Crohn's Disease and Ulcerative Colitis - Cannabis Treatment

[Cambium]

@Newcouch thc/cbd will be relieving the symptoms, nausea pain etc.. prescription meds will be dealing with the immune system. Yes good diet and good weed make a huge difference to quality of life by alleviating symptoms, but they dont cure crohns or colitis. If only!

 

Glad you're on the up!

[Davey Jones]

I have a family member who has a fistula and it’s terrible 

 

RSO is definitely reducing the symptoms. The anti biotics made it worse for sure

 

I don’t know much about  crohns so not sure if I should recommend the natural remedies and boosters we have been doing alongside the RSO. I don’t want to make things worse or give false hope. Turmeric milk pepper and honey does a good job I think. Black seed oil is also very good 

 

I think if he had crohns or if there was no progress we would consider this 
 

 

 

Quote

Miracles of Alkalizing Diet

 

The human body is composed of various organs and parts, which are made up of tissues and cells. These tissues and cells are composed of 16 chemical elements.

The balance or equilibrium of these chemical elements in the body is an essential factor in the maintenance of health and healing of disease. The acid-alkaline balance plays a vital role in this balanced body chemistry. All foods, after digestion and absorption leave either an acid or alkaline ash in the body depending on their mineral composition. The normal body chemistry is approximately 20 per cent acid and 80 per cent alkaline. This is the acid-alkaline balance.

 

In normal health, the reaction of the blood is alkaline and that is essential for our physical and mental well-being. The preponderence of alkalis in the blood is due to the fact that the products of the vital combustions taking place in the body are mostly acid in character. Carbohydrates and fats form about nine-tenths of the normal fuel of the body. IN normal health, this great mass of material is converted into carbon dioxide gas and water. Half of the remaining one-tenth fuel is also con- verted into the same gas and water. This huge amount of acid is transported by the blood to the various points of discharge, mainly the lungs. By virtue of alkalinity, the blood is able to transport the acid from the tissues to the discharge points.

 

Acidosis

 

Whenever the alkalinity of the blood is reduced, even slightly, its ability to transport the carbon dioxide gets reduced. This results in the accumulation of acid in the tissues. This condition is known as acidosis or hypo-alkalinity of the blood. Its symptoms are hunger, indigestion, burning sensation and pain in the pharynx, nausea, vomiting, headache, various nervous disorders and drowsiness. Acidosis is the breeding ground for most diseases. Nepthritis or Bright’s disease, rheumatism, premature old age, arteriosclerosis, high blood pressure, skin disorders and various degenerative diseases are traceable to this condition. It seriously interferes with the functions of the glands and organs of the body. It also lowers the vitality of the system, thereby increasing the danger of infectious diseases.

The main cause of acidosis or hypo-alkalinity of the blood is faulty diet, in which too many acid forming foods have been consumed. In the normal process of metabolism or converting the food into energy by the body,. various acids are formed in the system and in addition, other acids are introduced in food. Whenever there is substantial increase in the formation of acids in the system and these acids are not properly eliminated through the lungs, the kidneys and the bowels , the alkalinity of the blood is reduced, resulting in acidosis.

 

Other causes of acidosis are depletion of alkali reserve due to diarrhoea, dysentery, cholera etc., accumulation of carbon dioxide in asphyxia and anoxia as in circulatory and pulmonary diseases and accumulation of acetone bodies resulting from starvation, vomiting and diabetes millitus. Acidosis can be prevented by maintaining a proper ratio between acid and alkaline foods in the diet. Certain foods leave alkaline ash and help in maintaining the alkalinity of the food, while others leave highly acid ash and lower the alkali reserve of the blood and tissue fluids to a very large extent. Eggs do the same but less strongly than meats. Cereals of all kinds, including all sorts of breads are also acid-forming foods , though much less than meats. All fruits, with exceptions like plums and prunes and all green and root vegetables are highly alkaline foods and help to alkalinize the blood and other tissue fluids.

Thus , our daily diet should consist of four-fifth of alkaline-forming foods such as juicy fruits, tubers, legumes, ripe fruits, leafy and root vegetables and one fifty of acid-forming foods containing concentrated proteins and starches such as meat, fish, bread and cereals. Eating sensibly in this manner will ensure the necessary alkalinity of the food which will keep the body in perfect health.

Whenever a person has acidosis, the higher the ratio of alkaline forming foods in his diet, the quicker will be the recovery. Acids are neutralised by alkalies. It is, therefore, imperative that persons suffering from various ailments are given adequate alkaline ash foods to offset the effects of acid-forming foods and leave a safe margin of alkalinity.

