# Finally Beat Crohns symptoms but in a non-medicine way



## GV79 (Dec 9, 2013)

I have moderate to severe Crohns for 12 years. I was diagnosed when I was 21. Even with all the medications, it was hard to manage (Asacol, Imuran, Prednisone). A friend of mine that is into holistic stuff told me to try drinking Nopal Cactus Juice (aka Prickly Pear Cactus). I'm willing to try anything that might help, so I did try it and am ecstatic to say it has worked for me! I'm off all of my medications now and just drink the Nopal when I start hearing my colon start to rumble. I guess Native Americans and Latinos have used Nopal Cactus Juice for a very long time to treat inflammatory processes. It worked for me, maybe it will for you too. I buy mine from GNC but you can also buy it on Amazon. Some companies sell it for $100 per bottle, stay away from those companies, you can buy a bottle for $18-$24. Just wanting to get the word out. I don't know of any other people with Crohns who has tried this, so if you try it and it works, let me know!


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## nogutsnoglory (Dec 9, 2013)

Crohn's cannot be cured as of this point. The disease can go into remission via treatment or spontaneously but it is a lifelong condition. 

Please provide a source for your claim on cactus juice. I have seen no scientific studies to suggest it beneficial for treatment purposes.


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## GV79 (Dec 9, 2013)

My source is myself, UC Sacramento Research, and the list of links in the next post. Why don't you do a science research study to add to the data? It's nothing new that Native Americans and Mexicans have used Nopal Cactus Juice for medicine for a very long time. I doubt it's coincidence that my crohns stopped flaring up on its own after 12 years. Why is it that when my colon starts to grumble, heading back towards inflammation, that the Nopal Cactus Juice knocks it down each time? I'm very happy to be off of the laundry list of drugs that GI docs have put me on. If there is no "cure", then Nopal Cactus Juice has put me happily in remission, not Asacol, Imuran, or Predisone.


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## GV79 (Dec 9, 2013)

Is it true, that the FDA won't approve any drug that can't be made "synthetically" in a lab? And that's why they don't approve natural remedies for medicinal use?


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## GV79 (Dec 9, 2013)

Looks like there are some in the scientific community who are in-the-know:

http://www.examiner.com/article/hol...-of-nopales-cactus-also-known-as-prickly-pear
http://www.nopalcactusdoctor.com/scientific-studies/
http://www.livestrong.com/article/542476-cactus-juice-to-reduce-inflammation/
http://www.healthline.com/natstandardcontent/nopal
http://www.webmd.com/vitamins-suppl....aspx?drugid=880&drugname=PRICKLY+PEAR+CACTUS
http://undergroundhealthreporter.com/prickly-pear-cactus-juice#axzz2n1MtWQBQ
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/...2-20120822_1_pear-cactus-opuntia-cactus-fruit
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0367326X07001980

In addition to its popular use for hangovers, prickly pear remedies have been used traditionally in Mexico for a wide variety of disorders. The heated cactus pads have served as poultices for rheumatism, and the fruit of the plant is consumed as treatment for diarrhea, asthma and gonorrhea. Mexicans also consume prickly pear to address high blood pressure, gastric acidity, ulcers, fatigue, shortness of breath, glaucoma, and liver disorders.

Andrew Weil, M.D.


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## JustAYoungLad (Dec 9, 2013)

That's great GV79, keep going with it. 

Keep in mind though, what works for one person, will work differently for another. Even strong biologics have varying degree of effectiveness between patients.


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## GV79 (Dec 9, 2013)

But it worked! And it's not a "drug" and you don't have a co-pay, a prescription, etc. etc. you can get it from a health supplement store. I'd say don't knock it until you try it. And my extent of disease was severe. I had inflammation from Crohn's throughout my whole colon, and my GI doc was at her wits end on what to do with me because I wasn't responding to any drugs she was giving me. She wanted to send me to Johns Hopkins for research. Now that my colon is healthy I'm now a healthy 125 pounds versus the 108 pounds that I was for years.

Why does it seem like the medical community prefers to pooh-pooh the idea that something non-drug is not capable of healing? They all say "show me the data". Go get the data! You're the researchers, not me. I'm just a radiation physicist, not a doctor. It's very frustrating. But I'm healed so I'm more than happy to be rid of it despite what the medical community thinks of it.


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## PsychoJane (Dec 9, 2013)

Even though we can't call it a cure, I have looked a bit into prickly pear as I was also told by a friend that  it was such an "amazing" filled with benefits food when I was overseas. 

I never found a study specifically addressed to crohn disease but it has been studied in a few other context of inflammation where it has been shown, even though not as efficient as hydrocortisone though, to be able to reduce inflammation. It's also showing some interesting properties when it comes to cancer. Afidz was considering to try it, I don't know if she ended up trying it though. 

