# Hope this helps someone, hopefully lots of you...



## Larry0001

My wife asked me to try and get this out to the Crohn's community in hopes it’ll help others:

I hope this helps you as my life was a roller-coaster health-wise for 25 years until the summer of 2011...

I suffered significantly with Crohn’s for 25 years. Began taking Asacol in 1998 shortly after it became available in the US and though things improved, still had lots of ups & (very disappointing) downs. Would gain then lose weight, etc., you know the story so won’t go into the detail. Thought about Humira after learning that the disease was hyper immune-system related in 2010, excluded that treatment due to cost and risk. Realized that over the years symptoms lessened when I drank alcohol (moderately). *Researched an learned that alcohol suppresses the immune system so in the summer 2011 began taking a shot of vodka in a glass of water each and every evening just before bedtime.* Issues began to subside and before long I was basically symptom-free and enjoying a "normal" life... I then discontinued Asacol, and it’s been 3 years. Still find it unbelievable that I wasted half my life when the solution was right there for the taking. Mentioned this to my GI during my last visit a couple years ago, for some reason he wasn’t enthused, guess he didn’t want to lose a good paying patient…

My daily routine consists of taking 2 multi-vitamins (Centrum) each morning along w/ a good probiotic (Primal Defense) right after breakfast. Before bed I take a shot (1oz.) of Vodka. Give it a whirl for a couple of months; you may be astonished at the results.

Caution: (1) Do not follow the alcohol suggestion if you’re an alcoholic. (1) Do not take more than 1-2 shots per day (if a man) or 1 shot per day (if a woman) in order to avoid liver damage and other health issues. There is a fine line between the benefits and down-side of Alcohol solely based on the quantity of consumption over 24 hours so take no more than suggested above.


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## Forristicat

Interesting. I used to drink fairly heavily on weekends but cut out all alcohol recently due to heart palpitation issues.

I wonder if this method works because it is a shot every single day instead of all at once which is what I was doing.


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## Larry0001

Drinking more than 2oz per day (for a guy) or 1oz per day (for a gal) has been proven detrimental to the liver, etc..

The idea is to walk that fine line between mild immune suppression (to keep Crohn's under control) and liver damage. I think of it as maintenance medication that keeps me symptom-free...but should be taken daily to consistently keep the immune system (slightly) suppressed... Avoids the ups-and-downs that are so tough on our attitudes...

I have a shot of vodka in a glass of water just before going to bed...really relaxes me, sleep like a baby...


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## my little penguin

Have you had imaging and scopes to make sure there isn't silent damage going on?
Following up with a Gi regularly ?

Crohns symptoms on the outside don't always match the damage going on on the inside 


Asacol is the equivalent of taking an aspirin for a brain tumor not going to help to much but not going to hurt either

Numerous studies show 5-Asa are not effective monotherapy for crohns only affects the top most layer and crohns goes through all layers


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## wildbill_52280

maybe there is something else in the vodka that helps, but its unlikely the alcohol/ethanol is helping. In experiments such as the one below ethanol induces colitis in rats.

http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?pid=S0100-879X2003000900013&script=sci_arttext


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## Larry0001

All I can speak to is my own experience... Recall when I was first diagnosed all those years ago the attending physician said among other things I shouldn't drink, that it would only make matters worse. He also said if I didn't have an operation and carry around a bag for the rest of my life that the disease would end me.

Over the course of many years I've gone thru periods where I drank 1-3oz per evening after work (i.e. a Long Island Tea after dinner) ...then periods where no alcohol was consumed... Looking back I realized that flare-ups occurred when I wasn't drinking... Don't know why I didn't make the connection sooner...if I had, quality of life would have improved drastically...all those years of going thru what so many here must be experiencing today...what a waste...

The whole idea behind using Humira, etc. is to suppress the immune system and therefore get ailments such as Crohn's and Rheumatoid Arthritis under control. Alcohol suppresses my immune system for a mere fraction of the cost without sacrificing the bulk of one's immune defenses...

