What are /r/IBD's favorite Products & Services?

From 3.5 billion Reddit comments

I'm on mobile right now, so I can't say much, but I found that this book helped me out of a rut with cooking for IBD. It's not a sure-fire fix all, but it does give you some options if you're feeling lost.

Bonus: the lady who wrote the book is both a nutritionist and an IBD patient, so she's great about giving recipes that avoid trigger foods without sacrificing your dietary needs.

Got it on sale for $229. https://www.amazon.com/Elongated-Self-Cleaning-Nightlight-Oscillating-Technology/dp/B0743LXKRK works best if you have an elongated toilet, otherwise there is very little room for your balls.

If your pooping several times a day, this is such a difference maker. Everyone who visits is a convert as well; I must have sold at least 4 bidets already.

After 2.5 yrs, the dampener on the toilet seat broke and I'm waiting for the replacement part on the mail. There may be newer better seats out there for a reasonable price; but I havent looked.

Also look into getting a squatty potty. The extra leverage is great.

Sorry to hear that you are in such pain. All I can tell you is that I have been in similar dire straights previously thanks to docs who were too important to figure out what was wrong with me. Its insulting beyond words to hear some self-righteous doc tell you there's nothing wrong with your body. Eventually my body healed thanks to dietary changes and supplements but it was slow and I couldn't work during that time.

How is your diet? Do you take any nutritional supplements? UC messes with the absorption of nutrients. I found out my gut needs at least 50mg of zinc per day.

For systemic body pain I use Wobenzyme N - preferably the German formula. The last time I had severe muscle aches and brain fog I took the recommended dose and I could feel the pain slowly melt away after less than 30 minutes! Its a mix of enzymes that are absorbed into your blood and destroy the junk that is causing your immune system to flare.

Here is an Amazon link to the non-German version of Wobenzyme. The German version works better for me but the Garden of Life one might work for you.

The Specific carbohydrate Diet (SCD) works for me. The book I used is called "breaking the Vicious Cycle" and it goes into the history of the SCD and the theories as to why it works, all with citations to actual scientific articles. In general, it is a diet that eliminates complex carbohydrates like starches (pasta, bread, grains) and various sugars (lactose and processed sugars). Eliminating starches makes it incredibly difficult to eat out and to find snacks to eat when you have a craving. I'd say the first 6 months were tough to get used to, but I learned to cook big batches of food so I've always got something to eat. Link to the book and website below.

Book: Breaking the Vicious Cycle Website: http://www.breakingtheviciouscycle.info/

I was just thinking about working on my own app for tracking IBD-related stuff, then I came across this app called GI Monitor. I believe the company behind it was started by a guy who was diagnosed with Crohn's, and wanted to make it easier for patients to track their symptoms. Thought the community might appreciate it. I don't know what the funding model is.

EDIT: I'm reading the reviews of their Android app, and it's not looking too good. It hasn't been updated in nearly two and half years, either... I just want an open source solution to track your GI health, is that too much to ask for?

The connection between crohns/UC and mouth ulcers is well known. I have a similar situation but I'm on mesalazin (asacol/pentasa). If I miss a couple of doses the ulcers always return. In other words, I don't think it's salazopyrin withdrawal which causes them. You can read more about it here.

purchase some pepogest (natures way) or intesol from metagenics https://www.amazon.com/Metagenics-Intesol-60-Softgels/dp/B004GIGADI

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the latter may be the most helpful. take them when you work. these are both enteric coated peppermint and other herbs to calm the contractions of the intestinal track.

VSL#3 is very expensive, they do offer a printable coupon on their website that's about 30% off.

The one you linked to seems to make no claims on number of bacteria from the images posted, just 300mg of "probiotic blend". This is a red flag to me. The Amazon description does give a number, but it's 1 billion, which is childs play. The double strength vsl is 900 billion.

You might as well get something like this and just not take full doses (it's a powder you scoop out). The bacteria per dollar is about a factor of 10 greater than the one you posted.

Another note, the probiotics that need refrigeration generally work better.

