Ulcerative Colitis - It's a Lonely Life

Ulcerative colitis is nothing to joke about, I know I was that soldier.

In 1996 around the August time I started a journey that was to continue until around 2002, well not so much a journey, rather a nightmare, you see I was diagnosed with Ulcerative colitis, a swelling of the walls in the large bowel brought on by a cause unknown to me and specialists alike, and believe me it was painful.

Whilst I will explain signs and symptoms, bye no means do I want to offend or seem gross in my description of this dreadful disorder so if you are easily offended, then "look away now".

It all started one day at work, I remember wanting a toilet visit and the heavy pain in my tummy suggested I would be there a while, well the pain got worse and my tummy sounded like a washing machine, the pain would build up and build up then gurgle gurgle and a flutter would shoot up the left hand side of my tummy only for the process to start all over again, the next time being even more painfull than the last.

The toilet visit ended with relief and me feeling sore and what felt like a high temperature, that must have been the pain, pain can be tolerated up to a point before you start to feel dizzy and sick, hence why I felt the way I did.

A few days had passed before my next chapter, as they always did, I was never regular, sometimes a week would go by and nothing, but at the time it seemed the norm. This time it was a bowling ball, no something bigger, as so it seemed, but on pushing and straining out came what could only be described as marbles, no maybe a little smaller, this is the effect of the inner walls of the intestine inflaming reducing the channel and making what is small seem rather large, not that I knew this at the time but would eventually find out.

Yes, the ailment, disease, condition was evolving, one time loose and the next little balls and hard, it was never a consistent result on the loo.

OK, it had started, but that was the "tip of the iceberg" the worst was yet to come. Blood in the stool was frightening, all sorts of things enter your mind but the logical thing was to be checked out and this was to happen a few days after my honeymoon, yes that's right, I was getting married and had my appointment just after getting home.

My consultation was to be something I would never forget in a lifetime, OK, the consultant confirmed colitis, and explained a few thing, also the next process, the endoscopy, camera up the "you know what" to me and you, but the mystery still surrounded this condition and left me thinking, "what's really wrong here?" and "whats colitis" so taking into consideration I was confused, the specialist, as I was walking out the door and a few steps into the waiting area where there are lots of "people", people who knew as much as I, decided to shout down the corridor, "nurse could you give Robert a leaflet about coping with Colitis", talk about patient confidentiality!

Letting all and sundry know what was wrong with me was not a great problem, the problem was, it was in my home town and soon everyone who knew me could know, but did they know what it was? and did they think it was contagious? oh my god what will everyone be saying?, and so at this point, while I'm feeling sorry for myself, I have to deal with paranoia, and to boot, my legs turned to jelly, I was always a little nervous and with me feeling like a million people are looking at me, well the walls were closing in fast and I needed to be out of here pronto!

My name is Robert and I suffered chronic ulcerative colitis for around five years, for around ten years I have been in remission, I would like to say cured but cannot, it become part of my life and will always be there, but don't forget, never take good health for granted and if you are suffering from Ulcerative colitis, my story, with the grace of god, will be yours.

Next time we meet, "plan your journey."

This article can also be followed at http://www.neckandbackhelp.com

Low Thyroid Symptoms and Stress Are a Dangerous Combination

Low Thyroid Symptoms and Stress are a Dangerous Combination

We all know stress is bad for us. But how does it relate to the way you are feeling when you have low thyroid symptoms?

First of all, when you are stressed, you release interleukin 17, or IL 17 for short. They are cytokines that are highly inflammatory in nature.

As I have talked about in many other posts, the majority of people suffering with low thyroid symptoms in the United States have an autoimmune condition called Hashimoto's Thyroiditis. It is a condition where your thyroid tissue is attacked and destroyed by your own body. As you can imagine, when the body attacks itself, there is a large amount of inflammation produced. So when you release these other chemicals in the body that cause more inflammation, it only makes your symptoms worse.

Symptoms that are commonly associated with low thyroid or high TSH are:

• Often feeling cold
• Cold hands and feet
• High or rising cholesterol
• Constipation
• No eyebrows or thinning outer eyebrows
• Exhaustion in every dimension-physical, mental, spiritual, emotional
• Dry Hair
• Sore feet
• colitis
• irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)
• painful bladder
• Heart disease
• Hair Loss
• Requires naps in the afternoon
• Depression
• Raised temperature
• Headaches and migraines
• Joint pain
• Major anxiety/worry
• Acne on face and in hair
• Breakout on chest and arms
• Hives
• Bizarre and Debilitating reaction to exercise
• Hard stools
• Less stamina than others
• Less energy than others
• Long recovery period after any activity
• Chronic Low Grade Depression
• Palpitations
• Hard stools
• Dry cracking skin
• Insomnia
• Brain Fog
• Decreased sex drive
• Nausea
• Aching muscles
• Lack of motivation
• Swollen ankle
• Inability to lose weight (even with exercise and low calorie diet)
• Sleep Apnea
• Inability to get pregnant; miscarriages

So when you have any of these symptoms, and you get stressed out, it is like throwing gasoline on the fire.

