthompson.com/bb2/vi ... .php?t=583

In the above link, particularly take note of the need to immediately re-colonize the intestines with good bacteria. (As long as he is on prednisone, he will need to continue the probiotics; prednisone interferes with probiotic colonization so if you don't supplement with them continually, it leaves the door wide open for harmful bacteria, yeasts, etc. to multiply.)

For reference, in case you're not already aware of it, the wild oregano oil spoken of in the post is a powerful natural antimicrobial.

Another thing he might consider is the IBD Remission Diet. An elemental diet (such as the IBD Remission Diet) is one in which the food (drinks, really) is pre-digested, so it allows the bowel to rest and heal. Ideally, when embarking on it, you would want to be off all prescribed drugs, but if he's in that much pain, I think it's still something to consider as an option. He might not get all of the benefits that he would otherwise, but he'll still get the bowel rest.

You can read about how Jini formulated AbsorbPlus (the shake mix which is the base for the IBD Remission Diet) at the following website:

http://www.absorbplus.com/absorb/story.asp

Also, if you are interested in trying this, they sell a sample pack, which includes one serving of each of the three flavors. This is also available, along with Jini's book, The IBD Remission Diet, at www.holistichealthshoppe.com if you are interested. This is an online health shop that Jini set up for us. A nice thing about it is that even if you would prefer to buy things locally, you can see Jini's comments about the various supplements and therefore learn not only which brands she has personally vetted and recommends, but why.

Regarding fistulas, here is also a quote from Jini's book, Listen to Your Gut.

[/quote]Many people use Jini's Wild Oregano Oil Protocol both topically and orally to help heal their fistula infection. I'd like to offer you an additional experimental procedure that you may want to try. If you don't have a fistula yet, but you have a rectal abscess that your doctor is afraid is going to develop into a fistula, find out whether the abscess is still accessible from (open to) your rectum, and approximately how high up your rectum it is. If you can still access your abscess via your rectum, you may want to try syringing diluted Wild Oregano Oil (see the section of Wild Oregano Oil for dilution instructions) up your rectum, to the area of the abscess. One of the main problems with a rectal abscess or fistula is that it's very hard for the antibiotics to reach it, hence medical treatment is often ineffective. However, if you can regularly (three times per day, or as much as you can manage) syringe diluted Wild Oregano Oil up into the area of your abscess, you have a very good chance at killing off the infection. Syringes (with a plastic tip - the longer, the better - not a needle) can be obtained from any pharmacy. As these syringing procedures are experimental and have not been trial-tested by many people yet, you may want to consult with your doctor before proceeding.

Fistulas require a multi-pronged approach to treatment as you need to first eliminate any infection, then heal the mucosal lining and the intestinal wall and simultaneously restore proper bacterial flora throughout the gut. Again, you must maintain a healthy, balanced bacterial flora to prevent future infection and damage to the intestinal lining.[/quote]

You can find much more information about fistulas and Wild Oregano Oil in Listen to Your Gut. This is also available at www.holistichealthshoppe.com, if you are interested in it.

The good news in all this is that it is definitely possible to improve! I, too, am diagnosed with Crohn's Disease. A little more than a year ago, after six months of chronic diarrhea (including having to get up a few times a night), two courses of antibiotics, a fun trip to the emergency room, and rapid weight loss, I was so tired that if I DID have to leave the house (I tried not to, because I never knew when I'd need the bathroom and whenever it was, it was always right away), I was grateful to hit a red light so that I could just close my eyes for those few seconds. I felt like a walking zombie.

Today, I am at a normal weight and feel great. I don't take any pharmaceuticals. I've spent the last few months helping with an addition to our home. That's been interesting....I've learned how to frame, string wire, hang drywall, install outlets, lay tile and next on the list is how to install a bamboo floor! And now that the gardening season is upon us, I'm outside turning compost and lime into the garden beds. The point is, I've had the health and the energy to do this.

So do know that as bad as things are right now, it doesn't mean that they always have to be that way. There is hope.

