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why does this Disease happen?

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Ulcerative Colitis
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Hellokitty
Veteran Member
Joined : Mar 2009
Posts : 765
Posted 6/11/2009 12:33 PM (GMT -8)
I was just wondering why I have the colitis. I believe it could have been a virus but then it could because I had health problems since I was born. Why do you guys think that you have this?
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fruitgirl
Veteran Member
Joined : Feb 2009
Posts : 7164
Posted 6/11/2009 12:39 PM (GMT -8)
Bad luck. There's really no known cause. just like with all autoimmune diseases. There is likely some genetic component, but what exactly that is remains poorly understood. Nobody else in my family has UC, and only one other relative has an autoimmune disease (and aunt, who has RA).

I think that the hormone craziness after birth triggered my first flare, but I don't believe that it *caused* my colitis.
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Peety
Veteran Member
Joined : Mar 2008
Posts : 2855
Posted 6/11/2009 1:11 PM (GMT -8)
Accutane destroyed the balance of my colon.
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saposs
Regular Member
Joined : Nov 2008
Posts : 341
Posted 6/11/2009 1:18 PM (GMT -8)
Major depression of my life gave me this and thyroid problem .... i guess my autoimmune got triggered after this months long depression..i was upset and crying all the time.... i had been very healthy before this! Guess what... i used to cry so much those days that my eyes became bright and used to sparkle all the time... hahaha... positive side affect of excessive crying!
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Zippy123
Veteran Member
Joined : Feb 2009
Posts : 735
Posted 6/11/2009 1:44 PM (GMT -8)
That is the 5 million dollar question. My mom, and my sister have bowel problems so it runs in family some, but my other siblings don't have a problem.

The thing is at one point we didn't have this and for some reason colitis took over. Now when I think back on it, I was having some symptoms many months before, I remember I started having more urgency in the morning long before colitis reared its ugly head. My BM's were normal and no pains, but boy I had to go and could hardly hold it, I thought nothing of it. Until stressful situation came up and it started, it started with a very strong ache in my lower colon so bad I could hardly sleep. Then the real symptoms began, and its been a battle from hell ever since.

I wonder if genetics and diet work together with stress to set this off. I ate lots of carbs, I love toast and cereals. I'd eat 4 pieces of toast before bed sometimes. Chocolate oh yeah.

I read an article on plant proteins called Lectins, which I found interesting as a possible cause to autoimmune diseases. If you follow the low carb diet you eliminate most of these Lectins. Here is a link http://www.krispin.com/lectin.html#Plain%20English

I am hopeful that this stuff and other autoimmune diseases is reversible contrary to what doctors say.
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Liza D
Regular Member
Joined : Apr 2009
Posts : 166
Posted 6/11/2009 2:22 PM (GMT -8)
I always felt like there just was something wrong with my gut. I used to always feel sick to my stomach but never as bad as with the colitis. It seems like whenever I get "healthy", Like eating well and exercising, then I would always flare. It seems like a hyper-immune system.

It also runs in my family. But I never figured out what would make me flare and what would help... who knows!
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blueclassring
Regular Member
Joined : Feb 2007
Posts : 385
Posted 6/11/2009 2:41 PM (GMT -8)
I subscribe to the bacterial overgrowth theory. Some broad spectrum antibiotics can cause colitis(pseudomembraneous colitis), that mimic our disease state. Since our small intestines can't break down complex carbs, it produces an environment where bad bacteria can multiply. Through stress into the mix and the body deteriorates.

I don't believe in the autoimmune disease theory anymore. Why would the body attack itself? I believe it is the bacteria's toxins and bacteria itself that cause the immune system to be activated.

That's why after a while prednisone stops working. It dampens the immune system, but are bodies are so fantastic that they find ways to surpass the effects of the drug. That's why you see failure after failure after new drugs are added. The body wants to rid itself of this state, but we aren't helping it.

I truly believe if you remove the offending agents(bad foods), the body can heal itself.

Again, these are just theories that explain how I feel about my disease. I don't discourage the use of pharmaceuticals since that is my career field. I just won't take them.
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Red_34
Elite Member
Joined : Apr 2004
Posts : 23581
Posted 6/11/2009 2:58 PM (GMT -8)
Bowel issues run in my family as well - my mother had Crohn's. But I never had an issue with my bowels until after the birth of my son and with a series of antibiotic treatments for bad infections.
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Meesh
Veteran Member
Joined : May 2006
Posts : 619
Posted 6/11/2009 3:34 PM (GMT -8)
I have no family history of autoimmune disease and wasn't diagnosed till I was middle aged. But I have ALWAYS felt stress in my stomach, from the time I was little, anytime I felt guilty, stressed, anxious, any negative feelings, always manifested in stomach issues. No one really knows definitively what causes UC.
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potty girl
Veteran Member
Joined : Dec 2006
Posts : 835
Posted 6/11/2009 3:36 PM (GMT -8)
I just wish somebody knew why then they could probably fix it.
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qazwsx12
Regular Member
Joined : Nov 2008
Posts : 63
Posted 6/11/2009 4:29 PM (GMT -8)
Not sure but when I developed it I was drinking massive amounts of black coffee, taking tons of caffeine, fitness supplements like ephedrine, and high stress from a new job. Sometimes I have to wonder if all those energy supplements and stress contributed to it, although I hear the stress angle has been pretty much disproved. Either way the time for surgery is drawing near :(
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Sweetie31105
Veteran Member
Joined : Aug 2008
Posts : 903
Posted 6/11/2009 6:05 PM (GMT -8)
Heriditary. My Dad had his colon removed due to his UC, but then it came back just in the rectum area. Those darn genes! wink
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PrednisoneJunkie
Regular Member
Joined : May 2009
Posts : 33
Posted 6/11/2009 6:19 PM (GMT -8)
I used to think no one else in my family had UC, and the question of how I got the disease tortured me. Recently I found out my uncle has it and he keeps it a secret. That was really selfish of him. So on the one hand there is a genetic component, but on the other hand, I don't see how people could have had this problem and survived back before there were medications to treat it. It has to be related to modern food and bacteria as well.
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subdued
Veteran Member
Joined : Dec 2008
Posts : 3231
Posted 6/11/2009 6:22 PM (GMT -8)
I had a really great digestive system. I had taken antibiotics off and on for ear infections, sinus infections, and acne, but my digestive system was still rock solid--just like everyone else in my family. That was until I went to Asia and got a horrible skin inflammation. I was on antibiotics for way longer than I was supposed to be. I started drinking bubble tea, which contains HFCS. Bubble tea was the new thing, and of course I mistakenly assumed that sugar from fruit was better than sugar from cane. I was bloated, passing gas a lot, and having diarrhea. Then my divorce came, and I started eating nothing but chocolate to curb my depression. The gas, bloating, and diarrhea got worse and worse. I ignored it. I didn't think it was a big deal until one day I saw blood.

