Complementary therapies for treating CD

[Minxy]

Hi All,

I wondered if anyone has found any type of Complementary Medicine helpful in managing their IBD ?

At the suggestion of my GP I tried acupuncture. I went for a year and
found it quite relaxing. It helped a bit with my symptoms, possibly just because it increased the endorphins in my system, but the effect was not very dramatic and it wore off soon after the session.

I have also had gentle massage therapy regularly for about 5 yrs. I have
joint and muscle pain associated with my CD, so massage can be very
helpful. The problem is that, annoyingly, sometimes even the most gentle massage can trigger symptoms, and even minor flares.

Chiropractic and osteopathic treatment both made my symptoms worse.
Alexander Technique, Bowen Therapy and Reiki had no effect at all.
Seeing a Medical Herbalist for over a year was slightly helpful.

I had great hopes for Hypnotherapy but although it was quite relaxing during the sessions, after 10 sessions it had no noticeable effect on my overall pain levels or discomfort. So it was a disappointment.

 

[MapleLeafGirl]

I tried homeopathic medicine and was rewarded by two weeks of exposive diarrhea. I am now really hesitant to try anything natural especially when I am feeling decent as I don't want to screw it up.

I do yoga and meditation and I do find that helps. It could be all in my head, but everytime I skip yoga for a couple of weeks my symptoms start to flare up again.

 

[D Bergy]

I have tried many different things, and some worked and others failed to help me in any measurable way.

One of the more interesting experimental treatments I used was Rife frequency treatments. This did resolve H-Pylori in my Stomach, but I never found any other symptom relief for Crohn's. Part of the problem is you need a pathogen to target, and a specific frequency to kill it with. I could not target what I wanted most of the time for lack of a known frequency.

I did have two interesting reactions.

The first one was when I was targeting Mutant strain E-Coli. The treatment made me sick to my stomach. I tried it a few more times and it made me sick every time. I finally gave up treating it, as it was not helping my symptoms any, and if it was killing it, then I should not have reacted to it that way, every time.

The weird part is that after I used Miracle Mineral Solution for six weeks, I ran the exact same frequencies and had no reaction.

I am assuming the E-Coli was reduced, but who knows for sure?

The second strange episode was using the same frequency method using frequencies that are mathematically calculated to affect the DNA or RNA of a pathogen. This time it was the XMRV virus, which is under investigation for involvement with Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.

I ran these frequencies in hopes it was also involved with Crohn's. These frequencies made my guts sore. I have run them several times since, and the reaction was less and less until I had no reaction to them.

I had no real response that I could determine until later I noticed my bowel movements were more frequent, and the time for digestion was also quicker. Not D or anything like that, just faster than normal.

I also accidentally gave my wife a Shingles outbreak from running the XMRV virus frequencies. Either that or it was a huge coincidence. Luckily the frequency treatment for Herpes Zoster virus, which causes Shingles worked and they cleared up quickly.

She was not real happy about that experiment, but that is why it is experimental I suppose.

I never did know what to make of the XMRV experiment, but it was interesting.

Dan

 

[ameslouise]

I also accidentally gave my wife a Shingles outbreak

Wow. You don't hear that every day!

My complementary regime is full of viamins, supplement and natural anti-inflammatories. I am still coming down off the pred, so it is hard to tell if it is working or not. Some days are better than others. At the very least, I figure it can't HURT to be eating well and taking all the vitamins and supplements.

I had a Reiki session when my flare was really bad. I was amazed/freaked out when the Reiki therapist put her hands over the spot that hurt most and and said, "I can feel a lot of energy right here." The next day, that pain was gone and my stomach, which has been really distended, was flat again.

-Amy

 

[CodeBrown]

What is Reiki?

 

[D Bergy]

The Shingles thing was kind of weird, but I guess the same thing can happen if you take an anti-viral medication. There was one other person I know of that did the same treatment I did and they broke out in Shingles also.

I have no experience with Reiki, but someone once told me how to feel for a disturbance in the body by taking your hands over the body but not touching it, and supposedly some people have the ability to locate a problem.

I tried it but couldn't feel jack squat. I had my wife try it out on me. This was either before or shortly after my Crohn's diagnosis. I don't remember which.

She was going over my body and when she got to my lower abdomen area her hand felt warm or weird, and she got spooked by it. She never did it again as it kind of freaked her out.

Maybe it was similar to Reiki, but I am not very familiar with it.