Another reason that stress is bad for low thyroid sufferers is because the pituitary gland gets suppressed secondary to elevation of cortisol. Cortisol is produce by your adrenal glands and is released when you have stress. The adrenal glands are part of you autonomic nervous system. It is the system that has to do with fight or flight and with all the organs in the body, including the heart, lungs, stomach, GI system, pancreas, etc. What controls the autonomic nervous system? Your brain controls the autonomic nervous system, and the brain doesn't like large fluctuations in the cortisol either.

Chronic stress can cause elevation in the cortisol which causes suppression of the pituitary and reduces the amount of Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (TSH) released. I won't get into all the pathways associated with the brain, thyroid, and adrenal glands because you don't have to know them. But your doctor does.

Don't go run out and buy supplements to support your adrenals. That mentality could just rob Peter to pay Paul. You have to look at how all of the body is functioning before you ever start thinking about supporting the adrenals.

The easy answer is to not get stressed out.....but that is unrealistic.

The key to stress is finding a way to deal with it in an appropriate manner.

Find something that you enjoy and that relaxes you, and then do it on a daily basis. Some of you reading this are probably saying that you love to exercise, but can't due to fatigue, pain, etc. I understand. There is another key to stress.

The other key to stress is finding out why you are not feeling the way you should. It is not normal to have symptoms.

You need to find a doctor that understands what we have talked about and who can look over your lab results, sit down and listen to your symptoms, examine you, and come up with a way to get your body to heal itself back up, the way it was designed to do. You need a doctor that will look at everything happening in your body- not just your thyroid or adrenals.

Clinically Proven Treatment For Fibromyalgia - Craniosacral Therapy For Pain Reduction

Relieve the Pain and discomfort of Fibromyalgia with a highly effective course of treatment that will leave you feeling less pain, more capable of dealing with your tiredness, improves your quality of life and allows you to sleep better.

In recent clinical research, Craniosacral Therapy, widely recognised as a highly effective way to treat baby colic, sleeping problems and feeding issues, was shown to vastly improve the lives of a group of Fibromyalgia patients.

The group was treated for a 25 week period and then followed up after 6 months and one year. Throughout the period of treatment and afterwards the patients reported sleeping better, having a much improved quality of life and being in considerably less pain.

Even a year after the end of the treatment period people still felt better than a year and a half earlier before they started the course, and were sleeping better.

The conclusion of the research is that Craniosacral Therapy should be used as a complementary form of treatment in addition to other forms of treatment and drugs given to clients. The research paper can be accessed here

Craniosacral therapy is a gentle hands on form of manual therapy which releases tensions and strictures in and around the nervous system. This improves the working of the nerves of your brain and spine and so allows the rest of your body to function better, deal better with pain, feel more relaxed and allows your body's own healing mechanisms to help your body heal and mend itself.

Craniosacral therapy also releases lesions and strains in the layer of tissue called fascia. The fascia surrounds muscles and organs, as well as nerves, and can become strained and tense due to injury or infection. This can also be a cause of the muscle or body pain of Fibromyalgia and it is also this part of treatment which can have the greatest healing and pain relieving effect on sufferers.

Ulcerative Colitis Diets - Food Combining

Foods fall into the 3 categories:

Fruits which should be eaten separately.

Proteins (nuts, seeds, beans, meat, fish, poultry) and starches (grains, pasta, breads, cereal, rice, carrots)

Starches.

Most people can eat a variety of foods without it causing health problems but if you do suffer then "Great Taste No Pain" may be the answer.

A lot of people do not know about the differences between proteins, starches and fats so as a result often consume more starch than protein, as starches tend to be more filling and satisfying.

Combining of protein and starch can be beneficial.

Sherry Brescia a Natural Health Researcher has created a FREE white paper. She had not heard of food combination until she was told about it while having an evening meal. She was told that common food combinations can spell big health problems, especially for people prone to digestive issues. She had suffered and had tried everything, all the tests, drugs, pills and medical advice and purely by chance found the solution.

After following the food combining diet she suffered no symptoms after years of suffering.

She states that no longer did she suffer from the usual digestive problems of cramps, bloated stomach, excessive gas, acid reflux or constipation.

She thinks by eating the "Great Taste No Pain Way" you could change your life for ever.

Sherry had no negative side effects to endure. The enhanced digestion made her feel more satisfied with her meals. Since following the food combining plan she has never looked back.

