Nutritionist says to Stop Meds

[deborah123johnston]

i have been prescribed imuran 50 mg a day...i am a new member of the group..i have been doing gaps diet for ten months but still feel im not cured yet...i havnt took my imuran as i am scared i wont heal...has anybody any sugestions on how they got on with imuran and did they ever do gaps diet or scd...will imuran stop me from healing....my gaps practioner told me not to take it...

hi i am knew to the site...i have crohns and chronic fatigue...i have started gaps diet ten months ago and feel still not healed..my practitioner told me not to take my meds as this will stop healing..my consultant said he wont send for me again if i dont take his imuran...i feel confused between the two..although gaps has cut the diarrhea down but i have chronic fatigue too..my gaps practitioner said it will take three years to heal..anybody any suggestions to all this

 

[Lady Organic]

50 mg imuran is low posology for this medication. You have no garantee this gaps diet will cure you. The longer you stay with CD symptoms, the more you risk complications from it. if you get complications, this gaps practionner wont certainly be able to help you will he/she? For a alternative medicine practionner telling a patient not to take his medication is unethical. I suggest you meet again your GI consultant, express you worries and ask him if there could be something else you could try for a while, such as 5-ASA. I understand his approach is quite authoritarian. If you cant discuss freely with him, you can always change GI if this is possible in your area.
what is this diet about?

 

[baistuff]

It is a good habit to always ask any practicioner to provide you with published, peer reviewed data to back up any treatment recommendation.

 

[hawkeye]

I'd be nervous stopping the aza.

 

[rygon]

What medical background on IBD does your Nutritionist have?
Can they diagnose and dispense medicine for IBD?

If not why do they think they can give credible information about not taking it. If this is the case I would seriously look into a nutritionist who acts more professionally.

There is no reason why you cannot have a great life style which involves drugs and an appropriate diet

 

[alex_chris]

A few points on this one (I assume you have been diagnosed with Crohn's?)

1. Imuran (azathioprine) has a track record to help Crohn's patients to remain in long term remission. It is not as effective as biologic drugs are, but depending on your symptoms and various other factors, you can be on it as the only drug.

2. 50mg per day is not an effective dosage. The effective dosage is 2mg/kg bodyweight. Going significantly below that means that the drug may not work at all (for instance, if you go to 1mg/kg it won't be only half as effective but may not be effective at all, which is due to the nature of an immunosuppressive drug).

3. A nutrionist saying to stop meds better have the studies or other reasons to back up this advice (as said above). Otherwise, this would be gravely negligent, which I assume it is, because for Crohn's patients there are no studies that suggest imuran may not be taken while on a certain diet + people who talk about "you need 3 years to heel and don't take any drugs" in my view are akin to the folks who sold snake old in the Old Wild West.

4. On the topic of fatigue, has your GI done any deficiency testings (iron/ferritin deficiency? protein deficiency? Vitamin deficiencies). Anaemia caused by iron deficiency and protein deficiency as a result of malabsorption due to active Crohn's (e.g. chronic diarrhea) is quite common. It is an important part of treatment to counteract these deficiencies.

5. Lastly, has your GI talked to you about other long term medication options such as biologics? It seems you have constant inflammation as you have diarrhoea and had problems for a long time. It would be prudent to go with medication that can help induce remission and help you remain in remission.

 

[baistuff]

A few points on this one (I assume you have been diagnosed with Crohn's?)

1. Imuran (azathioprine) has a track record to help Crohn's patients to remain in long term remission. It is not as effective as biologic drugs are, but depending on your symptoms and various other factors, you can be on it as the only drug.

2. 50mg per day is not an effective dosage. The effective dosage is 2mg/kg bodyweight. Going significantly below that means that the drug may not work at all (for instance, if you go to 1mg/kg it won't be only half as effective but may not be effective at all, which is due to the nature of an immunosuppressive drug).

3. A nutrionist saying to stop meds better have the studies or other reasons to back up this advice (as said above). Otherwise, this would be gravely negligent, which I assume it is, because for Crohn's patients there are no studies that suggest imuran may not be taken while on a certain diet + people who talk about "you need 3 years to heel and don't take any drugs" in my view are akin to the folks who sold snake old in the Old Wild West.

4. On the topic of fatigue, has your GI done any deficiency testings (iron/ferritin deficiency? protein deficiency? Vitamin deficiencies). Anaemia caused by iron deficiency and protein deficiency as a result of malabsorption due to active Crohn's (e.g. chronic diarrhea) is quite common. It is an important part of treatment to counteract these deficiencies.

5. Lastly, has your GI talked to you about other long term medication options such as biologics? It seems you have constant inflammation as you have diarrhoea and had problems for a long time. It would be prudent to go with medication that can help induce remission and help you remain in remission.

This is one of the best posts I've read on this forum since joining.

 

[deborah123johnston]

thanks everyone for your feed back...the diarrhea has lessend on the diet and probiotics but to tell you the truth i have burning and now asthma symptoms like a heavy weight on my chest....i believe we have to watch our diet with these diseases but i feel i need my meds...her statement god forgive me has mucked my head up...to tell me she can heal me if i do her protocol....i suppose i wanted cured been doing it ten months and the burning def going on in there... i start my 50 mg imuran tomorrow...how do i know if i need a higher dose....how long does it take the meds to take affect

 

[SupportiveMom]

I like nutritionists and naturalpaths but this really bothered me that anyone would say to stop your meds that isn't another GI or doctor at the least. Here in Ontario there is a board somewhat similar to the medical board (not as in depth but adherant to standards of practice) for naturapaths and you need to be licensed to be a nutritionist or naturapath. If any nutritionist recommended to stop meds I would consider reporting. That could cause someone someone some pretty bad results, and possibly fatal. You need to speak to your GI to get you back on track on meds IMO.

 

[Lisa]

You have some very good information here from other members.

However, one thing you have mentioned bothers me, which is that your practitioner is using the word "cure"......

Currently, there is no cure for this disease, the best that is out there is remission- sometimes for years, sometimes for less.....if your practitioner is saying they can cure you, I would be looking for a new one as soon as possible.

 

[nogutsnoglory]

I agree with the rest, I like the natural route but some of these practitioners have no clue about IBD and throw out lots of bogus and dangerous info. There is no dietary cure and people often get very ill when they are advised to take meds but dont. I was stubborn, went paleo and I don't want to scare you but countless procedures and a few surgeries later I'm not game for messing around anymore.

 

[tzvia]

Deb, I'm glad you listened to your gut and started the meds. I think the best approach to crohns is a combination of super healthy diet and also meds. Your nutritionist guaranteeing a "cure" is not realistic. There is no cure for crohns although we can knock out the symptoms for many many years at a time. But honestly, going three years without meds like she said is long enough for you to develop serious complications. Stick with a combo of diet/meds/excersize