 

The most agreeable and convenient means of alkalizing the blood are citrus fruits and fruit juices. The alkalizing value of citrus fruits are due to large percentage of alkaline salts, mainly potash, which they contain. Each pint of orange juice contains 12 grains of potassium, one of the most potent of alkalis. Lemon juice contains nine grains of the alkali to the pint and grape seven grains.

 

 

Diet in Disease

 

In the diet during disease, breakfast may consist of fresh fruits, lunch may comprise raw vegetables with acid and sub-acid fruits, and for dinner raw and cooked vegetables, or light starchy vegetables like beet, carrot, cauliflower, egg-plant and squashes may be taken. Sweet fruits may be added to this diet after seven days.

 

 

Foods are classified as acid-producing or alkaline-producing depending on their reaction on the urine. Calcium, magnesium, sodium and potassium present in foods contribute to the alkaline effect, while sulphur, phosphorous and chlorine contribute to the acidic effect. Depending on the pre-dominating constituents in a particular food, it is classified as acid-forming or alkaline-forming.

 

 

The effect of food stuffs upon the alkalinity of the blood depends upon their residue which they leave behind after undergoing oxidation in the body. It is an error to presume that because a food tastes acid, it has an acidic reaction in the blood. For instance, fruits and vegetables have organic acids in combination with soda and potash in the form of acid salts. When the acids are burnt or utilised in the body, the alkaline soda or potash is left behind. Hence the effect of the natural fruit acids is to increase the alkalinity of the blood rather than reduce it.

 

 

Based on the above observations, the following charts show the common foods with acid and alkaline ash :

 

 

Barley

Bananas (unripe) Beans

Bread

Cereals

Cakes

Chicken Confections Corn

Chorolate

Coffee

Almonds

Apples

Apricots Banana (ripe) Beets

Cabbage Carrots Cauliflower Celery Coconuts Cottage Cheese Cucumbers Dates

 

 

A - Foods Leaving An Acid Ash (One-Fifth Class)

Eggs

Grain Foods

Lentils

Meats

Nuts except almonds Oatmeal

Peas

Rice

Sugar

Sea Foods

Tea

 

B - Foods Leaving An Alkaline Ash ( Four-fifths class )

Melons Milk Onions Oranges Parsley Peaches Pears Pineapple Potatoes Pumpkins Radishes Raisins Spinach

 Figs ( Fresh and Dry) Grapes

Lemons

Lettuce

Soyabeans Tomatoes Turnips

 

 

 

Edited December 11, 2021 by Davey Jones

[Newcouch]

cheers @Davey Jones and @Cambium

 

re the alkylyzing diet - everyone is different - that is why the elimination diet tries to cut out the confounding features, although obviously food is merely one input to the gi system, lol.

 

For two, maybe three weeks i ate nothing but meat and eggs - which appears the opposite of the below.  I didnt measure blood / urine sugars or pH etc. The main issue with steak and eggs is lack of carbs - total lack. This puts the body in quite moderate ketosis (about 6-8 mmoL/L for me). This can have its own weird effects at first - keto flu. This was quite cool to see - but you have to be a little careful; my keto levels returned to normal very quickly.

 

Personally, i think the steak and eggs thing is macho meditterannean bullshit - it worked but i wouldnt do it that way again. I would go to a proper nutritionist and have a proper elimination diet; leaf veg, different meats etc. I took a fair few supplements whilst deep into the diet. Mind you, just knawing on cold brisket and boiled eggs throughout the day is actually quite fun!!!

 

 

[Cambium]

@Davey Jones yes turmeric and honey are good immuomodulators. As with all circumstances antibiotics should be a last resort. It is however typical of C/C patients, regardless of prescription meds, supplementation, Cannabis or any of the other useful tools of remission, to spiral into a relapse and them being a life or death necessity. A last resort before a surgical solution is recommended. One of the biggest lessons that you learn having C/C is stay off the operating slab at all costs. The unpredictability of relapse and remission is the hardest thing to manage. Sometimes there is so much hope for this, that, or the other. You give it weight, it becomes part of your routine and then a few days later you are in a situation where you have to undo all that hard work of bolstering your immune system and culturing all the good bacteria and fungi needed for healthy gut-brain biota, with iv antibiotics because an unseen perforation, or sepsis threatens your life. If you're lucky enough to recover without the need for surgery, it is literally back to the drawing board with a clean slate having to reculture all the micro life and bolstered immune system that you've just obliterated. 