Soluble Versus Insoluble Fiber in IBS

For those with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), controlling your diet is a very important part of reducing the symptoms of the condition. In many cases, dietary fiber has been shown to lessen the symptoms of IBS. A high fiber diet will ensure that the waste that passes through your colon is "bulky", which may prevent diarrhea and relieve muscle spasms.

There are two types of dietary fiber: soluble and insoluble. In previous years, it was thought that either type of dietary fiber would provide a benefit to suffers, but a greater benefit to those with diarrhea-predominant symptoms. An increasing body of scientific literature now indicates that the benefits of soluble fiber are universal to sufferers whose symptoms are either diarrhea-predominant or constipation-predominant, and that insoluble fiber can actually trigger or exacerbate symptoms in some patients.

Soluble substances are those can be dissolved in water, whereas insoluble substances cannot. Soluble substances also tend to absorb water, which is where the principal benefit for IBS sufferers is derived. In comparison to insoluble fiber, the sugar molecules of soluble fiber are held together by chemical bonds that cannot be digested by the enzymes in the human gastrointestinal (GI) tract. As such, soluble fiber passes straight through your body intact meaning that more soluble fiber arrives in the colon and is available to absorb water. Water absorption from the colon by the fecal matter encourages the formation of stools that are gel-like, which helps to prevent diarrhea.

But additional water absorption doesn't mean that constipation-predominant sufferers will be adversely affected. In fact, the absorptive properties of soluble fiber mean that the passage of softer, gel-like waste will actually soften and encourage excretion of impacted fecal matter.

Further, the gel-like consistency of waste containing soluble fiber means that the GI muscles are stretched around your full colon, which helps the muscles to grip during the waves of peristaltic contractions that act to force the waste through your gut. Violent and irregular muscle spasms are minimized, which means that abdominal cramping is also relieved.

So where do you find the different forms of fiber? Both insoluble and soluble fiber are contained in all plants foods, with the ratio varying dependent on the plant type. Insoluble fiber is typically found in whole wheat, wheat and corn bran, flax seed lignans and vegetables including carrots, celery, green beans and potato skin. Soluble fiber is found in rice and rice cereals, pasta, oatmeal, cornmeal, barley, quinoa and soy. You can also find soluble fiber in vegetables such as carrots, yams, sweet potatoes, turnips, pumpkins and mushrooms. Papayas are also a particularly good source of soluble fiber, with the added bonus that they are a digestive aid that relieves flatulence and indigestion.

Adopting a diet high in soluble fiber can help you manage the symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome. It can be beneficial to speak to a dietitian or medical practitioner about your new diet, to ensure that it is balanced and nutritious.

What is Colitis?

Colitis happens when there is an occurrence of inflammation of the colon of a person. There are several Colitis causes which include poor blood supply, infections and in cases where the body undergoes autoimmunity. What are the colitis symptoms? What is colitis treatment?

The colon is responsible for pushing undigested food to the anus for final elimination in the process of bowel movement. As the undigested food travels in this long muscular tube, it gathers up mucus and bacteria along the way. The bloodstream reabsorbs water permitting the liquid mixture to solidify to form the feces.

Colitis causes mainly include various infections and illnesses. Infections that bring about inflammation of the colon often come from food poisoning. Lack of blood supply in the body can also cause Colitis. There are a number of reasons why the colon can lose blood and in turn can contribute to having diarrhea, anemia, dehydration or shock.

If one is experiencing bloody bowel movements and abdominal pain, this can be because of an inflammatory bowel disease. Before consulting what is colitis treatment for your case, one will first need to study the causes, and with it the careful application of various diets including the ulcerative colitis diet.

Symptoms:

The symptoms will depend on the type of colon inflammation that the patient has but the common factor among them is experiencing diarrhea and abdominal pain.

- There may or may not be blood in the feces.

- Patients will experience frequent urges to defecate.

- Abdominal can be great at the beginning and gradually declines; regular pain.

- Chills and fever can be observed with some types of Colitis.

The Diagnosis:

- While many patients may attest diarrhea as the general symptom, some are able to resolve the dilemma in just hours while there are a number of patients who suffer from it for years.

- Dehydration can greatly add to the occurrence of a colon inflammation.

- Colitis is often associated with diarrhea because of its symptom being prominent in every type of colon inflammation.

The Exams and Tests:

- Blood testing is done to discover the patient's stability and observe possible factors that can lead to Colitis.

- A Colonoscopy is performed by a gastroenterologist by inserting a long flexible camera in the anus to permit visibility of the colon walls.

- Computerized tomography is performed to see the image of the colon and the abdomen.

What is Colitis Treatment?

- The inflammatory bowel diseases can be controlled by taking a good combination of medicines.

