Don’t Ignore the 5 Primary Symptoms of Colitis

The symptoms of Colitis are no fun. They include severe stomach pain and diarrhea to name a few. Colitis is a serious problem that causes the lining of the large intestine to be inflamed and swollen.

The primary cause of colitis is our exposure to synthetic manmade antibiotics which our environment is saturated with whether through prescription oral or topical antibiotics or from our tainted food and water supply and also antibacterial home cleaning products. Antibiotics destroy the mucosal lining of the intestines. Without this lining the health of our colon declines dramatically, since the lining protects the tissue in our gastrointestinal tract.

Once damaged our body’s digestive enzymes start eating and irritating the bowel lining. This is exactly what inflammatory bowel conditions like IBS and Crohn’s are and how we get them.

These are the five most common symptoms of Colitis.

1. Diarrhea: This can range from mild and occasional to frequent with unpredictable urgency. Diarrhea is often triggered by eating and then having to run to the bathroom. Some people have a condition known as IBS-C, or Irritable Bowel Syndrome with constipation. This latter condition is found most commonly in people genetically pre-disposed to constipation. Constipation is caused by the body failing to properly hydrate the stool. This is never caused by something that you are doing wrong. It is who you are and you can perfectly manage it-but you cannot not cure it the way you can with diarrhea.

2. Intestinal and stomach pain: While sometimes this may indicate a stomach bug or food poisoning if it persists it may be from colitis.

3. Bloody stools: That’s a dead giveaway that you have ulcerative colitis.

4. Mucus in stool: This is a dead giveaway that you are headed for Crohn’s Disease.

5. While not a physical symptom, this last one may be the most paralyzing side effect of colitis and any IBD.

6. Paranoia: This is seen in someone who is too afraid to leave home to attend social events, go the mall, go out to eat, or go to a movie. They have lived with this problem for so long that they have become shut-ins. Paranoia is most commonly found in those suffering from more than just IBS. Many have had accidents and even when cured find it difficult to leave the safety of their home for more than a short period of time.

The bottom line is that you don’t have to tolerate this pain, physical and psychological, any longer. Taking drugs isn’t the answer, you have already tried that. Look for alternatives. Do some research. Ask questions. In the meantime, don’t ignore these five primary symptoms of colitis.

Holistic Treatment For IBS

So you're looking for a holistic treatment for IBS that works. I'm assuming that because you are looking for a more natural treatment for your irritable bowel condition, that you have tried everything your gastroenterologist has suggested.

Did this include...

• Colonoscopy — the most common response is ‘didn’t see anything—looks normal, or looks a little inflamed in there.’

• ‘Here is a prescription for——. There isn’t anything else I can do for you.’

• ‘But come back and see me in a month.’ (Didn’t you just say there was nothing you could do?)

• ‘Hey doc before I leave any recommendations about diet?’ ‘Sure-eat a high fiber diet.’ Which is the exact opposite of what to eat.

So, I am sure you have been there & done that.

Or did you hear about the newest "natural" medical treatment (this is scary, you can’t make this stuff up)? Fecal transplantation (or bacteriotherapy) is the transfer of stool from a healthy donor into the gastrointestinal tract for the purpose of treating recurrent C. difficile colitis, and now they are using it for IBS, Colitis, Ulcerative Colitis, and Crohn’s Disease. And by ‘healthy donor' they mean void of any disease. If they had any idea what they were doing they would mean that the stool was populated with healthy probiotic bacteria. Then again they will tell you that it is sterile, but in the process of sterilization, they would kill anything that was good in it! For the life of me, I cannot figure out why you wouldn't just swallow a probiotic capsule.

Lastly–you will get some people who think they are smart who will say something like—‘you have to do it rectally because orally the bacteria won’t survive the acidity of the digestive tract.’ Wrong – Wrong – Wrong. Any good probiotic is coated in a way that protects it! If this theory of Fecal Transplant is valid does this mean that women for millennia have been nursing their babies on the wrong end?

Science just can’t trust nature.

Here are some other supposed Holistic Diets that don’t work (if your definition of ‘work’ is to be healed or cured.) Most of you have tried at least one of these but still have a problem.

These are diets that will not cure IBS, although they may make you a little more comfortable:

Fodmap: this is an unnecessarily complicated manipulation of certain carbohydrate foods that have specific molecular configurations. What I love about this one is they throw all of this theory at you and give you some guidelines and then say ‘everyone is different so you will need to experiment for yourself.’ Get your microscope ready!

Gluten Free: These people sometimes find that if they stop eating foods that contain gluten their symptoms, such as gas, bloating, and diarrhea go away, but they have no idea why.

Dairy Free: what happens when you slip up and have a smidgen of ice cream or some pizza?

Elimination Diet: this is the culmination of all of the above. You get to the point where all you can consume is white rice and water—on a good day.

There are a zillion more ‘holistic diets’ just like these. What do they all have in common? They all play the blame game, it’s the food’s fault, they are just juggling and manipulating foods. None of them work because food does not work. You cannot eat your way into or out of IBS.

Food has nothing to do with being the cause or the cure!

However, there is one valid rule regarding food and IBS: Eat a Low Fiber Diet.

• No Raw Fruit

• No Raw Vegs

• No Nuts

• No Seeds

• No Corn

Why? Because these are ‘rough’ and will further damage and irritate an already damaged and irritated colon.

It seems counterintuitive, doesn’t it? You have to temporarily eat ‘unhealthy’ to get healthy.

Why Do I Have Mucus In My Stool?

People who see mucus in their stool are always scared and confused. They can understand diarrhea but mucus? It might sound surprising to know that this is happening for a good reason. It is trying to protect you.

This occurs in more advanced cases of inflammatory bowel conditions such as Ulcerative Colitis and Crohn’s. In these conditions, there is considerable damage to the intestinal wall as it is being assaulted by your digestive acids. As the damage gets deeper and close to making contact with nerve and blood tissue it attempts to protect you by releasing mucus into the bowel to stick to the wall to protect it from the acids. Because this is only a stop-gap measure the mucus eventually slides out along with the stool.

Do not ignore this, as it's a sign that you are losing control of the inflammation that is destroying your colon and are headed towards surgery.