4Yo with Ulcerative Colitis

Hi,

First of all are you sure he has colitis, and not something called celiac sprue? I was misdiagnosed with Colitis for almost a year till I switched doctors and was retested. An idea to help with the medicine, giving him small amounts of the dosage every 15 minutes. This way he is not getting all of it at once and his body may absorb more. good luck, i feel his pain, the poor thing!!

C.

1 mom found this helpful

Hi M.!

I'm a pediatric nurse with ulcerative colitis myself, so I hope I can help you out.

First of all, I know how he is feeling! If I skip meds for more than a day, I start feeling uncomfortable. I found that a warm heating pad on my tummy helps A LOT. I also eat a bland, non-fibrous diet until I feel better (no raw fruits/veggies), but plenty of liquids and starches.

For the vomiting, just give him sips at a time, this will keep him from getting dehydrated. Stick with water, Gatorade or Pedialyte if he won't keep anything down, then try to give him his meds with a cracker or toast or some pretzels. He really needs something in his tummy when he takes them. He could also have Tylenol every 4 hours (not Motrin!) for the pain.

If he gets to the point where he is having bloody stools and continuous pain, he needs to see his Gastroenterologist for possibly a short course of steroids.

I sure hope he feels better soon!

I have a family member who has this. She use to suffer greatly from it, especially in the winter time. We believe it is worse then because you tend to get more sick in the winter. Anyway.... here are the things we tried for her over the past 5 years and she has had remarkable success. The doctors say they are amazed at her progress with this disease.
First....understand that the meds were not so great for her as far as the side effects she experienced. So we went to the natural approach and she is MED FREE and has been for 3 1/2 years.
1.)Acidopholis: You can get this at any natural food store. Safeway even carries it. This will help with the digestive system. She takes 2 tsp 3 times a day 1 hour before eating.
2.)Tahitian Noni: This you have to buy from a distributor. Be aware of the many brands of Noni on the market and if you buy a brand other than Tahitian, then make sure it is Organic! She takes 2 ounces 3 times a day 1//2 hour after meals. When sickness goes around the family, she increases her dosage by an ounce.
3.)A GOOD multi vitamin. What we have found through research is that MOST vitamins on the market are not made for our systems to digest, absorb or breakdown. Make sure that the Multi you find for him has a "High absorption rate". Also make sure that it not only has Multi vitamins in it but also Minerals. Did you know they have found One A Day Womenas vitamins in sewer systems and you can still read the "One a Day" on the vitamins!!! Email me if you would like any further suggestions on vitamins!
4.) STAY AWAY FROM GATORADE!!!!! One of the things we found with Gatorade and many other foods, it that you should stay away from ANYTHING with food coloring in it as it aggitates the digestive system! Gatorade has a ton of sugar and color in them! We found that it gave her the runs when she drank it... even sips! If you can stick to WATER one product we found that has helped is Smart Water. WE found it at Safeway and it is like Gatorade/Pedialite with out the added sugar or colors.
5.) Ginger tea after meals! Sip slowly.
6.) a hot bath when symptoms do occur and try and get him to sip on some tea.
I have a ton of other things we have tried and are trying... I would rather not go into them as I do not want you or anyone else to think I am "pitching a business at you" so let me know if you need any further advise or help! Feel free to email me. Good luck! I hope things get better for you and him.

Mama to Bryce -9 Austin -6 Taylor -1 and Step mama to Nich-15 Christian -14

Try the book "Eat Right for Your Type." It is genetically related to your blood type and the kinds of foods you can and cannot eat. I believe in it and have had a friend have great success following the diet suggested for his blood type.

Good luck.

My baby had a form of colitis linked to constipation. Is your son constipated at times too? That causes colitis too. Make sure it isn't the constipation that's causing it. If it is, get his dr to get him on a low dose of a gentle laxative, like Miralax. God bless u and yr little ones.