- Abdominal pain and diarrhea from Colitis can be relieved by a clear liquid diet, rest and an ulcerative colitis diet.

- Infectious Colitis is often countered with antibiotics but there are other viral infections that do not require them instead rest can be enough to eliminate the virus over time.

Even though there are several Colitis symptoms, a prominent one is having a diarrhea whether bloody or not, and frequent abdominal pain. Although there are ways to treat colon inflammation, it is always advisable to rather prevent it by eating healthy and staying away from too much sugar, fat and oily foods which can cause Colitis in the near future.

Physiology of Stress - The Way the Body Responds When Stressed!

If you have ever suffered from a physical or emotional symptom that was related to the stress in your life, you will want to know how you can minimize these symptoms. Control begins with awareness and knowing how your habitual response to stress leads to your symptoms. Any of your physical systems that react to stress can be controlled. Begin the process for developing control by understanding how your body responds to stress.

The primitive survival mechanism known as the "Fight/Flight" response is built in to every human. It responds to fear/danger from everything from life threatening situations to the alarm going off in the morning. Every human has a habitual response to stress that is either learned or genetically implanted. In a real life or death situation almost all of this response will be trigger by survival to help you to fight off or flee this danger.

Since awareness is half the battle in controlling stress, you must learn to be aware of how you respond to stress. Remember, you have a unique response. It may include:

1. Increased heart rate. This pumps blood around the body to get oxygen and sugars to the cells that you will need to use to survive. Symptoms that can be associated with this stress response might include: Rapid or irregular heartbeats

2. Breathing usually becomes more rapid. To get more oxygen into the body. Symptoms that can be associated with this stress response might include: hyperventilation and some forms of asthma

3. Stress hormones are released. Adrenaline, also called epinephrine, is released by the adrenal glands. This hormone helps to maintain increased heart rates and will tell the liver to release stored sugar for energy to the body. Other stress hormones do other thing. Noradrenaline is associated with anger and will raise blood pressure for most people. Symptoms that can be associated with this stress response might include: high blood pressure, panic or anxiety

4. Blood pressure can go up. Triggered by released stress hormones. Symptoms that can be associated with this stress response might include: high blood pressure

5. Muscles that you would use to fight or flee often become very tight until released by relaxation, massage, stretching, or exercise. This is one of the most common responses to stress and has lead to everyday expressions like: "uptight", "Pain in the neck" (and other places.) Symptoms that can be associated with this stress response might include: tension headaches, tight jaw, neck/shoulder pain/tension, back pain, insomnia (including trouble getting to sleep, staying asleep, or not feeling rested after sleeping), fatigue, loss of concentration (distracted by muscle pain or tension), learning disabilities, poor communication (listening and speaking)

6. Changes in blood flow/circulation. Blood is directed toward the brain and major muscles for survival. Blood is directed away from surface of skin in hands and feet (for survival a primitive response so you do not bleed to death if you get cut running away or fighting for your life.) Blood is directed away from digestive organ and reproductive organ because for survival it becomes a low priority to digest food or keep the species alive if you are threatened. Symptoms that can be associated with this stress response might include: high blood pressure, cold hands and feet, upset stomach, migraine headaches, pre-ulcerous/ulcerous conditions, increased colitis, sometimes constipation, and 70% of sexual dysfunction in both men and women can be linked to this stress response.

7. All of your senses are heightened are survival vigilance. You are more sensitive to noise (ringing telephones or door bells), to light, to smells, even to increased sensitivity to touch. Your neo-cortex (the thinking part of your new brain) shuts down and the survival mechanisms in the middle and lower more primitive parts of the brain take over, so you react to things and do not think things through as well. Basic emotions: fear, anger, sadness, and joy (nervous laughter) take over from complicated, sophisticated higher function emotions. Symptoms that can be associated with this stress response might include: emotional irritability, substance abuse to escape stress through self-medication, anxiety, depression, poor impulse control, poor problem solving and reduced communication abilities

8. You perspire/sweat to cool the body's increased metabolism down. Symptoms that can be associated with this stress response might include: hyperhidrosis (which can lead to dehydration due to over sweating)

9. Imbalances in normal hormone levels. Longer term, unresolved stress can affect the immune system which is normally there to fight off infections and promote healing. Symptoms that can be associated with this stress response might include: frequent colds or flu's, infections, cancer or tumor development, increased allergic responses, auto-immune diseases (rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, scleroderma)

Everyone holds their tension in one or more of these systems. You need to identify which systems respond when you get stressed and then learn to release this physical tension. It takes time and motivated practice to learn to let go but the results in enhanced quality of life and increased productivity are worth the effort.

If you would like coaching so you can develop a program to control your response to stress please contact the Stress Education Center (707) 795-2228 website: http://www.dstress.com