Am able to suppress my immune system just under the threshold needed to keep my particular condition under control. Can and do travel the world safely to remote locations, could never to that if taking Humira-like treatment...and by using it wisely Alcohol has turned my life around...


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## Larry0001

For years and years I thought there must be some simple solution...if only I could find it...and as I got older and older that hope began to fade more & more...

Life has begun again, feel like I'm taking up where I left off 25 years ago... Can do whatever I want whenever I want physically with no thoughts about potential accidents and without wondering where the nearest bathroom is whenever going to a new location...


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## Larry0001

Overall attitude has improved, am not the grouch I was all those years... Clarity of thought has returned... Weight has been stable for 4 years... Am no longer preoccupied with early death. It's unbelievably wonderful to feel 'normal' again...


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## Larry0001

Hello My Little Penguin:

1) Have you had imaging and scopes to make sure there isn't silent damage going on?

Answer: Have't had a scope since 2009 when all was reported as fine.

2) Following up with a Gi regularly ?

Answer: Haven't seen my GI for 2 years. Know my body pretty well by now and will certainly see him if / when I feel the need. All he does is have me fill out a new questionnaire each visit, takes my weight, blood pressure, etc...and charges me $100...


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## my little penguin

So you haven't been checked at all since you started your version of treatment
Even non ibd folks get a colonscopy every 5 years for cancer screening .
Without checking there is no way of knowing what is going on inside


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## Hope345

Glad to hear it seems to be working, thanks so much for sharing.


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## ronroush7

my little penguin said:


> So you haven't been checked at all since you started your version of treatment
> Even non ibd folks get a colonscopy every 5 years for cancer screening .
> Without checking there is no way of knowing what is going on inside


I agree


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## nitty

I don't know about general immunity, but various pieces of research have shown that even moderate alcohol intake increases alpha-tnf which increases inflammation.


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## Forristicat

I didn't know that nitty. My alcohol intake was way too much for sure. I've since quit alcohol and caffeine and am keen to see what good difference that will make.


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## ronroush7

Forristicat said:


> I didn't know that nitty. My alcohol intake was way too much for sure. I've since quit alcohol and caffeine and am keen to see what good difference that will make.


Gave up caffeine years ago.. It irritated my Crohn's.


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## nitty

I know I ought to cut right down on alcohol too, but I do like a small glass of wine in the evening.  During times when I haven't had a drink for a while I haven't noticed any difference, but I probably haven't given it long enough to take any real effect!


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## Gunter

I got Crohn's. Suffered with its symptoms, after realizing something's wrong with me, took necessary medical treatment for a while. Now maintaining with alternate days of Mesacol (Mesalamine) & daily usage of Ayurvedic(Herbal) medicines. 

My weight has increased significantly (now slightly overweight :ybiggrin. No relapses in recent few years. Almost all symptoms have subsided. 

So what i wanna say is our mind/thinking plays a vital role. Please keep yourself happy & satisfied. For that, do whatever that makes you feel good (under limits) even though it may seem silly. Try to pursue your passion. After all,  you are the most important person in this universe for yourself.


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## Lady Organic

Hi Larry, My little penguin is right. It is important to have proper monitoring when we have been diagnosed with Crohn's. this includes a colonoscopy (or other tests if disease was located outside of colon and ileum.). It is important to have colonoscopy not only for CD but also for colon cancer prevention, because having CD or UC puts us at much greater risk of colon cancer than the general population. especially having struggled with 25 years of active disease, it is important to have regular check up. Im glad you are feeling better and you feel you have found your miracle remedy, but I would be more enthousiastic about your experience if it was corroborated by medical proofs of your remission.


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## ronroush7

Amen


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## wildbill_52280

there is only one other possibility i could think this might help, and that is its antibacterial properties, alcohol is good at that, and in IBD, we are always fighting bad bacteria. But i would think you would have to drink it at every meal or something but who knows, just a big maybe on this, i guess i would have to try it, it would be last on the list though, ha.


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## Forristicat

Gunter said:


> So what i wanna say is our mind/thinking plays a vital role. Please keep yourself happy & satisfied. For that, do whatever that makes you feel good (under limits) even though it may seem silly. Try to pursue your passion. After all,  you are the most important person in this universe for yourself.



