Return to the Health Forum
| Post a Follow-Up
Colon cleanses?
| | |
Posted by
catherinet (
My Page) on
Sat, Jan 6, 07 at 11:29
Hi all,
I've had IBS for about 10 years. Its fairly inconsistent. I've been thinking about some of those cleanses you can order. I guess you take supplements, and some other stuff. I'm not convinced it isn't all hocus pocus......but I'm tempted to try it once.
Have any of you had any experience with these? "Supposedly", our intestinal mucosa gets "clogged up" with all the bad stuff we eat, and can't function properly. Supposedly, these cleanses clear all that stuff out. Any suggestions? |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Colon cleanses?
| | |
| I think your idea that colon cleansing is hocus pocus is right on. |
RE: Colon cleanses?
| | |
| My 28 year old son has IBS and so do I. He gave the colon cleanse a year ago and ended up in the hospital for a week. Doctors at Mass General in Boston told him, he was lucky to be alive as it caused severe inflammation to the colon and bleeding from all the irritation, never mind the loss of fluids and all the rest. He was in critical condition for 3 days in ICU. His doc told us that not only is it dangerous to use for anyone that anyone with any kind of intestinal problems can die from using this kind of treatment. In the past year they had 6 patients with IBS die from the treatment. Please don't use it, we almost lost our son to this crazy stuff. |
RE: Colon cleanses?
| | |
Thanks socks and littleone,
Sorry to hear about your son's experience with this. I'm glad he's okay now. What program did he use? I'm not talking about lots of enemas........I'm talking about something like a week of taking certain supplements, limiting eating, etc. There's this group of people that are always on a certain station, promoting their cleanse. Where are they getting all this money to have so many infomercials, if their products do nothing?
I DO realize that there are alot of health scams out there. |
RE: Colon cleanses?
| | |
| catherinet, I just spoke to my son to find out which of the programs he used. he doesn't remember the name now, but it was the oral stuff that is advertised on the infomercial that you are speaking about all the time. He doesn't watch much tv, but if he sees it again, he will let me know what the name is. |
RE: Colon cleanses?
| | |
| They get the money for their infomercials from people who buy the products. Of course THEY say how wonderful it is--they are making money from it. However, from what I have read, doctors and other medical professionals do not feel it is beneficial. With your existing IBS, I think it would be very unwise to try something like this, epecially without a doctor's recommendation, which I doubt you would get. You should take littleones advice very seriously. Watch a different channel, OK? (LOL!) |
RE: Colon cleanses?
| | |
It just seems that if a product is a scam......people would quit buying it and they wouldn't have money for all these commercials......but I guess there's a sucker born every minute! lol!
Actually, I think fasting for a few days, and then eating totally healthily, would be just as healthy for our intestines (actually healthier).
Socks......please don't think I watch that channel much!! hahaha I was just passing by it one day and watched it for a moment.
I have a friend who does cleanses intermittantly, and I was wondering if anybody else had any luck with them.
She does these funky cleanses for weeks and weeks.....and then goes out and buys a bunch of donuts and chocolate. :( |
RE: Colon cleanses?
| | |
| I just wanted to say that I feel your pain! I don't think I have had IBS but I sure have had discomfort and problems that caused me to run to the bathroom a lot. Maybe even for two years... I thought I was headed for IBS... In Feb. we went on a cruise and I got the norovirus...that was awful... But LOL it passed. Then in Sept. I got a nasty cough and cold and went to the dr. and she put me on a Z pac of antibiotics for bronchitis. DH and I went to Oregon to see our older son. We ate sushi. We ate Dairy Queens blizzards. We ate fresh salmon. I am back to normal. Now, what do you blame??? Or give the credit to??? After almost two years of running to the bathroom???? I wonder if the antibiotics didn't make the difference???!!! Who knows? Like I say, I feel your pain, but I'd be tempted to try a round of antibiotics before I'd EVER do the cleansing. |
RE: Colon cleanses?
| | |
Hi ginnier,
Actually, I've sort of thought that it was antibiotics that caused my IBS! I suppose if you maybe have a parasite, or an intestinal infection of some sort, antibiotics might help. But I've had a fair amount of them over the years, and every time I take them, I lose a little more of my bowel function. Probiotics and yogurt/kefir don't seem to help much.
