Reliv - Does it work?

[Ally]

Okay, I didn.t really know whether to post this here or on the supplements page but I thought if I put it here more people might see it. I.ve had Crohn's for about a year now and in a really bad flare and the doc is talking about putting me in the hospital if he doesn.t see some improvement in the next week or so from the meds I.m on. So needless to say my mom is freaking out. She met some older guy (70ish) back home who drank these Reliv powder smoothes and feels great! Only I think it.s a giant waste of time and money. Because

1. The guy that is telling her all these things had high blood pressure or cholesterol and that.s what it fixed.
2. All it is is vitamins. I.m not saying that vitamins aren.t great and important. But, I have a feeling that drinking ridiculous amounts of vitamins and herbs are going to make me feel better. I.ve already been tested for several vitamin deficiencies and am going to be getting B12 shots once everything else is all taken care of.

So I told her all of this, at which point she proceeded to tell me then I shouldn.t be complaining about the side effects from the Pred and the 6MP because if I don.t want to drink this stuff and get better she doesn.t want to hear me talk about how ill I feel. Has anyone ever taken any of this stuff? Or anything similar? I.m just already tired of taking things that don.t work.

 

[David]

I did a little research and I'm guessing that this version is the one she's talking about. It doesn't look too bad compared to a lot of the shakes out there though there's DEFINITELY some things I'd change if I was designing it.

Does reliv work? I don't know. But enteral nutrition DOES which is in essence the same idea. If enteral nutrition is stuck with, it has about the same remission induction rates as prednisone. The problem is sticking with it. Follow that link if you'd like to learn more.

 

[handle]

It is a supplement, with some vitamins and some protein, and a few beneficial herbs. It will likely be a slight assistance, at best, in helping with a bad flare.
I agree that a complete liquid diet may be very much more useful for you.
I think your Mum is frustrated because she loves you and wants you to be well. It is hard when people desperately want to help, but simply cannot accept the difficulty of the challenge you are going through. If they think there is a quick fix then they demand you try it! I've had people offer me their own medicine, for conditions unrelated to mine, because they want to help. It is funny, sweet, and really annoying at the same time. Part of dealing with this illness is learning to put up with the well meaning but less than perfect advice that people who care want to give you.
good luck.

 

[my4mack]

When our son was first diagnosed with Crohns, he had a lot of nausea and lost over 40 pounds. He was down to 115 or so. The Reliv products - Classic formula and Innergize helped him get rid of the nausea almost instantly, and he started feeling better and gaining some color. He also took the Reliv Provantage to build back muscle. He took it almost religiously and is still taking it. I don't think it could hurt to give it a try. He did end up having to go on Remicade, because it didn't heal his fistula, not saying that it would, but he is a lot healthier now from taking the Reliv products. He hasn't missed any school days in a long time. Before he'd miss several days a month.