 

Biological infusions are giving the best results for inducing long term remission and avoidance of antibiotics for C/C patients right now. IME Cannabis in all forms makes life bearable

 

 

[Mullet]

My Mum has been struggling with Crohns for years and is finally now on board with trying cannabis.

I know she has been on azathioprine for a long time and isn't really getting much benefit from it anymore. 

 

I've ordered some Peach Puree CBD (G13 Labs) and this will be the next run in my little cabinet, I really wanted to try the CBD Nordle (CBD Crew) but couldn't find it in stock from any reputable seed banks. 

 

Am I right in thinking that most of the psychoactive effect will be diminished if I make coconut oil suppositories for?

 

Thanks in advance. 

[soto]

I must admit I'm getting really irritated by consultants who may mean well but have a habit of not really listening to what you're saying.

I came off immunosuppressants back in April (well I mean I didn't take the dose of infliximab that was due in April) around the time my calprotectin level was ~4000. By October I'd got it down to 279 by going on a strict diet, avoiding caffeine and alcohol.

Despite this the dermatologist I see (who's a professor of epidemiology too) is convinced the reason it went down was due to infliximab.... It never went below 1600 for the six months or so I was on infliximab...

I've been on ustekinumab since the end of November, it doesn't seem to be doing much but then I haven't tested my calprotectin levels yet.

For the record the reason I decided to come off infliximab was that I had very high levels of antibodies against it in my bloodstream, basically my body was destroying it which may explain why it wasn't effective but I'm still not convinced these drugs are the solution to my issues given the BAD is so dominant.

Edited January 8, 2022 by soto

[BarrySHitPeas]

Just going to leave this here.....

 

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2022/jan/08/global-spread-of-autoimmune-disease-blamed-on-western-diet

 

 

[soto]

On 08/01/2022 at 6:49 PM, soto said:

I must admit I'm getting really irritated by consultants who may mean well but have a habit of not really listening to what you're saying.

I came off immunosuppressants back in April (well I mean I didn't take the dose of infliximab that was due in April) around the time my calprotectin level was ~4000. By October I'd got it down to 279 by going on a strict diet, avoiding caffeine and alcohol.

Despite this the dermatologist I see (who's a professor of epidemiology too) is convinced the reason it went down was due to infliximab.... It never went below 1600 for the six months or so I was on infliximab...

I've been on ustekinumab since the end of November, it doesn't seem to be doing much but then I haven't tested my calprotectin levels yet.

For the record the reason I decided to come off infliximab was that I had very high levels of antibodies against it in my bloodstream, basically my body was destroying it which may explain why it wasn't effective but I'm still not convinced these drugs are the solution to my issues given the BAD is so dominant.

I got the dates slightly wrong for anyone who's interested, my last infliximab dose was in April. Calprotectin level was ~1800 ug/g late April, then ~4000 in June, then 1600 late Sep and then 270 late Nov.

Went on ustekinumab on 29th November and calprotectin level hit ~1300 just before Christmas. To be clear I didn't get this result back until Monday (sent the wrong form in so thought it had been binned). My diet went off the rails in December.

To be honest the whole thing is up in the air now as I appear to have developed an adverse skin reaction from it, just trying to determine severity before I take the next dose.

To be clear you're meant to have biologics doses spaced 8-12 weeks apart so I think it highly unlikely the inflixmab would be having much effect late Nov, especially as I'd already been shown to have a high level of antibodies against it.

Edited January 12, 2022 by soto

[soto]

They're now trying to make out that the 270 calprotectin reading was a 'spurious result'...

I can't begin to describe how frustrating this all is but I know that I just have to remain calm as the truth will come out and logic will prevail in the end. 

Part of me wants to make myself sick just to prove a point. There is a part of the NHS called the Patient Liaison Service or PALS which can help, so that's the first port f call before I do anything drastic. That said it's probably better if I just try and get my calprotectin levels down so they're consistently under 50 but my fear in doing this has always been that they will attribute the reduction to the immunosuppressants. 

I wanted to do all this off immunosuppressants but was pressured into going onto them again. I'll admit I could have just refused but it's not a good look.

Edited January 19, 2022 by soto

[Newcouch]

@soto that all seems really bad, sorry about that.

 

i cant believe you calpro levels are so high for so long, and they dont seem overly fussed about it.

 

do you have a medical prescription for cannabis and is this meant to be working alongside other stuff, or is it all independent / no cannabis prescription?

 

i must admit, i dont think i have heard of the cannabis specialist working hand in hand with the ibd team (or, to be fair, any two doctors working together!!!) to find remission.

