Avoiding supplements and what to do when going back into flair?

[Guest guest]

So " Sleep tonight " contains:

250mg of: stress-reducing proprietary blend: ashwaganha (withania somnifera)

(Sensoril ® brand) root and leaf extract standardized to contain 8%

withanolides and L-theanine (suntheanine ® brand).

250 mg of: Cortisol-reducing proprietary blend: mangolia (Mangolia officinalis)

bank extract standardized to contain 2% honokiol and 1% mangolol and epimedium

(Epimedium koreanum) aerial part extract.

50 mg: phosphatidylserine.

Other ingredients: dextrose, cellulose, modified cellulose gum, modified

cellulose, magnesium stearate, stearic acid, titanium dioxide, silicon dioxide,

soy lecithin, vegetable glycerin, and carnauba wax.

So...I suppose any of those could be bad! I started taking them again after I

took that DHEA stuff for 3 days and my heart was pounding and I was getting

adrenaline rushes (and funny butterfly-y feeling in my gut with 7 rounds to the

bathroom and more blood that day. I figured if the DHEA stimulated my production

of adrenaline and cortisol, and I got really bad, maybe I needed sleep (by 5am)

and this stuff (called Sleep tonight) is supposed to cut cortisol production by

about 67% in test subjects. At this point my adrenaline levels may be more

normalized, so I will try not taking it tonight.

I still have a prescription of allegra which I think might have helped the

bleeding before - it makes me so groggy the next day, and I have finals this

week...but I guess I will figure it out if it have to.

I am also taking acyclovir for herpes and prednisone. I really can't afford to

take those out and they are the only ones I've taken these last couple days. I

am still bleeding more than I had been before. Less times/day. Still don't want

to drink water (because it causes pain) but I will try to rehydrate and eat some

salt so I want to drink more. I'm going to try eating hardly anything today and

see if more rest helps.

I have also been fighting colds off and on (just nasal mucous/colored mucous

symptoms and maybe fatigue can be attributed to that. I also had to decide

whether or not to move 2 days ago, decided to, but that was stressful. Met with

the ex-boyfriend yesterday to hash some things out. Also stressful. Also worried

about finals. Can that kind of stress really cause more bleeding?

What do you guys do when you go into flair? My gastroenterologist doesn't want

me to take more prednisone than I already am (5mg/day) because she thinks it is

time to do another colonoscopy to see if it is really the UC causing it. She

didn't hint at what else she thinks could be causing it. My naturopath really

wants the yeast problem taken care of (I have thrush and have probably had

candidaitis for several yeast w/o diagnosis), so she wants me to start taking an

antifungal. I ate some garlic and onion yesterday to see if that would help.

While I don't think it made it worse it is hard to tell since I am still

bleeding more/more D/more pain.

On the diet, so many additional medicines are forbidden. My cramp-bark tea has

helped each time I've had my period - I would get in so much pain and my

symptoms would get a little worse. Then I would finally drink the tea and I

would feel better cramp-wise the next day. But if that was forbidden too, what I

would do to get my body out of stress-response? More prednisone? Neither of my

docs wants to see me continue to bleed more by sticking strickly to the diet and

avoiding meds. I want to avoid damage to my colon too, and it seems like this is

a very complicated process going on.

Just feeling a little stuck I guess.

Kat

> > " Sleep-tonight, " a sleeping pill that contains 2

> >herbs that cut the production of cortisol by

> >like 67% (in test subjects). Still have cramps

> >so I'm thinking of using cramp bark tea today, since that always helps

>

> What's in the sleeping pill?

>

> Most barks are illegal because they contain

> polysaccharides. I discovered, during my fiasco

> a year and a half ago with pain meds containing

> illegals that I thought the meds were helping,

> but it turned out the only thing they were doing

> was feeding the bad bugs... and the pain I was

> getting when they wore off but gut cramps caused

> by the bacteria who wanted their luscious food.

>

>

> — Marilyn

> New Orleans, Louisiana, USA

> Undiagnosed IBS since 1976, SCD since 2001

> Darn Good SCD Cook

> No Human Children

> Shadow & Sunny Longhair Dachshund

>