Some abstract have been published in some European Journal of Pharmacology pertaining  to that fruit. Among them it was possible to read this:


> Cactus (Opuntia spp.) fruits and cladodes have been widely used as food and in folk medicine. Nutraceutical benefits of fruits are believed to be related to the presence of ascorbic acid, flavonoids, betaxanthin and betacyanin. Recently, several studies demonstrated that cactus pear juices inhibit the proliferation of human cancer cell lines suggesting that cactus compounds could be considered as promising ingredients for chemoprevention and chemotherapy.


Poejo et l. (2011) Evaluation of cactus pear (Opuntia spp.) extracts as promising bioactive ingredients for colon cancer therapy, European Journal of Pharmacology, Volume 668, Supplement 1, September 2011, Page e18, ISSN 0014-2999, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ejphar.2011.09.235.

Another of these of these abstract was addressed to inflammatory bowel disease:


> Sweet cherries (Prunus avium) and cactus pear (Opuntia ficus indica) are known for their high polyphenolic composition that exhibit anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Several studies have demonstrated that cherries regular intake decrease inflammatory markers like C-reactive protein and nitric oxide (NO) and it has been reported that anthocyanins extracted from these fruits exhibit strong anti-inflammatory activity by inhibition of cyclooxygenase (COX) activities, scavenging NO radicals and decreasing TNF-α expression. Moreover, cactus pear properties are correlated with their polyphenolic composition, namely betalains.


Nunes et al. (2011) Bioactive extracts derived from fruits (Prunus avium and Opuntia ficus indica) as potential natural anti-inflammatory modulators in inflammatory bowel diseases, European Journal of Pharmacology, Volume 668, Supplement 1, September 2011, Page e27, ISSN 0014-2999, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ejphar.2011.09.256.
(http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0014299911013094)

There are a few other studies that seems conclusive regarding prickly pear, sometimes to be found under it's latin name Opuntia ficus indica or OFI. It has been shown to have good hypoglycemic properties and other anti-inflammatory with skin pathologies, etc.

All that said, I would be tempted to try it even though the "safety profil" are somewhat insufficient as of yet. I think it looks promising.


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## xmdmom (Dec 9, 2013)

GV79  How much do you drink at a time per day?  Do you use it only with symptoms or as a maintenance?


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## nogutsnoglory (Dec 9, 2013)

Gv79 I'm happy if it's working for you but we are sensitive here to claims of cures or promises because many of us have tried so many miracle supplements or diets only to not get better. I would never dissuade you from doing something that may help you but it may do nothing for the next person. That's why we have the most faith in things that have been vigorously studied.


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## Jennifer (Dec 9, 2013)

GV79 said:


> ...drink the Nopal when I start hearing my colon start to rumble.





GV79 said:


> Why is it that when my colon starts to grumble, heading back towards inflammation, that the Nopal Cactus Juice knocks it down each time?


Hi GV79 and welcome to the forum! 

I'm glad that you found something that makes your colon feel better when your symptoms increase. How long have you been off medication and been using the Nopal? I hope that it eventually puts you into remission where you wont feel your colon acting up so often.

Are you continuing to see your GI and have regular tests done to make sure that everything is ok inside?


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## GV79 (Dec 10, 2013)

xmdmom - I drink 3 oz. per day. One ounce when I wake up, one  ounce around 2pm, and the last ounce before I go to bed.

nogutsnoglory - I can understand the hesitancy to believe miracle supplements. I have tried special diets, tried other supplements that claimed to have anti-inflammatory properties. But this one works. If people aren't willing to at least try things out and discover there are natural things out there that can deal with symptoms, then they will just have to stay on drugs for the rest of their lives.

Jennifer - Yes, I see my GI doc every 6 months. She even did a colonoscopy to check the health of my colon because it always looked so bad prior to drinking the Nopal, and I had the first clear colonoscopy in 12 years. She said I was officially in remission. Prior to the colonoscopy, I had been drinking Nopal for a few months and not taking my medications for 2 months. I have used Nopal Cactus Juice for over 7 months now, off of my medications for 6 months. For me to be off my medications completely is insane because my crohns was rated moderate to severe through my entire colon. The medications were barely keeping me in check. I have gone through many high dose predisone regimes to control the frequent flare ups I used to have. They were talking about taking sections out, and now my colon is healthy. 

I think the medical community is starting to notice of it because you can find plenty of research articles online about Nopal being looked into for various types of inflammatory diseases, one disheartening thing that a Research GI Doc told me at one of the VA Research Centers, was that if Nopal can't be reproduced synthetically in a lab, it would never be approved by the FDA, which I think is bull***. The FDA doesn't sound like they are about helping people after all.