I'm thinking in your case......the DQ Blizzards brought you back to normal. ;) |
RE: Colon cleanses?
| | |
| Catherinet have you had a colonoscopy to verify you have IBS? Over the past 30 years I have been misdiagnosed with so many different conditions to explain my intestinal problems, bouts of constipation, diarhea, and severe colon pains. Until I had a very bad experience with anti-inflamatories causing severe intestinal bleeding. The colonoscopy showed I had an extra foot of colon and very bad diverticulousis causing the IBS like symptoms. I was told to eat a high fiber diet, drink at least 4-5 8 oz's of liquids a day. After years of experimenting with different stool softeners and diets, I now take a probiotic & 8 oz of organic extra pulp prune juice in the evening, 2 beano with a high fiber cereal (over 10 grams of fiber per serving) in the morning with fruit on top, and drink as much as I can stand and eat at least 3-5 servings of fruits/vegetables a day. This has really regulated my system, except I still experience bloating & flatulance. Everyone has to find out what works and doesn't work for them. I too have considered colon cleanses but from a local health food store...bought it but haven't tried it. My Dr said fasts, drinking only distilled water, are the best colon cleanse. I haven't tried it yet, but I have tried detox teas (Traditional Medicinals) that I do notice a difference in my stools after drinking a couples of days. Good luck |
RE: Colon cleanses?
| | |
| In my experience as a master yoga therapist, I can pretty much assure you that the so-called health benefits of colon cleanses are based on the antiquated notion that the colon was simply a sewer that carried post-digestive sludge to the rectum. Barring some physical anomaly such as a tumor or that noted by karen_b above, there is no buildup in the colon; its walls are porous and continually extract nutrient-bearing moisture from the digested food, the remaining solids then being moved along via peristalsis. Were such a buildup to occur, the result would be far more perilous than the symptoms usually listed to support the need for such a cleansing. Often, IBS and chronic dyspepsia can be effectively treated by fasting -- giving the digestive system a rest by ingesting only liquids. If the symptoms
are still recurring after three days, the first possibility which must be ruled out is disease -- everything from malignancy to microbial colitis. One of my clients had suffered from chronic attacks of severe cramps and diarrhea for ten years and had subjected himself to every sort of "naturalistic cure" without result. After a few days of inpatient tests, a culture finally revealed Klebsiella colitis caused by an overabundance of a microbe common to the colon, and a simple antibiotic treatment effected a complete cure. Had a cleansing treatment such as a high colonic caused even a minute breach of his colon and enabled Klebsiella bacteria to escape into the abdomen, serious infection would have almost certainly ensued. Hope this helps. |
RE: Colon cleanses?
| | |
| Just for kicks, I just completed the week long course for the GNC colon cleanser kit. I can honestly say it did nothing but leave me $35 poorer! Oh, it did give me some nasty smelling gas! Those websites would have you believe that the intestines have this horrible build-up of toxic materials, but the truth is the intestines sloughs off every several weeks and nothing stays in there. Gosh, if it did we'd all be totally plugged up after 20 years and having surgery to clean the system out! Waste of money--spend it on a nice outfit! |
RE: Colon cleanses?
| | |
| Hi - I'm not sure if this is what you are talking about, but there is a product called Colon Cleanse (I think) and it is just pure psyllium husks. Psyllium is a great natural source of fiber. It is the same thing that is in Metamucil. I had IBS (stress related) and regular use of psyllium fiber has been a lifesaver for me. As for cleansing herbs and such - a lot of those are very powerful laxatives, and I would certainly be extremely careful with those.
Best wishes. |
RE: Colon cleanses?
| | |
| The lining of the colon replaces itself every 7 days. How could anything stay there? |
RE: Colon cleanses?
| | |
| catherinet, I am really glad you asked this question. I have been wondering about the colon cleanse, especially the one advertised in that infomercial. It does pull you in doesn't it! |
Post a Follow-Up
Please Note: Only registered members are able to post messages to this forum. If you are a member, please log in.
If you aren't yet a member, join now!
Return to the Health Forum
Instructions
- You must be a registered member and logged in to post messages on our forums.
- Posting is a two-step process. Once you have composed your message, you will be taken to the preview page. You will then have a chance to review the contents and make changes.
- After posting your message, you may need to refresh the forum page in order to see it.
- It is illegal to post copyrighted material without the owner's consent.
- HTML codes are allowed in the message field only.
- No advertising is allowed in any of the forums.
- If you would like to practice posting or uploading photos, please visit our Test forum.
- If you need assistance, please Contact Us and we will be happy to help.