I now take probiotics, don't eat anything with HFCS, and eat chocolate only once in a blue moon. I will also add turmeric powder to many of the meals I cook and I drink Tension Tamer tea from Celestial Seasonings. I have barely any bloating and gas, and I'll only get diarrhea if I eat something wrong (usually something that I think doesn't contain HFCS, but it does.)
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Katmom
Veteran Member
Joined : Mar 2008
Posts : 1203
Posted 6/11/2009 6:49 PM (GMT -8)
The Million dollar question: We each blame ourselves. My daughter has the disadvantage of a maternal Uncle with a colostomy from UC, an aunt with Crohns and a grandmom with Diverticulitis. Her father and mother(me) are fine. She went on a 2 month course of antibiotics for her acne(
not Accutane, some milder stuff) over a summer, and in December found her first blood. Was that it???? Could the trigger have been so sensitive? Now, it doesn't much matter the cause, it is here.
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pb4
Elite Member
Joined : Feb 2004
Posts : 20577
Posted 6/11/2009 6:55 PM (GMT -8)
The human body is not perfect, and with the combinations of genetics it's the reason why the basis of any disease is in essence the body attacking itself.

Crohn's and UC have been around for over 100 yrs and whatever meds were used then I don't know but if you think about it none of the meds used now are specifically designed for IBD, they're all cross-over drugs, drugs used for cancer, arthritis ect.

There isn't one specific thing that causes IBD, it's a multitude of things. There are thousands of people walking around right now that think they are perfectly fine only to wake up tomorrow with an IBD and their lives changed forever.

:)
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mumbles
Regular Member
Joined : Dec 2008
Posts : 199
Posted 6/11/2009 9:01 PM (GMT -8)
It didn't start until I started taking hard antibiotics for my wisdom teeth removal. These antibiotics leave me to believe that they caused an imbalance in bacteria which led to a confused immune system that I have now. Personally, I believe UC may be from a multitude of causes just with the same, or similar, symptoms. Thats why what works for some doesn't work for all. For some it may be autoimmune caused by genetics or for others caused by intestinal gut bacteria unbalancing the reactions in the colon and causing an autoimmune response.
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ickypoo
Regular Member
Joined : Dec 2008
Posts : 224
Posted 6/12/2009 4:39 AM (GMT -8)
While recognizing the role of things like genetics and stress, I am quite certain that prolonged exposure to antibiotics in my late teens started the ball rolling for me. From that moment onward, I have had gastro problems, culminating in UC.

Having said that, my most serious flare started after getting a flu shot. Not sure of the cause/effect relationship there, but won't be getting one of those ever again.
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RH_Texas_Gal
Regular Member
Joined : May 2009
Posts : 367
Posted 6/12/2009 4:16 PM (GMT -8)
I think mine started with a viral infection too. I had what the docs thought was mono but blood work showed a "non-specific" virus. After a few months I felt normal but less than a year later got it again ... a few months after recovering from the 2nd bout, I started getting UC symptoms, although I did not know what it was at the time. Doc said we all carry dormant viruses in our bodies and anything from a simple cold, stress, bacterial infection, etc. could "wake" the virus up ... from there it is a chain reaction. Before the virus, I had a cast iron stomach, could eat anything, never had heartburn or reflux and now have it all along with the UC ....
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darius
New Member
Joined : Jun 2009
Posts : 5
Posted 6/13/2009 4:44 PM (GMT -8)
removing stress from my life brought my violent uc under control.. getting married to beautiful wife proabably brought the happiness and hope i needed too... and then removing glutten, lactose, and salt from my diet .. but yea, you wonder why you have it in the first place.. guess just from listening to other members .. there can be many reasons depending on your life and ancestry..
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pam222
Veteran Member
Joined : Jun 2009
Posts : 986
Posted 6/14/2009 5:43 AM (GMT -8)
I wish I knew. I started getting symptoms within days of quitting smoking (after 10 years of smoking) and have not been in remission since (August, 2007). My grandmother also has it
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