I also use several supplements, but they all have some pretty solid scientific evidence that they do what they are intended to do.

Turmeric, Ginger, Pycnogenol, Krill Oil, for inflammation partly, but mostly for other health benefits. Magnesium, Vitamin D-3, a multivitamin and now I am also taking a digestive enzyme just to see if it raises my blood protein level. The protein level is a little on the low side, and that is the only abnormal indicator I have.

I plan on doing some more experimental frequency treatments for Crohn's, but I use that mainly to treat my wife's Lyme disease. I have almost eliminated it, but it is extremely difficult to get rid of by any means.

I am having a new frequency device built that should be substantially more effective. Once I am done treating her, I will focus more on Crohn's again. Since I am doing very well, it is not a priority at this time.

Dan

 

[Minxy]

Hi All ~ thanks for your replies :

Mapleleafgirl ~ your experience with homeopathy sounds b_a_a_d. It reminded me I tried homeopathy myself about 15 yrs ago. After a week I had the most violent vomiting ever. It was odd because I did not feel ill, nor did I have a flare. It was as though my system was trying to purge itself, like yours, but by a different route I thought it might be coincidental it happened when I was taking homeopathic remedies, so I left it a month and tried again, and same thing happened after a week. I decided it was not for me! I am about to restart Yoga after a 10 yr absence.

DBergy ~ I was interested to hear about Rife Frequency treatment. I remember reading a bit about it...It sounds like powerful stuff, but a bit scary.:eek2:
Re: supplements -- I took Turmeric for about 6 mths, did not notice any benefit. However, for the first time ever, I passed blood in my stool, which alarmed me!! Later found out internal bleeding can be one of the side effects of Turmeric, so I stopped. I did consider Pycnogel, can't remember why I didn't take it, I might look at it again ...

CodeBrown ~ Reiki is a spiritual practice developed in 1922 by a Japanese Buddhist. Healing energy is believed to be transferred to the patient in the form of "ki" through the healer's palms.

Ameslouise ~ like you I take lots of vitamin & mineral supplements. I do wonder how effective they are, they certainly cost me a lot! Which anti-inflammatories do you take ?

 

[D Bergy]

Supplements that are anti inflammatory often thin the blood slightly also, so if you are on blood thinners already, or have an area already bleeding, it can make it worse. Fish or Krill Oil, Ginger and Turmeric all thin the blood slightly or make it more slippery for lack of a better word.

This is good in most cases but not it you are prone to bleeding. I also had blood in my stool once in a while before, but it never seemed to make it any worse. I have not had that happen in quite a while now.

Frequency treatments seem more scary then they really are. Adverse reactions are almost unheard of, which is why I do use it. Far safer than any other method I am aware of to kill pathogens. The problem is the reliability is not as good as it should be. It was banned as a treatment for political reasons a long time ago, so it never had much more serious research after that. The exact method was buried so well, it was not until recently that it was rediscovered.

Dan

 

[phillycrohns]

I am actually a Reiki level one practitioner--there are several levels. Some people have a natural ability to "feel" people's energy. But most people need training and require an "attunement" before being able to "feel" or "read" the energy.

Dan--I am fascinated by your frequency treatments and would like to read up on it a bit. Can you share some of your sources? Where do you find out which frequencies to use for specific pathogens? And where does one obtain a frequency machine?

I am also assuming that you were tested for these pathogens and it came back positive? Or are you guessing that you have certain pathogens? Just curious.

Thanks!
Chris

 

[ameslouise]

Ameslouise ~ like you I take lots of vitamin & mineral supplements. I do wonder how effective they are, they certainly cost me a lot! Which anti-inflammatories do you take ?

Yes, I am going to the poorhouse on the supplements etc. But - I have way more good days than bad days, and though I had a HORRIBLE weekend a couple weeks ago, I am back on track and feeling better than ever. Now down to 14 mg pred but the true test will be if I can come off the pred completely.

Anyway - Most of what I take is made by Metagenics. I use Ultrainflammx, Endefen, Glutagenics - these are all powder mixes that either reduce inflammation or help rebuild the intestinal lining/mucosa.

I also take UltraFlora, Bifoviden and Florastor - restore good flora, etc.

I was juicing wheat grass everyday but had to take a break. It was making me gag.

I don't know if diet is considered a "complementary treatment" but I am mostly vegan and don't eat any wheat or processed foods that have more than 3 or 4 ingredients.

