Treating Crohn's & Colitis Homoeopathically

It's world Crohns and Colitis Week and its really important to shine some light on the kinds of support that are available to people living with these conditions.

Day-to-day living with an autoimmune disease like Crohn's or colitis is an incredible act of resilience. It’s not just a bowel disease, it really can affect every aspect of life. Symptoms can vary in intensity but day-to-day managing pain, fatigue, weight loss, uncomfortable bowel movements, multiple medications and everything you eat and drink, plus a lot more symptoms individual to each sufferer requires incredible dedication to live with these potentially very debilitating chronic illnesses.

Every aspect of living needs careful support, reduction of stress, as well as changes to diet and lifestyle to bring about improvements. Many people end up dissatisfied with the results of conventional medicine and so turn to complementary and alternative medicine to get the additional help they need.

Using homeopathy alongside conventional treatments is certainly one way to support your symptoms in your condition. In homeopathy we always look at the roots of the condition, when did it start and what was going on around that time. This focuses on alleviating things on a much deeper level and looks to bring about lasting deeper relief. A homeopath can also help to support emotional wellbeing and alleviate fatigue etc along the way. We listen and really try to be in your corner when living with this disease day to day.

In homeopathy, we don’t treat named diseases, as one person’s experience of a condition is unique and individual to them. Finding a unique remedy or remedies to support the person and what the body needs to heal is vital.

Homeopathy has been around over 200 years, and there are literally thousands of remedies that act to support the body by helping it to heal itself. They are highly diluted and shaken to release the healing potential of each substance without the toxicity of the material, instead catalysing the body to heal itself.

Please don’t attempt to self-prescribe for a condition like this, please consult a qualified practitioner, but here are some of the more common remedies used in working with these conditions.

Each one is a quick snapshot of that remedy and you don’t have to have all the symptoms listed to need that remedy.

Mercurius Cor.

This is a remedy for when there is a feeling that the bowel is not fully emptied. This is not relieved even when a stool is passed. There will be a sensation of burning, and bloating, and are worse for the least touch. Stools can be bloody and bitty like in shreds, slimy, hot and have this feeling of being incomplete.

Igntia

There is often a history of grief, or symptoms starting after significant grief. The pains are grippy and on both sides of the abdomen. A lot of spasmodic pain. Shooting pains up the rectum and may also have a feeling of something sharp coming out of the rectum. Pains in the rectum can last a couple of hours after stool has passed. There is a bloody stool and pain is worse if diarrhoea or looser stools.

Nux vomica

Symptoms may start because of a more sedentary lifestyle or on the other hand ‘high living’. Work stress can be a particular factor in this over a prolonged period. You feel irritable, want to keep on the go, and are nervous. The bowel is congested, with difficulties in passing stool, and can be constipated for quite long periods of time, passing hard stool in little bits, so it feels like there is always more. There can be general nausea and bloating as well.

Phosphorus

This is one of the remedies that has a lot of blood in stool, and especially where there is anaemia in the case. Patients are generally sensitive and sympathetic. They love to be social, but can feel very wiped out by their symptoms.

We also have a set of remedies that are known as the Bowel Nosodes, which are a bit like a homeopathic version of a probiotic, that can have a very profound and deeper action to rebalancing the bowel bacteria, as well as supporting immunity on a deeper level. The ones prescribed will depend on your individual symptoms, but there are some that seem to resonate very well with these conditions and other IBS-type symptoms.

Working with a homeopath they can assess your case individually and make a prescription for you, working over several months to unwind any issues and support you in your healing journey.

If you’d like to chat with Rebecca more about possible treatment then please book a free 30 minute curiosity call with her through the centre and she'llbe happy to chat things through with you and see how we can support you as an individual.