First Time Here--Currently Seeking Diagnosis

Hi everyone,

I'm really glad I came across this forum. Finally one that seems up-to-date and responsive! I don't have a complete diagnosis yet, but after many talks with a friend/coworker who has long suffered colitis, I'm beginning to wonder if this or Crohn's is me. I've suffered stomach issues for most of my life, having certainly worsened over time. Constant trips to the bathroom are a regular part of my daily life, and I feel this has significantly set back my ability to focus on/pursue a career. My friend was able to remedy herself completely through visits to a homeopathic doctor--diet and supplements--allowing her to get off of something like 20 pills a day! Has anyone else been able to see improvement through such methods? I don't like taking medicine and hate going to the doctor...any recommendations are greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance!

Hi and welcome to the forum, sorry to see you've suffered but that's why we're all here and have in common. I'd start by looking at your diet, which foods make your stomach worse and which make you have a comfortable day.

That's the basis of finding a way of dealing with the situation.

You need a diagnosis first. I tried homeopathy for a year, but in combination with my medication, not instead of. Homeopathy works for some and not others, unfortunately not for me and cost my parents shed loads of money. But IBD left untreated can have serious consequences. Have you been to the DR and/or a GI yet?

I wouldn't,t bother with homeopathy,doctors I,m afraid

I tried Homeopathic (in addition to the GI meds), which was really expensive, I'm not in any better shape today with or without them. Many of the drugs are not regulated by the FDA so my GI asked me to stop taking them as we have been unable to find the cause of the chronic daily nausea/D. Nothing changed when I quit the homeopathic meds or while I was on them but I was hoping I could change things without drugs - unfortunately it didn't help.

If I was a healthy person, maybe the supplements would have helped.

Hope you feel better!

Hello there, welcome to the forum.

What steps have you taken so far with regards to getting yourself diagnosed? Do you have any tests organised?

IBD is a very individual illness and what works for one person is not garunteed to help you. We recommend that diet and supplements are used as an add on and not as the only method of treatment, since IBD can get very dangerous if it is not treated properly.

If you would like to experiment with your diet then you could start by keeping a food and symptom diary, you record what you've eaten and how severe your symptoms have been afterwards. If you keep doing this you may start noticing a pattern, which will allow you to work out what is and isn't triggering symptoms. This doesn't work for everyone though, some people find that simply eating anything seems to trigger symptoms.

You do need a diagnosis before you think about homeopathy or conventional medicine, which can be used together to help treat these illnesses holistically.

I don't think anyone likes going to the doctors, we can all relate to that, but sometimes it is just unavoidable. We'll be here to support you and to try and answer your questions.