Hi everyone! My name is Mihai, and I am an Android developer.
Years ago, by blind luck, I’ve discovered that my horrible anxiety and brain-fog were caused by a few ingredients and allergens in the food I was eating.
The process of discovering exactly what was causing my suffering was a long and arduous one. It consisted of me going through an elimination diet, where I slowly re-introduced individual foods, and manually kept track of all their ingredients. This took me several months before I had a rough idea of what were my triggers.
Being a developer, I’ve decided to make it easier for other people that find themselves in my position, and hopefully save them a few months of effort. This is how I came up with the idea for MoodBites - a Food Journal that’s built with finding Trigger Foods in mind.
The app has been in development for a few years now, but I’ve finally decided to take the leap and work on it full-time. I am planning to add a lot of new features that I think you’ll love - I’m currently working on a scanner feature that tells you how well you’d tolerate a food, based on your own, personalised data. This way, you don’t have to spend time in the grocery store, worrying whether the biscuits you’ve bought would make you sick for the next 5-7 days.
Anyways, here’s the download link. It’s currently only available on Android, but I am thinking of ways of porting it to iOS as well. Let me know what you think!
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.codecandy.androidapp.fooddiary

It's not a great solution, but for your own peace of mind, perhaps you might need to keep an "earthquake toilet" handy for those emergency situations.

I got one a couple of years ago when I had orthopaedic surgery and was non-weight-bearing for a couple of months. Even though I live alone, the only bathroom in my house was a good distance from my bedroom and required going up a step to get there. Having the bucket in my bedroom was handy for nighttime urgency. I kept a roll of TP and some wipes next to it as well.

It's not exactly aesthetically pleasing, but at least it'll do in a pinch. This is what I ordered:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07FBRS17S/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

It's evidently no longer available, but you can find something similar for about $25. It beats soiling yourself or vomiting in a trash can.

One of these?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/DDENDOCAM-Endoscope-Inspection-Borescope-Waterproof/dp/B08NF16S5G/ref=sr_1_9?crid=3NU2SWX270CE7&keywords=drain%2Binspection%2Bcamera&qid=1650930591&sprefix=drain%2Bin%2Caps%2C256&sr=8-9&th=1

It's an auto immune disease.

• What Are Autoimmune Disorders?

It basically means what foods triggers you wont bother the next person. Or, possibly, that your autoimmune may be triggered outside of your diet. Stress. Which means results may vary.

I like the idea and wish you luck. If you have any sort of budget to put towards your "R&D", maybe consider a type of Mechanical Turk-esque job?

Amazon hosts small odd-jobs, usually computer based - where users can sign up and submit their work to you for a small payment. You have the opportunity to view and verify the submission before payment is made.

Perhaps you could outsource the work at a small price per toilet documented?

https://www.mturk.com/mturk/welcome

These have been awesome for me, and they don't make me vomit.

https://www.amazon.com/Chewable-Iron-65-Vitamin-270/dp/B072NYSWZ3/ref=sxts\_rp\_s1\_0?cv\_ct\_cx=chewable+iron&dchild=1&keywords=chewable+iron&pd\_rd\_i=B072NYSWZ3&pd\_rd\_r=ed9cb190-3331-46be-93da-25c316d506e3&pd\_rd\_w=ZbFjD&...

my doctor recommended these: https://www.amazon.com/EZ-Melts-Elemental-Sublingual-Vitamins/dp/B00NV5UTM0/

Apparently they are much easier on your stomach, I haven't tried them yet though

Hm that's strange. Do you happen to be located outside of Canada or the United States? You can try searching 'Phyla Health' in the store as well.

Here's a direct link.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.phyla.phyla

I find putting stoma powder in the crater-like area of the ulcer to really help.

https://smile.amazon.com/Conva-Tec-Stomahesive-Powder-bottle/dp/B000K6WE30/

(But also, get a dermatologist who is knowledgeable in the area of autoimmune disease.)

I’ve been using the garden of life meal replacement. It does have a ton of fiber in there so might bot be great for a flair but seems to help get nutrients.

Garden of Life Raw Organic Meal Replacement Powder - Lightly Sweet, 28 Servings, 20g Plant Based Protein Powder, Superfoods, Greens, Vitamins Minerals & Probiotics, All-in-One Meal Replacement Shake https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0031JK95S/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_R0GNVG4W06NG38SJGJRS

This liquid electrolyte solutions has saved me from going to the ER for an IV. Highly recommend having one of these bottles on hand for when you’re on a clear liquid diet. I personally hate Gatorade and can’t tolerate the sugar content so I use this stuff. Then you can add whatever you want like a little lemon juice and squeeze of maple syrup - whatever you can tolerate. It’s very salty! 😁 Electrolyte Supplement for Immune... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MXDAHIB?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

From a UC standpoint, my(30M) shotgun approach to feeling better would be a strict low residue diet (chicken, rice, and vegetables cooked well). Filter all your water you drink and drink plenty of water. Stay away from milk. Some cheese is ok. Do that for a straight week and see what improves.