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## wildbill_52280 (Dec 10, 2013)

GV79 said:


> xmdmom - I drink 3 oz. per day. One ounce when I wake up, one  ounce around 2pm, and the last ounce before I go to bed.
> 
> nogutsnoglory - I can understand the hesitancy to believe miracle supplements. I have tried special diets, tried other supplements that claimed to have anti-inflammatory properties. But this one works. If people aren't willing to at least try things out and discover there are natural things out there that can deal with symptoms, then they will just have to stay on drugs for the rest of their lives.
> 
> ...


it may be the patentability of the substance which doesnt have anything to do with the fda. it may come down to whether it would make a good busniess model or not, meaning, make some money back from investors. if the substance or mixture of substances cannot be patented, raising capitol from investors for these costs would be extremely hard as if they was no exclusivity or potential for a legal monopoly, they would spend all this money to start the business, pay for the fda trials, then advertise, then manufacture, and before they might recoup their startup costs, another competitor could then easliy start manufacturing without paying the costs of fda trials, and make a profit even before the original company does.

don't quote me on all of this, but that might be how it works. so patentability is a big issue. because before you can be allowed to advertise something to treat a disease, you must get past fda trials. very expensive to startup. if we could lower the startups costs of these businesess, maybe, more natural treatments could have a chance. occasionally some completely natural substances are granted a patent though as far as i have read, so im not sure i totally understand this issue yet.


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## jwfoise (Dec 10, 2013)

GV79 said:


> Is it true, that the FDA won't approve any drug that can't be made "synthetically" in a lab? And that's why they don't approve natural remedies for medicinal use?





GV79 said:


> I think the medical community is starting to notice of it because you can find plenty of research articles online about Nopal being looked into for various types of inflammatory diseases, one disheartening thing that a Research GI Doc told me at one of the VA Research Centers, was that if Nopal can't be reproduced synthetically in a lab, it would never be approved by the FDA, which I think is bull***. The FDA doesn't sound like they are about helping people after all.


I am not a legal expert, but I don't think the "reproduced synthetically in a lab" has anything to do with it.  There are natural occuring substances that are used as drugs that are regulated by the FDA.

As I understand it, it is entirely based upon whether the substance is marketed as a drug that can be used to treat a disease, or a supplement.  By law, the regulations on supplements are much looser than they are on drugs, but if a company is selling a "supplement" it cannot make claims that it will treat a disease (that's why in commericals for supplements you always hear some "weasel words" about they are not claiming it will treat any disease, etc).  As far as I know, the decision about drug or supplement is not up to the FDA, it is up to the company selling the substance (with the exception that if a company sells it as a supplement but makes claims that would apply to a drug, then the FDA can step in).

For a substance to be marketed as a drug, it has to go through studies that prove it is "safe and effective".  Such studies usually (always?) look at one specific disease at a time.  So, even if you've proven your cactus juice is safe and effective for Crohn's, you can't market to treat some other disease.

http://www.consumerreports.org/health/free-highlights/manage-your-health/supplements_questions.htm
The link is to an article from Consumer Reports that explains some of these differences.


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## xmdmom (Dec 20, 2013)

GV79 Can you tell me the exact name and brand of your prickly pear juice?
Thanks!


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## Alicat44 (Dec 26, 2013)

Do the capsules do the same thing? And how long did it take before you realized it was helping ?


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## nogutsnoglory (Dec 26, 2013)

I'm highly skeptical due to my past failures with natural supplements for a range of health issues but still desperate/hopeful for changes. I decided to give it a go and purchased the nopal juice because I want to avoid the fiber from the fruit. 

The bottle said 3-4 ounces daily but I started with 1 oz and may be a bit allergic as I got a small hive and tingling in my nose and my belly hurt a bit. I'll try it again tomorrow and if I'm not reacting to it I'll continue with it for a while to see if it helps.


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## VeganOstomy (Dec 26, 2013)

GV79 said:


> But it worked!


First off, congratulations in achieving remission.  It's one step away from being cured and it's a goal we all want to reach. 

Out of curiosity, did you confirm that your gut is healed via colonoscopy or do you say it worked because your symptoms are gone?  

How long since your symptoms disappeared?

EDIT: I really should have read your posts better... you answered these questions already.  This is great news for you.  I hope that other who try this stuff will report their experiences.


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## DamnitCrohns (Dec 27, 2013)

You could just be a great nopal cactus juice salesman for all i know but im gonna order some anyway because for £12.08 i'll try anything haha! 

At best i'll have good results, and at worst i'll have something to add to my 'didnt work' list.


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## steph_irish (Dec 29, 2013)

Hi there, I'm very interested in your post. 
I'm open to any alternatives to treating my wonderful disease.
Coming off all meds is a pretty big deal.
What prompted you to do that? Did you start to feel that good?


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