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starting Curcumin during a flare

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Ulcerative Colitis
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dvoyre
Regular Member
Joined : Jan 2007
Posts : 29
Posted 3/27/2021 12:31 PM (GMT -6)
Hi all-- I've been reading about tumeric/ curcumin and IBD and have been in a bad flare, so started taking high doses of curcumin (from what I've read only high doses-- around 3,000 mgs/ 3 grams per day are useful) for the past 3 days & it almost seems like my symptoms may be worse-- bloody, painful diarrhea... Does anyone else have experience with this-- i.e. could the curcumin potentially be worsening my flare, should I stick w it so my body gets used to it? Build up the dose? And have you ever seen it help with getting out of a flare or only in maintaining remission? Thanks!
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VanJordan
Regular Member
Joined : Dec 2019
Posts : 394
Posted 3/27/2021 1:44 PM (GMT -6)
I take curcumin phyotosome every flare, along with boswellia. In combo with prednisone, they really get my inflammation under control faster.

Every person is different, so nobody can say for sure if curcumin is or isn't making your flare worse. However, curcumin is a blood thinner, and sometimes if the ulcerations are really active, it may make bleeding easier. On the other hand, it can also increase blood flow to the area which helps with cramping and can increase healing.

With curcumin, you don't have to build up the dose. Lower doses usually won't do much. I usually take 3000mg per day in two divided doses (morning and evening) during an active flare. I stay on this level until I get prednisone down to a reasonable level, then I start coming off the anti-inflammatories.

There is some evidence that high dose curcumin chelates iron from the body. I have found this for myself, but every naturopath I talk to swears that it's not true. Still, when I take curcumin, my hemoglobin never goes above 120 (12.0), no matter how many iron IVs I get. As soon as I stop curcumin, my hemoglobin goes back to 135-145 (13.5-14.5). I've spoken to others who have noticed this too. So it may somehow stop iron absorption or affect the way iron is used in the body.
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momto2boys
Veteran Member
Joined : Jun 2013
Posts : 2518
Posted 3/27/2021 2:50 PM (GMT -6)
Curcumin can act as a blood thinner, so yes, it could be making your bleeding worse. I have to stop taking it whenever I flare with heavy bleeding, but I take it regularly once the bleeding starts to taper down. Once I went up to 3g I noticed a major improvement in my UC.
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KV18
Regular Member
Joined : Aug 2014
Posts : 98
Posted 3/31/2021 7:22 PM (GMT -6)
Hello! I saw your post and it totally resonated with me. This past year I have been in a stubborn flare I tried high doses of curcumin on a handful of separate occasions and I also determined for me it made me worse and gave me brutal stomach pain, there was zero benefit for me, although you see many people raving about it throughout the forum. It did not help me get out of a flare or do anything for my symptoms. As everyone says, I have learned over the past year, what works for some doesn't work for everyone, so If you feel it has made you worse with tracking everything, just stop it. I don't think it would be worth building up the dosage.
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dvoyre
Regular Member
Joined : Jan 2007
Posts : 29
Posted 4/4/2021 8:35 PM (GMT -6)
Thank you all-- appreciate your responses-- Deborah
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Seeker275
Regular Member
Joined : Feb 2021
Posts : 145
Posted 4/5/2021 3:56 AM (GMT -6)
If you want to include crucumin in your diet during a flare and are not tolerating it well, I would suggest cooking with turmeric powder instead of taking supplements. Also look up recipes for golden milk which can be easily made at home even with non dairy milk. The idea of a crucumin supplement doesn't sound right to me because it would obviously be in very high doses . Some may find it useful but many won't tolerate . Too much of a good thing is not necessarily good and can have the opposite effect.
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TroubledTurds
Veteran Member
Joined : Jan 2004
Posts : 8705
Posted 4/5/2021 9:18 AM (GMT -6)
absolutely agree Seeker275 !

TT
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VanJordan
Regular Member
Joined : Dec 2019
Posts : 394
Posted 4/5/2021 9:41 AM (GMT -6)
Tumeric adding to cooking and golden milk are not effective delivery methods. The amount of curcumin absorbed is marginal, and it only stays in the blood stream for an hour or so. It's why modern medicine invented curcumin supplements. The pure extract is the only one with proven efficacy.

Golden milk is loaded with saturated fat which is not good for someone that has a raw colon.
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Seeker275
Regular Member
Joined : Feb 2021
Posts : 145
Posted 4/6/2021 5:09 AM (GMT -6)
How exactly is golden milk loaded with saturated fat when you are going to be making it from scratch and putting in all the ingredients into it yourself? You can make it with regular milk, nut milk, oats milk, rice milk or coconut milk. All you need to drink everyday is 1 glass of it. If the idea of any milk doesn't suit you, leave it out and make it with hot water more like a chai.
Pepper and ginger both add to the bio availability of curcumin in turmeric and if you add turmeric your daily cooking too you will get enough for your body's daily needs.
The amount of curcumin in supplements can be toxic to some people even if it may work for some and I wouldn't advise supplements at all especially for people who are already on a lot of other meds for co-morbid conditions especially - well not unless their docs support it.
Also choosing turmeric with high curcumin value makes a huge difference in how it is absorbed. Not all turmeric is the same.

Post Edited (Seeker275) : 4/6/2021 5:14:12 AM (GMT-6)

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