Everybody needs different drug regimen so rely on your doctor for that. Sorry that your doctor isn’t being the most helpful. I hope they can find exactly what going on.

My supplements that seem to help me:

Vitamin d (4,000 u...something)

Turmeric Curcumin (no bioperine) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00N1YY3R8/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_.RreFbPB8EQ9W

Fish oil

Beer

I take these all off and on and switch them up to see if I feel a difference. Hope u fee better!

Hey, weird! I tried the link too and it wasn’t working. I think the website is down. You can check out his book in the meantime, it helped me so much: https://www.amazon.com/Microscopic-Colitis-Wayne-Persky-ebook/dp/B0092SJ72S I totally get what you mean about people’s responses. My immediate family and my boyfriend have been really good about it since I learned more and they did too. It’s hard with a lot of people though still. And it really sucks that MC doesn’t get the validation it should as a truly debilitating disease. I don’t shy away from telling people I have celiac to avoid the questions.

Calmoseptine is SO GOOD. Also, this is EXTREMELY GOOD TOO. Ointment. What you should do is use calmoseptine and this together. Sometimes you should put calmoseptine and this together, then in a few minutes like 5-10 minutes re-apply the vitamin a+d ointment. It will feel WAY colder than usually and provide a bunch of relief. TRUST me on this one. People will recommend maybe getting a bidet or desitin (some people desitin works not bad but not for me at all), but calmoseptine + vitamin a+d IS SO GOOD. Careful about it staining clothes...the calmoseptine more so than the vitamin a+d. GOOD LUCK

A lot of people are are going 10+ times and worried about shitting their pants; going once a day is like the holy grail of treatment. So to answer your question no, that is not something I have ever heard an IBD patient be alarmed about, more like wished for.

Your diet will have a large impact on consistency. If you want thicker stool https://www.amazon.com/Viva-Naturals-Organic-Psyllium-Powder/dp/B011QGTRG4/ref=sr_1_7_s_it?s=hpc&ie=UTF8&qid=1523647299&sr=1-7&keywords=fiber is my favorite product. There is also a negative correlation between high fiber and colon cancer.

not sure if this is related but it reminds me of this book I read recently. Really interesting.

The lectins in potatoes are more resistant to heat than the lectins in other foods... Basically, by heating other foods to 100+ degrees for 10+ mins, you can reduce the lectin content to the point where they are no longer irritating to the system, but you can't cook a potato for long enough or hot enough to make them not irritating.

Sweet potatoes and yams are fine though, on the bright side!!! I've been eating lots of Japanese yams lately with coconut oil and salt - so yummy.

Some sources: 1) https://www.superfoodly.com/foods-high-in-lectins/

2) https://www.amazon.com/Plant-Paradox-Dangers-Healthy-Disease/dp/006242713X

^ this book is a godsend and I can't recommend it enough!!!

You've got lots of great replies already, so I'm just going to add one suggestion.

In addition to whatever else, start taking l-glutamine - something like this: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000GIUQR8

L-Glutamine is an amino acid, available in powder form, sold as a body building supplement. If you take a few teaspoons of it with water, twice a day, it really helps heal the gut and clears up diarrhoea. It can clear up bleeding, mucus and diarrhoea within a couple of days of starting taking it. It's very reliable and it's dose dependant - if the bleeding is bad, up the dose. Don't over do it though - more than a tablespoon twice a day is too much.

Did you know Amazon will donate a portion of every purchase if you shop by going to smile.amazon.com instead? Over $50,000,000 has been raised for charity - all you need to do is change the URL!

Here are your smile-ified links:

Pro-tip

^^i'm ^^a ^^friendly bot

It is. My wife and I use a lot of the recipes from Michelle Tam's Nomnom paleo book. Nom Nom Paleo: Food for Humans https://www.amazon.com/dp/1449450334/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_OJjCzbQK75TCV

We follow a loose version that allows occasional rice/ potatoes. Plus We fall off the wagon.

