Soothing the Colon

[yellowlilax]

Need help desperately from everyone. Long story short (some have heard this), I made the decision to start going raw in January. I started with introducing myself to fruit smoothies at first and then began adding spinach and broccoli, sprouts, carrots, etc. Just 2 weeks later and my system was a mess. I had horrible pain in my lower left side which turned into multiple tests from stool cultures to an MRI and everything in between. I dropped smoothies for a couple of months, dairy and anything with a good amount of fat in it. Since then, the pain has subsided, but I still have diarrhea. 2 weeks ago, the dr did an xray and said my intestines were full and I was very constipated. She had me take miralax in high doses to clean myself out, so I did. Since then, I've been drinking smoothies and not much else. I tried upping my fiber through various means and got impatient and upped too soon and ended up with horrible bloating and gas. Today, I went to the dr and she did another xray and said I wasnt constipated, but wants to do a colonoscopy to get down to the bottom of this diarrhea problem.

I dont have straight watery diarrhea, but every single morning I have loose stools. Before the constipation diagnosis, I would have hard pieces of stool followed by hurried loose stool every single morning. After cleaning out, I have had straight loose stools and every single morning. Previous to trying anything raw and before any problems, I went every other day or so and always normal unless I ate awful. My diet wasn't horrendous before, just not raw. I don't touch processed foods, we eat organic and local, but I barely had veggies or fruit.

I really dont want this colonscopy. I'm worried that my system is off balance for some reason or another and that cleaning myself out so harshly is going to make more problems. I've also had several horror stories from friends/family whose bowels never regulated and were fine before the colonoscopy screening and a friend who had her colon perforated and almost died. Right now, I am taking Enzymatic Pearls Probiotic but have heard all the hype about Align probiotic. I wanted to give this a shot before giving up, but I am at a loss of what to do. Is there any type of herb or anything that would soothe my colon from all of this? I have been taking magnesium and calcium the last 2 weeks with no real change. I took Renew Life brands probiotic for a month with no real change (although I will say then I was more focused on thinking this was an GYN issue (the pain was the first problem not the diarrhea).

I take peppermint oil capslues (enteric coated) and wonder if that wasnt what soothed my colon and stopped the pain/spasms or whatever was going on. I dont take it religiously though (hard to take since it has to be on an empty stomach and not eat for hours after or it opens in my stomach instead of intestine). They did blood work today for milk allergy, celiac, irritable bowel disorder and a complete blood count. I wont have those results for a week though. Every other test has come out negative. I'm at a loss now...

[freelive]

What about enemas or colonics?

[ShantiLove]

Well having colon problems for years (Crohn/colitis) I can sympathise with you. One thing I found in the begning that help me was Slippery Elm. You can get it as capsuels and it is important it is of a good quality.
Im not a big fan of peppermint tablets but if they work for you go ahead, or try to go without for a few days to see how it goes.
Probiotics are fantastic, I have taken them religiously for years. A good quality one is the one to take.
Im not shure about the colonscopy, how it is over there. My husband had one done some months ago and did fine. We asked the nurse who worked there about the chance of perforation but she told us that she has been working there 30 years and been part of thousands of them and have never experiensed anyone getting a perforatet colon. But I cant speak for the docs over there (in the US). Maby they are not good at it, or your friend had a weak colon wall to begin with ?. Did she have Colitis ?

Well back to your problem :-) Maby start out gentle with fresh pressed juice (with leafy greens) for a few days with eating soft fruits like bananas, mango a.s.o (fruit with out peel). And then gently start eating more fruits and vegies. Give your colon a break. Then you can slowly get back to drinking smoothies. Green smoothies are great (only fruits and leafy greens). But start out with small amounts and build up. You have to get your stomac used to handle lots of fiber. It sounds like your colon got a shock from to many firbers when it was not ready (not used to so many fruits and vegies). Go slow and gentle and listen to your body. Then I belive you will be fine :)

[artgirly4]

For myself, I avoid the medical route at all costs(unless its life threatening of course cuz I love life) and look at natural ways to help my body and work with it vs against it.

Raw cleans, which might look like any number of stool changes all at once or one at a time. That is where it might show up, as colon is one big area for cleansing.

Me? Green green green and trust it.

[yellowlilax]

I have stayed out of the doctors for as long as I can remember. If it was just stool changes, I wouldnt be as concerned. But the original pain this started out as DID have me concerned, especially in the area it was. I immediately assumed it was a GYN issue and that is nothing I want to mess around with. Especially since I dont have kids yet and would be devestated if I couldnt (and let something go that caused it). I will try slippery elm I think. Are there side effects from that?

[lynnc72]

I had chronic constipation before raw.

Once I started raw, I had nasty gas and bloating especially at the beginning. Caring member of this forum told me it would go away in 3 months or so, but mine didn't after almost 2 years raw. It didn't really go away until after my colon cleanse on a juice fast. The last one got out 13 feet of mucoid plaque and I've had no bloating and gas ever since. I still get gas occasionally if I eat certain foods that doesn't agree with my body, like sprouted buckwheat and too much seaweed. I think my system was more clogged up than usual due by my past constipation issues.

Raw does help loosen mucoid plaque over a long period of time, but I wanted and needed relief sooner. I am committed to stay raw for life without the embarrassing side affects :o

I would avoid colonoscopy at all cost. The chemical laxatives they give you to prep for it are habit forming and it doesn't loosen mucoid plaque from your small intestines.

I would suggest doing a juice fast, master cleanse, or Ultimate Fast (like I did). Try to get in lots of green juices!

[yellowlilax]

There are a bazillion cleanses and cure alls and infomercials and spam emails about cleanses as of late. How do I know which are legit?

[mstrish]

I suffered from IBD and had the same symtoms. This is what I did for a week straight- Wheatgrass everyday, and juiced(not smoothies) greens(Cucumbers are very soothing to the colon), lemon, and for sweetness add a green apple. I did not eat any fat or concentrated foods or nuts/seeds(Juices only or blended foods). The colon needs time to heal. Here is a link to Dr. Kliens site....he has advised Paul Nison.

http://www.colitis-crohns.com/index.html

I have rejuvalac in my smoothies now and still keep my fat down. People with colon issues have a hard time with brocoli and Dr. Klien suggests lightly steaming this if this is something you want to add to your diet. I hope this helps.