It all seems to be helping, but is a very slow process. - Amy

 

[D Bergy]

I think a good diet is one of those no brainer things you can do to at least be as healthy as you are capable of. I am getting better at that, but I still could improve some more.

I did have three different tests for H-pylori and all of them came back negative. I had this awful burning stomach which looked like a stewed tomato on the scope. I was furiously reading up on possible pathogens that could cause this, because it was not a normal thing for me.

I tried frequencies for every single pathogen I could think of and nothing helped. Since the tests ruled out H-Pylori, I was not really looking at that as a suspect at first.

I noticed when I ran the frequencies for ulcers, the pain would go away for about 36 hours, and then come back. I did this twice and had the same result, but it always came back.

Finally I came to the conclusion that the suspect pathogens were so limited, it almost had to be H-Pylori. I also read the article in the link below, and found out that 676 Hz was a frequency used by the writer to resolve his ulcer, and it was for H-Pylori. The reason it came back in my case is that it takes at least five treatments to destroy it all. I was pretty new at frequency treatments at that time, so I was still in a steep learning curve.

http://www.rife.de/files/epearticle.pdf

With that information, I ran the frequency for five minutes a day, for six days in a row. I have never had another problem with my stomach since. So I tested negative three times, but I cannot think of any other reason this would have worked, if I did not have the infection.

Everyone has E-Coli but the strains may be different, so it is a safe bet I do have E-Coli along with everyone else, but I was after variants that were proposed to work with the MAP bacteria that may produce Crohn's symptoms. It was one of the many hypothesis researchers came up with, as a possible cause that I was testing on my own. I have no idea if I had that strain, or what the treatment was actually doing to it, or if it just made me sick for some other reason. It did not work for whatever reason.

The frequency method sounds completely wacky, but it works often enough that I consider it an important tool for certain conditions. It is my wife's only Lyme treatment, and it has brought her back from crippling Arthritis, and some mental problems from the disease, to almost symptom free. Her Ankles hurt if I do not treat often enough. That is her only symptom now.

Here are some sources of information on it. Keep in mind that some people make some wild claims about it that are not accurate. It works well for certain conditions, and can fail miserably for others. It is not well enough researched at this time, to be as effective as it could be.

There are several people who build these, but they are occasionally put out of business by the FDA for making health claims. Here is the machine I am having built. I have been waiting for three years for one that works the way this one does. It was only recently discovered exactly how the original machines worked, and this one duplicates it to a great degree.

http://www.quantumbalancing.com/mopa.htm

Here is the most common frequency list used for this method. It is not super reliable, but more reliable than I thought it would be.

http://www.electroherbalism.com/Bioelectronics/FrequenciesandAnecdotes/CrossReference.htm

Here is the researcher that calculates theoretical frequencies based on the genetic sequencing of pathogens.

http://www.dnafrequencies.com/

The rest is general information on Royal Rife, the inventor of the method and other related material.

http://www.rife.org/

http://www.rife.de/

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=166985105043992526#

http://www.naturalnews.com/023855_viruses_natural_health_renewable_energy.html

That is enough to keep someone pretty busy for a long time. I have been researching it for over five years and I am still learning.

It is not the "cure for all diseases" that the reporter from the 30's stated, but it is very effective at times.

Dan

 

[phillycrohns]

Wow, that is fascinating! I have heard about it, but wasn't sure whether to believe in this treatment or not. Its good to hear that someone who I believe to be intelligent and reliable has tried it out.

I am in the middle of my treatment with Dr. Berkson, which is going well, but the results still remain to be seen. I will update everyone when I get back next week.

Chris

 

[ataloss]

Have you guys ever heard of a drink called Haldi????? I work with one of the guys who manufactures the drink.....total coincidence since I was just recently diagnosed with crohn's. I have always heard about how his drink helps people with crohns and colitis and IBS....he claims people have been able to stay off meds with it. Its "secret" is curcumin. I plan on trying it to see what happens. Another gal who works with us drinks it and swears by it. The maker says its pretty popular amongst those suffering from IBD. Any thoughts or has anyone tried it???

 

[Astra]

I found this when I googled haldi
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turmeric
Just like what Dan uses!

 

[CrohnsHobo]

I have taken Curcumin everyday for about 8 months.

 

[ataloss]

crohnshobo: is the curcumin you take a pill??

 

[CrohnsHobo]

Yes, I take it in pill form.