 

My ibd team dont know anything about my medical cannabis. as long as my calpro is below 100 and i am not bleeding out my arse, they are happy; which is fair enough for a surgical team.  BUT my cannabis  and GI specialist knows all the drugs i am on, and the cannabis is improving remission. thank god.

 

Since the surgical IBD team know probably nothing about cannabis, and your cannabis person should be a gi expert too, then cant you discuss your nhs medication with him to see if he can suggest a treatment that you can suggest to the nhs?

 

wishing you all the best..

 

Newc

[soto]

14 hours ago, Newcouch said:

@soto that all seems really bad, sorry about that.

 

i cant believe you calpro levels are so high for so long, and they dont seem overly fussed about it.

 

do you have a medical prescription for cannabis and is this meant to be working alongside other stuff, or is it all independent / no cannabis prescription?

 

i must admit, i dont think i have heard of the cannabis specialist working hand in hand with the ibd team (or, to be fair, any two doctors working together!!!) to find remission.

 

My ibd team dont know anything about my medical cannabis. as long as my calpro is below 100 and i am not bleeding out my arse, they are happy; which is fair enough for a surgical team.  BUT my cannabis  and GI specialist knows all the drugs i am on, and the cannabis is improving remission. thank god.

 

Since the surgical IBD team know probably nothing about cannabis, and your cannabis person should be a gi expert too, then cant you discuss your nhs medication with him to see if he can suggest a treatment that you can suggest to the nhs?

 

wishing you all the best..

 

Newc

Hi Newc,

Nope, sadly I don't have a medicinal cannabis script yet. It's a long story, it's mainly down to my financial situation at the mo as I'm in the process of applying for a mortgage and things are a bit tight.

This will probably change around April/May so watch this space. I could get hold of some I guess but just don't want the hassle of dealing with dealers right now. I know everyone will say just grow but it's just not practical in the situation I'm in.

Calprotectin I agree is very high for a long period, I guess they just have a lot of confidence in biologics and are just convinced there's a high likelihood it will come down. Whereas I think the opposite lol. I feel almost powerless to be honest. The only power I have is over whether I take the medication or not but even then you're made to feel like you're being totally irresponsible taking such action.

Just one last thing, I guess my cancer risk is high whilst these levels are raised. No doubt I'll have another colonoscopy about a year from now. My concern is how these immunosuppressants might limit my body's defences against cancer developing? Cells going rogue and being killed off by the immune system etc?

Edited January 19, 2022 by soto

[Newcouch]

Hi Soto,

 

Are you seeing a GI specialist?  I ask this since it was a question that never occurred to me.  I saw the gp and then ended up with the colonoscopy on the surgical team. the surgical team recommended mesalazine and it worked.

 

i am now on the hospital ibd list, and the surgeon rings me every three months to see if he needs to eviscerate me. if im not bleeding, he is happy.

 

But it was only when i saw the cannabis specialist that he pointed out he was a gi specialst, and the hospital are gi surgeons - big difference.

 

Check if oyu are talking to surgical gi or treatment gi. If only surgical, get a gi referral.

 

Failing the above, consider an appointment with a cannabis clinic. then discuss everything honestly with him and see what he recommends - and then choose whether to go your own way or to pay to be legal.  either way, at least you have had a gi and cannabis specialist properly talk about you, and not a surgical statistic.

 

good luck

 

Newc

 

it may even be worth seeing an ibs / cannabis specialist - there are plenty of them, god knows ibs aint ibd, but at least they are familiar with fucked up bowels and cannabis, not just knives.

 

Finally - everyone told me 'elimination diet'. i ignored them for 18 months. Best thing ever. Cheap and very very interesting.

[silvester growdrobe]

I'm currently in a situation where my pharmacy can't get hold of my mesalazine enemas. 

I was diagnosed with UC right at the start of the first lockdown and as such I've never seen a consultant or had any follow ups since. I've left voicemails and emails with my local ibd team but nothing ever comes of it, I can't get a GP appointment before I go on holiday next week, Crohns Colitis UK gave me a number for an NHS service called Hard to Find Medicines to see if I could get an alternative, but the call was such a bad line I had to give up and hope to try again on Monday as they keep normal office hours.

I'm not really sure what the point of me posting this is, just to vent really. 

It's frustrating, feeling like I'm constantly meeting dead ends and my health, and so potentially my earnings too, is going to suffer because of this. Oh well, no point worrying I guess, stress is the last thing I need

[BarrySHitPeas]

3 hours ago, silvester growdrobe said:

can't get hold of my mesalazine enemas. 

What about just taking/asking for "asacol" its still mesalazine just a boring oral tablet ...

(i'm not a doctor, please research yourself) 

 

 

[gb1]