Sympathetically,
Nicole

Hi, My son has chron's and he has an abscess in the rectum. It is about to explode the doctor tells me. He is on Predisone, Pentasa, 6MP, Flaygl and Cypro. I don't know which Probiotic to give him. I had read some where that since it is in the colon I should use some dip... I don't know how to spell it. Anyways, which one of the probiotics that Jini sells would work best for him? Someone that knows please help. I want to get him started soon, since he just started all these strong medications and he is taking his finals to graduate high school this month. Thank you!!

Hi, Ana.

The short answer is probably the Bifido Factor. However, please check out all of this as there is quite a bit of info that should help you in starting out.

Jini recommends Natren brand probiotics. These come in either capsule form or powdered form.

If your son is having more than three bowel movements per day, he would be better off to use the powdered probiotics, as the transit time in the GI tract may not be sufficient to break down the capsule coating. Other advantages of the powdered probiotics are that they will colonize the mouth and esophagus and the powder contains the supernatant (growth medium), which both protects the bacteria from stomach acid and provide a ready food source.

Probiotics must be taken on an empty stomach. (At least 20 minutes before and 2 hours after eating.) Mix the powders in room temp filtered or spring water; don't use regular tap water as the chlorine will kill the bacteria.

You can find additional information regarding probiotics on the home page of Jini's site. (It's the fourth article down under the "Featured Articles" heading.) Also, Listen to Your Gut contains about thirty pages of information regarding probiotics.

Particularly if he has not taken probiotics before, it would be best to start out with only one of the species. Most people find either the Bifido Factor (active in the colon) or the Megadophilus (active in the small intestine) easiest to start out with. Ultimately, he will need to build up to taking all three species (this would include Natren's Digesta-Lac, as well as the previous two mentioned) to see long-term results. However, it is best to start out slowly. The probiotic bacteria will attack pathogenic agents, but if you do this too quickly, you can experience die-off symptoms much like the 'flu, including increased diarrhea.

Here are some other discussion threads which discuss probiotics and which may be of interest to you. The first one in particular deals with Jini's recommendations for starting out taking probiotics:

http://www.jinipatelthompson.com/bb2/vi ... .php?t=173

http://www.jinipatelthompson.com/bb2/vi ... .php?t=491

This last post contains information about things that kill good bacteria. You will want to keep this in mind, as well.

http://www.jinipatelthompson.com/bb2/vi ... .php?t=680

Let me know if you have any other questions.

Nicole

Dear Ana,

I understand that you are panicking and frantic. However, natural healing is not a quick-fix cure. And you can't just fire off supplements into your son's body and hope something will work. Especially when he's taking such strong drugs which counteract the natural healing mechanisms.

The fact that your doctor put him on Cipro and Flagyl (strong antibiotics) shows that he knows the abscess is caused by infection. However, if you read the post from Nicole where she quotes from my LTYG book, it is very difficult for antibiotics to reach an anal abscess since they are largely absorbed in the intestines (before they reach the rectal canal).

So, you need to calm down and take a lot of deep breaths. Then you need to sit down and read "Listen To Your Gut" until you understand it. Maybe you need to read it 2 or 3 times. Even better would be to have your son read it. He is certainly old enough to read and understand the book and take charge of his health.

You can give him all the supplements in the world, but unless you understand what you're doing, and have a plan, and that plan involves getting off drugs.....you're not going to have much success.

First: get your son to read "Listen To Your Gut", and you need to read it too. Then, come up with your plan for treatment together. And then, post any questions you have here.

We are not doctors and this forum is not to be used as a patient advisory center. YOU and YOUR SON have to take control of his health and make decisions and come up with a plan. Otherwise, you'd be better off just following what your GI says - since he is a doctor and can advise you as a patient.

I'm sorry if this sounds harsh, but I have had a lot of experience with this and trust me when I say, you either need to do this properly, or you're better off not doing it - it will just waste your time, drain your energy, and you won't see results.

Natural healing is a COMMITTMENT. It takes time, energy and dedication. If now is not the time, then wait till you're in a better place.

all the best,
Jini