But I will say, I desperately miss orange juice but fruit juices give me the exact symptoms your husband describes.

Yeah, I am not happy about that they done that. I wasn't even showing signs of infection in my blood. But I listened to my doctor.

I've been using this one so far. It's indeed really expensive, though, but this is the cheapest I could find with the most strains and amounts of it.

Also taking some other store bought ones with it during my colitis at the moment.

VSL#3 seems to be expensive if I look it up online - $56 for one bottle?

I have just started the SCD diet for my Crohn's and Colitis. The book is found at: https://www.amazon.com/Breaking-Vicious-Cycle-Intestinal-Through/dp/0969276818/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8

Lots of content online about this diet.

Balneol works wonders. It is a little expensive, but it is totally worth it when things get irritated. Plus a bottle goes a long way!

You may want to look at PREbiotics as well. While probiotics are the actual bacteria themselves, prebiotics are the foods that nourish your gut bacteria and help it flourish.

There's a question in the research about whether probiotic bacteria can even survive the trip through your (highly acidic) stomach and actually make it into your intestines. However prebiotics are mostly fibers and sugars that make the trip just fine.

I've been taking this stuff for about a year and it's made a noticeable difference in my symptoms.

Prebiotin Prebiotic Fiber Prebiotin 8.5 oz Powder https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001RVFSFS/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_0GklxbSC9DYJZ

At very least, I wanted to make sure you knew about prebiotics as an option, but you may want to read up on it for yourself.

I take Prebiotin (prebiotics) and then some high quality probiotic pills my wife buys at a holistic pharmacy. http://smile.amazon.com/dp/B001RVFSFS/ref=sr_ph_1_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1463769614&sr=sr-1&keywords=prebiotin If you have a good health food store, ask them what they recommend. I also have incorporated kombucha and yogurt into my diet.

I'll start: heating pad, calmoseptine, peppermint and camomile hot tea plus various tea paraphenailia, bidet. I suppose I might use some of these if I was crohn's free, but I came into each looking for relief from symptoms in one way or another.

I've done a bit of reading on this. If you haven't been to ihaveuc, check it out. Loads of information on every treatment under the sun.

Fecal transplants have shown to be effective for UC. For an easy, "how to" book that give you everything you need to know, grab a copy of The Fecal Transplant Guidebook.

The numbers I've found are at about an 80-90% cure rate for UC, an easy google search. As the book points out, this is a very simple procedure that can be done at home. The author used it to heal her son's crohns.

UC landed me in the hospital last year and took me from 150 lbs to 116 lbs in about a month. Remicade and 6mp blasted me and got me out of the woods without surgery, but caused severe psoriasis on my hands, feet and scalp as well as other symptoms. Three months after stopping the Remicade, I still have huge bald patches, cuts & cracks all over my hands and feet. Fading...but I'd rather not imagine how the rest of my body is reacting. Hoping the fecal transplants will work.

Good luck!

A fun fact: Pork is the most difficult food to digest, so I have had to stop eating pork all together. Paleo is okay, it is just really difficult to live by. If you do decide to try paleo, I recommend the book Practical Paleo. It has 30 day meal plans for people with gut problems and has a lot of good information.

The surgery is a lot to deal with but when it's over you will feel like you have your life back. I bought a bidet from amazon and it really helps me.

toilet

Portable

I like to be clean because the movements are more acidic.

You've got some good advice in here already, so I'll just give you two things... this link and advice to stop drinking coffee. Seriously - I know we're all different, but it makes my guts crazy. I could have just half a cup of coffee and be in the bathroom twice as much as normal, and my UC is pretty mild.

Edit to add: About the fibre thing, depending on the type, it can be a very good thing if you're going to the bathroom a lot. Soluble fibre will help... well... bulk it up, so you aren't running to the bathroom so much. Psyllium fibre is awesome for this. You can find it in metamucil and in bulk stores. My Dr. has a whole bunch of recipes for it, too: http://kidstummies.com/documents/Psyllium_Recipees_new.pdf

You may want to read life without bread. It's from an austrian doctor who explains he cured several crohn's and UC cases using a low-carb (<72g carbs a day) diet. Worked really well for my IBS. However, as with UC there is a lot of inflammation, you may need to hold on to the diet for a month or two before you see results.

I buy these, they have helped me so much. Amazon has the best price, I've looked.