caret icon Back to all discussions

How to balance allopathic medicine with holisitic

I was diagnosed with UC in 2018 after a period of intense stress and grief. I was not prepared to take medicines coming from a natural medicine background.

In late 2021 I began to experience a severe flare following a period or hormonal fluctuations of early perimenopause (43). I began HRT treatment and a month later I was hospitalized due to 12 plus bloody bowel movements and severe dehydration. I was given high dose steroids intravenous for 2 weeks & 5-ASA meds before any change. At this point my consultant pushed to begin Infilximab infusions. I was resistant given the side effects but I felt I was so sick that I had to embrace these drugs even though my preferred way is holistic.

I believe inherently that these human vessels are supremely intelligent and adaptive. That with the right conditions anything can heal. My approach currently is now blessing the pharmaceuticals to work with me in the best possible way and that any harmful components be neutralised.

The biologic and steriod mix worked initially but once the steroids were tapered off I entered into another flare. 5 months on it feels the biologic is not working and I am now in a place of how to advocate for myself successfully and when to draw the line with potentially harmful medications that are not doing much to aid remission.

I am very conscious about what I ingest, and have tried many ways of nourishment from raw juicing to now a low residue fish/meat/low fodmap diet. I include many natural anti-inflammatory foods in soups and broths but still I am at a loss as this condition continues to be a ruthless teacher.

Love to hear from those attempting to balance the medical with a more rounded holistic approach.

  1. Hi , thanks for sharing this. The balance between natural and allopathic medicine can certainly be tricky! I can only speak from my experience, which is that I pay attention to my body and figure out what foods work well with it - but diet unfortunately could not put me in remission, it only eased some symptoms. I also did use some stress reduction techniques like exercise and meditation to help and am in therapy. But ultimately, I needed to find the right biologic for me, which was a trial and error process. My first biologic also did not work (Humira) but my second has put me in remission in 4 or so months (Remicade). Do you think you would consider trying a different biologic or do you feel that you would prefer not to be on any biologic medicines? -Eshani (IBD Team Member)

    1. Thank you for sharing what you are working with. Its shocking to me how the medical community, at least here I am in Ireland, do not place any emphasis on diet or holistic approaches. Having tried many ways of eating I definitely know for me that grain/nut free and minimal gluten free products help, as well as eating well cooked veggies/no soy, fish and lean meats currently. I've been a meditator for 20 years and a holistic healing practitioner, yet even with these advanced consciousness tools in my belt its still a humbling experience of surrender. Thank you for sharing about the trial and error process of finding the right biologic. I think that is the next conversation I need to have with my medical team. Has Remicade (Imfliximab same drug I believe?) continued to work well for you after the 4 month mark?

    2. Hi ! Thanks for sharing more about what you're doing. You're right that Infliximab and Remicade are the same! I started taking it end of Sept 2021 and was in really good shape by end of November 2021. I have since been in good shape and have been really happy since. That said, of course, the biologic does not always work well for everyone. What I would say is that if you're open to biologics, trying more than one may be helpful! -Eshani (IBD Team Member)

  2. So sorry you are going through this. I can relate 100%. I see a Naturopathic Doctor in addition to my GI. I am currently on a JAK Inhibitor medication called Xeljanz that is working wonderfully. However, I pair it with a ton of natural things. Lots of supplements like multi-vitamin, probiotic, hormone stuff. I juice celery juice every morning. I eat a ton of fish and for the most part eat very well, organic and unprocessed foods. I am human of course so I have times where I get off course with my diet but I always find my way back. I also try my best to use clean products around the house and I use essential oils everyday. I think this disease is incredibly complicated and you have to attack it from all levels. Just one approach isn't enough, in my opinion at least. -Elizabeth (team member)

    1. Thank you for all of that, and for planting the seed to potentially give celery juice another try 😀 There are so many variables that it can just be so confusing and demoralizing sometimes. Have you now found a combo with medications that work for you?

    2. You are so welcome. And I know how you feel. This journey is hard but keep your head up. Right now, I am on a medication called Xeljanz. And I am diligent with diet and take many supplements some including, beef liver, probiotic, vitamin d, cbd oil etc. -Elizabeth (team member)

  3. I'm inclined to agree with that an alternative biological is probably the best route forward. Unfortunately, many people have to experience the trial and error process of medication options before finding something that helps them. There's research happening now that will hopefully stop this being the case in the future. Being able to personalise medicine; knowing what will be effective for who in advance will be a game changer in IBD! I've personally gone through many medications, and ultimately needed surgeries. I understand your reluctance due to your profession, but I do feel that getting on top of the flare will enable you to feel better and be a better support to the people you help.
    - Sahara (team member)

    1. Thank you Sahara. Its a scary process right now. My gastro team are telling me that I only have one more option in biologics or else it is surgery but I have only tried Remicade for 6 months? I will admit that the thought of surgery really challenges me. May I ask you what was the indicator for you that you had to take that route ultimately, and are you happy that you did?

    2. so, my first surgery was an emergency, just two weeks after symptoms started. I had an ileostomy for two years; during that time, I also had my Jpouch created. I had chronic pouchitis with the Jpouch, and it ultimately ended up classified as antibiotic refractory, steroid-resistant pouchitis. Go me 🙄 So I moved on to Azathioprine, and started having new problems, which led to another emergency surgery due to strictures. When they got in they found my intestine was twisted, and I had an abscess. My Jpouch got torn while they were in there, so I had a pouch rest and ileostomy again. Thankfully, my pouchitis was inactive during that time. When it was connected back up, the pouchitis flared up again pretty quickly. My IBD team wanted to treat it as though it were a new pouch as it had been rested (not sure why), so I had to go through all of the meds that hadn't worked in the past again until I got to Infliximab (Remicade). After 3 months it was apparent that it wasn't helping me. So I had to decide whether to have my Jpouch removed in favour of a permanent stoma, or whether to try a drug trial. To be frank, I was so worn down by it all. I was struggling to function and had no quality of life. My mental health was really poor, and I just wanted my life back. I was miserable, and I felt stuck. I didn't want to do the trial and it not do anything, and leave me in the same position for many more months, so I opted to have my Jpouch removed.
      - Sahara (team member)


Please read our rules before posting.