The Proctitis Pages
Frequently Asked Questions about Proctitis
Here is a collection of some commonly asked questions & answers.
ANS: The main difficulty with carrying on eating meat if you have proctitis, colitis or IBD is that this puts more strain on the digestive system. Meat is harder for the digestive system to deal with than other foods, so with this in mind meat may not be appropriate in your diet. This is especially true if your currently poorly with the acute or early stages of the condition. Your system is probably very sensitive to certain foods & therefore a diet that calms the digestion or put less strain on it is going to be beneficial. (also true for chicken & fish).
ANS: This is extremely common in the initial stages of the condition (or if you have a bad flare up!). The main thing is NOT to worry or panic, secondly trust your body it has an intelligence of its own. You may be off your food for a very good reason in the sense that your digestive system may need a rest from daily digestion. Finally, if your off ordinary foods the I recommend light foods like:- soups (such as lentil & Soya Miso), soupy stews, Yogurts (but not containing sugar) ,mashed potatoes or porridge made from rice flakes. Its important to keep your fluid levels up, so it's also a good idea to drink things like spring or bottled water, herbal or fruit teas, Chinese or Indian leaf tea is OK in moderation (try to avoid drinks with a high Caffeine content such as sports drinks or real coffee).
Answer: Unfortunately the answer is YES!, in the first stages of proctitis, colitis or IBD your digestive system may well be upset & therefore your bowel motions will be much more frequent. Going to the toilet urgently & very frequently is part of the symptoms. Along with other signs like drops of bright red blood in the motion, mucus (pale straw colour), very loose stools, & finally flatulence or passing much windy gas.
ANS: The mostly like answer is that conventional drugs won't do you any harm but neither are they very likely to have a significant effect on healing or curing your symptoms, at best you can expect such drugs to have a dampening down effect on the symptoms. Fasting can have a positive effect but provided you do it with care & only for as long as you feel you can manage. But the right diet will be vital in the long term.
ANS: Unfortunately the answer is YES!, you may find that being tired a great deal reduces your sex drive at times. This is however likely to be a temporary experience. Thus as you get better so will your sexual drive pick up once again.
ANS: Unfortunately its probably NOT such a good idea because it may well lead to further damage to the bowel or rectal lining. Especially if you have Proctitis (as opposed to colitis, or I.B.D).
ANS: My opinion is NO!!, I have spoke to many many people in the last few years with proctitis, colitis, IBD & I have never heard of a single case being reported due to an infection or an infectious agent. I have not seen any convincing medical evidence to suggest that proctitis, colitis or I.B.D are infectious & so be passed on to other people. The truth is that western doctors don't know what the triggers are that set off or cause these conditions. Most doctors have their own pet theories which range from the realistic & possible through to the sheer weird & wacky.
ANS: This is a very difficult question to answer because we are all so different & so the answer is also going to be very subjective (as individual as you are). However, there are general points I can make. 1) Proctitis, Colitits or I.B.D are CHRONIC CONDITIONS!!! they are NOT going to go away in a few days like a common cold. Sorry! if this is not what you wanted to hear but this happens to be the truth. 2) Don't be in a Rush to heal or cure this condition, it requires due time, effort and imagination to manage this condition. (it took me the best part of twelve to twenty four months to deal with this condition). Diet plays a vital role in the healing, management & stability of these conditions. Drugs alone won't do it.
ANS: Once again this is a very individual question & depends on YOU!! and the lifestyle you have. On things like how much stress you have in your life, your diet, how long you've had the condition, what if any genetic factors contribute, on how much support & understanding of partners & loved ones you have, what kinds of drugs if any you are already taking & so on.
ANS: Nobody I have ever spoken too who has proctitis, reported ANY real or lasting benefit from these. Frankly in my experience they are a complete waste of time & money. The main problem with suppositories is that they won't ever reach the legions (bleeding points) & deliver enough drug to have any lasting effect on the condition. Any benefit are likely to be small & short lived. Sadly, doctors seem to love to prescribe them, I think it makes the doctor feel like they are helping you but its a waste of time and money. The only beneficiaries are the drug companies in my opinion.
ANS: Yes! the best alternative to suppositories is Aloe Vera Juice which is natural (comes from the Aloe Vera planet ) and can be used in the form of an enema (used daily) and also the juice can be taken as a drink. You should be able to buy Aloe Vera juice in a good health food or whole food store, it must be 100% Aloe Vera juice for this use. Aloe Vera is especially useful if the early stages of the condition or if you experience a flare up, it seems to have a cooling & anti-inflammatory effect on the condition.
ANS: All these conditions (proctitis, colitis, or IBD) require LONG TERM on going care, if managed properly flare up's can be reduced to a minimum or even eliminated completely. But it is a matter of attitude & of reducing the factors that can lead to an increased risk of flaring, like keeping stress levels down. (this is very important if you have this condition as stress does make the symptoms worse!). The positive foods diet seems reduce the chances of flaring, whilst I cannot prove this directly too you anecdotal evidence suggests this to be the case.
ANS: The positive foods diet is extremely LOW in cholesterol (it can or may even be totally cholesterol free!). If you have been advised to reduce your cholesterol levels this is a helpful diet for that reason. This diet may also be beneficial if you have been diagnosed with high blood pressure (High blood pressure is frequently associated with high cholesterol food intake ).
ANS: Unfortunately Stress "IS" a major factor that contributes to people becoming poorly with these digestive conditions. Particularly stress in the work place. My guess is that people who end up with these digestive conditions tend to have a lower stress management level than other people (don't deal with or manage stress well) before the stress effects begin to have a destructive effect on the persons health & well being. The next thing you know is its to late & you have a digestive condition. (so if you already have one of these conditions keeping you stress levels down is going to be important). I am not talking here about normal daily stress but I am talking about chronic high levels of stress, stress which is ongoing & unrelenting.