Great post. I'm assuming being happy reduces stress which helps?


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## Jennifer

Larry0001 said:


> Hello My Little Penguin:
> 
> 1) Have you had imaging and scopes to make sure there isn't silent damage going on?
> 
> Answer: Have't had a scope since 2009 when all was reported as fine.
> 
> 2) Following up with a Gi regularly ?
> 
> Answer: Haven't seen my GI for 2 years. Know my body pretty well by now and will certainly see him if / when I feel the need. All he does is have me fill out a new questionnaire each visit, takes my weight, blood pressure, etc...and charges me $100...


While I don't doubt that you probably feel well enough it's important to have regular scopes done to at least screen for colon cancer which we are at a greater risk of getting. People who are in remission should have scopes done at least every five years and those with active symptoms at least every two years no matter what treatment you're using.

Also if that's all your GI does then it sounds like you need a new one who actually knows what they're doing. Unfortunately not all doctors are the same and some really are terrible but there are also many who are wonderful and continue to treat you even if you aren't interested in conventional medication.

Even small amounts of inflammation builds up scar tissue over time (can cause bowel obstructions and can lead to surgery) and you likely won't have any symptoms so it's best to test with scopes etc every so often just to make sure that everything is OK. This is important Larry0001. Good luck to you and keep us posted on your progress.


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## Archeogirl

This is interesting because I would have thought, from what I've been reading about diet - grains, sugar, processed food, dairy - are irritants to the intestinal system and vodka is made from a mixture of grains.

I'm still new to all this as I'm just being given an official diagnosis this month for Crohn's and haven't touched a drop of alcohol since Halloween. But I will keep this in mind as ideally I would like to be medication free.


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*Diagnosis*: Crohn's, December 2015, age 26
*Meds for CD*: Prednisone 40 mg for next two weeks, previous 2.5 weeks 50 mg, 5-ASA started three days ago
*Things I take*: Meal replacement drink (Vega) twice a day, probiotics, 1200 mg calcium/mag, 1500 mg vitamin d, occasional Tylenol, occasional loperamide
*Things I was taking:* loperamide and hyoscine butylbromide from August-early December 2015 because I was given a irritable bowel diagnosis
*Currently in:* Five month flare


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## Christi

I dont drink at all


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## SauceySciencey

Archeogirl said:


> This is interesting because I would have thought, from what I've been reading about diet - grains, sugar, processed food, dairy - are irritants to the intestinal system and vodka is made from a mixture of grains.
> 
> I'm still new to all this as I'm just being given an official diagnosis this month for Crohn's and haven't touched a drop of alcohol since Halloween. But I will keep this in mind as ideally I would like to be medication free.
> 
> 
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> *Diagnosis*: Crohn's, December 2015, age 26
> *Meds for CD*: Prednisone 40 mg for next two weeks, previous 2.5 weeks 50 mg, 5-ASA started three days ago
> *Things I take*: Meal replacement drink (Vega) twice a day, probiotics, 1200 mg calcium/mag, 1500 mg vitamin d, occasional Tylenol, occasional loperamide
> *Things I was taking:* loperamide and hyoscine butylbromide from August-early December 2015 because I was given a irritable bowel diagnosis
> *Currently in:* Five month flare




There appears to be a big random variable that people respond to different things. Some people swear they feel better with no sugar, I find that's not the case - iced coffee is my saviour during a flare (which I think I'm going into now , and spent christmas day death-staring relatives shovelling turkey/gravy/ham into their mouths :frown. On the other hand, some people eat red meat and are fine, whereas for me I'll find myself feeling off-colour the next day. 

