Re: medication/VSL#3 question from Newbie

[Guest guest]

> Thank you for those who answered by lengthy email. More questions...

>

> My son decided on his own to stop his meds about three weeks ago. Should he

not do that without doctor oversight? The Imuran is supppose to take 4-6 weeks

before it is even " effective " so my concern is that in 4-6 weeks from stopping

he will start feeling worse. Will being on the diet hopefully negate that

effect?

>

> Also, can someone explain why the VSL#3 is illegal? I had read that the powder

was bad but the capsules OK.

It has bifidus in it - which is illegal on SCD - because in some people it

overgrows in the gut and takes

over. And it is impossible to know ahead of time if it will work well for you

or overgrow and dominate

in an unhealthy way.

Mara

[Guest guest]

>

>

>

>> Thank you for those who answered by lengthy email. More questions...

>>

>> My son decided on his own to stop his meds about three weeks ago. Should he

not do that without doctor oversight? The Imuran is supppose to take 4-6 weeks

before it is even " effective " so my concern is that in 4-6 weeks from stopping

he will start feeling worse. Will being on the diet hopefully negate that

effect?

You should check out LDN. It works much better for a lot of us than then

conventional meds:

http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/lowdosenaltrexone/

I used to be on versions of the same drug your son was on, and they never did

much or even

anything that I know of for me. LDN works much better for a lot of us with

lousy immune systems,

because it helps to modulate it back to health and increases our endorphins,

which people

with immune disfunction are generally short of.

It doesn't have a 100% record, but as I said, it works much better for many of

us.

Your doctor may never have heard of it though - or may be resistant. So you may

need to see someone else to get a prescription. You'll get a list of docs when

you

first sign up.

Mara

[Guest guest]

My son decided on his own to stop his meds about three weeks ago. Should he not do that without doctor oversight? The Imuran is supppose to take 4-6 weeks before it is even "effective" so my concern is that in 4-6 weeks from stopping he will start feeling worse. Will being on the diet hopefully negate that effect?Hi! Welcome to the group =) I'm on azathioprine right now, which I think is the same as imuran. It's sort of a decision that everyone has to make themselves about meds. I was always very opposed to using meds, but it came to a point where the diet itself wasn't doing enough, so I had to take them. I don't plan on being on meds forever, but while the diet takes effect, they do seem to be helping keep my symptoms under control. There are pros and cons, really, of taking meds, and each person has to make their own decisions. The pros would be that there will probably be fewer major ups and downs while on meds, providing they actually work for him. Also, doctors (and insurance companies) don't like it when we go off our meds, which I know from experience, so if you decide to stay off meds it might be much harder to deal with the doctors. Everyone responds to the diet differently, so he could very well be one of those who does really well, and would be fine with just the diet and no meds. But then, he could also be like me, who couldn't get things under control with just diet, and needed the meds to help. Sorry if I'm just confusing you more, which I probably am, I just figured I'd offer what advice I could give =) Oh, and as for the illegals in the meds, I'm fairly certain mine have illegals, and most probably do unless you can afford to get them compounded. The illegals might make healing take longer, but I don't think they would prevent healing from occurring, so again, it's really just a personal decision you have to make. What's best for one person might be a lot different from what's best for someone else. Cheers!Alyssa 16 yo UC April 2008, dx Sept 2008SCD June 2009 (restarted)Azathioprine 75 mg 1x per dayPrednisone 20 mg 1x per day