People talk about irritants to the GI system, everything irritates it  Eat good clean non-GM organic protein, but if it's being absorbed through an ulcerated section, it'll irritate it. Poke someone with a sprained ankle right on the swollen bit, it gets irritated (and hurts!) - same principle. The trick (at least in a flare) is to give it rest...having it trying to function normally absorbing sugars, fats/oils, protein, vitamins (otherwise, eating normally) is going to irritate those sections. Hence why so many people here end up on minimalist diets that are easier to handle (liquids, soft foods, smaller portions), rather than not eating and simply losing weight and getting sicker, although in some cases the severity of the disease is so bad this happens anyway despite the simple diets - again, crohn's is a random bugger.... I eat pasta drenched in olive oil (if I eat during a flare), and I still feel poorly as it passes the inflamed portions, but not so poorly as if I ate a steak with french fries, and I stop losing weight and get energy back. Whilst its good in general to stay away from processed crap (even if you don't have crohn's), during a flare I don't have a choice..it's sugared milk for calories...but as stated above, I'm different. Someone else might get worse doing that. I wouldn't go so far as to say it makes me better, however.

The fact that there are lots of studies in relation to alcohol and the immune system, as a scientist and someone with crohn's, I wouldn't be convinced until I had at a minimum 1000 people, divided into prior/current treatments, disease location, and have a double-blinded placebo controlled study. of course, you'd also have to have them eat identical diets to _really_ control the study.... And even then, considering all the prior evidence, I'd make them do it again.


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## ronroush7

I only rarely drink.


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## Archeogirl

SauceySciencey said:


> There appears to be a big random variable that people respond to different things. Some people swear they feel better with no sugar, I find that's not the case - iced coffee is my saviour during a flare (which I think I'm going into now , and spent christmas day death-staring relatives shovelling turkey/gravy/ham into their mouths :frown. On the other hand, some people eat red meat and are fine, whereas for me I'll find myself feeling off-colour the next day.
> 
> People talk about irritants to the GI system, everything irritates it  Eat good clean non-GM organic protein, but if it's being absorbed through an ulcerated section, it'll irritate it. Poke someone with a sprained ankle right on the swollen bit, it gets irritated (and hurts!) - same principle. The trick (at least in a flare) is to give it rest...having it trying to function normally absorbing sugars, fats/oils, protein, vitamins (otherwise, eating normally) is going to irritate those sections. Hence why so many people here end up on minimalist diets that are easier to handle (liquids, soft foods, smaller portions), rather than not eating and simply losing weight and getting sicker, although in some cases the severity of the disease is so bad this happens anyway despite the simple diets - again, crohn's is a random bugger.... I eat pasta drenched in olive oil (if I eat during a flare), and I still feel poorly as it passes the inflamed portions, but not so poorly as if I ate a steak with french fries, and I stop losing weight and get energy back. Whilst its good in general to stay away from processed crap (even if you don't have crohn's), during a flare I don't have a choice..it's sugared milk for calories...but as stated above, I'm different. Someone else might get worse doing that. I wouldn't go so far as to say it makes me better, however.
> 
> The fact that there are lots of studies in relation to alcohol and the immune system, as a scientist and someone with crohn's, I wouldn't be convinced until I had at a minimum 1000 people, divided into prior/current treatments, disease location, and have a double-blinded placebo controlled study. of course, you'd also have to have them eat identical diets to _really_ control the study.... And even then, considering all the prior evidence, I'd make them do it again.


It's interesting though reading what may work for one person may not work for the other. After reading this post, my sister mentioned to me how her friend treats her Crohn's with vodka as well and I thought that was such a coincidence for her to mention that to me without knowing that I had just read about it on here.

I definitely know some of my trigger foods to stay away from (wheat, milk (lactose), cream, caffeine, alcohol) but then apparently I have other food sensitivities (I took a test four years ago but it may not be accurate any more or accurate in the first place). This test said that I am sensitive to corn, barley, hops, chocolate, milk protein, processed sugar and a bunch of other random ones but I still ate them in smaller quantities for years without noticing any intestinal problems. It's just tiring trying to come out of this current flare that I am experiencing (definitely caused by emotional and psychological factors) - I'm on a near Paleo diet with lots of cooked soft foods to help aid the inflamed area repair itself but I have only been on this less than a month and the flare is going on month number 5 now so I expect it will take some time to righten itself. But I don't expect to be trying the vodka remedy any time soon as interesting as it is!


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