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I keep hearing more and more about how Motrin/Ibuprofin may be one cause of colitis.  What I would like to know is this: Is there anyone who has colitis who has NEVER taken Motrin products?    I for one have taken Motrin for pain from a car accident and several other times in my life.  Just would like to hear from anyone who has never taken Motrin and still developed colitis. THanks. -Nancy

 Reply posted for alanschachter.

I SO agree with you! :)

 Reply posted for alanschachter.

I actually alternate using real butter or organic safflower oil.  I have trouble digesting fatty foods like steak and chips, so I am guessing that animal fat would not agree with me. My diet is so limited that I do not think the safflower oil is really an issue for me. I started eating wild alaskan salmon (frozen) last week and am noticing improvement in my neuro symptoms and multiple chemical sensitivity (triggered by the sals drug that poisoned me). One of my docs is investigating the possibility of trialing me on a low dose of IV or subcutaneous magnesium, since I cannot tolerate the oral form.

 Reply posted for hundleae.

after i was diagnosed with colitis, i was always advised to not take advil, motrin or any nsaids as it can trigger a gi flare. although asacol, canasa, and most of the standard ibd drugs contain asa, they are not good for everyone, which is why the pharma companies are now putting disclaimers on their products i.e. this product should not be taken by patients with a salicylate intolerance. no patient knows they have a sals intolerance at the time they are prescribed any of the asa drugs because their is no lab test for salicylate intolerance, except diet elimination. this disclaimer is a crock!! anyone having a suspected allergy to aspirin alone would be given small amounts of aspirin in a supervised setting (hospital or allergist's) office to observe for an allergic reaction. there is no skin *** test for aspirin itself.  aspirin allergy is different than salicylate intolerance.

 Reply posted for nancyt.

You'd be hard pressed to find anyone in the US who hasn't taken Motrin or ibuprofen in their life... While NSAIDs (the class of drugs that ibuprofen belongs to) can certainly cause ulcers (especially in the ileum, which is the end of the small bowel and beginning of the colon), this doesn't cause inflammation of the colon itself, and these ulcers are a separate issue than those that come up in ulcerative colitis/crohns.  They are actually antiinflammatory medicines, and can make you feel better if you're having a flare.  In fact, the medicines for Crohns and colitis that are derived from ASA (like Pentasa, Colazal, etc.)--are related to those medicines and are actually good for your Crohn's or colitis. 

 Reply posted for alanschachter.

I cannot tolerate coconut oil as it contain naturally occuring sulfites. I do not have any choices with oil. My diet is already so limited (approx 25-30 foods, including gluten free flours) that I cannot cut back any more items.

 Reply posted for Lca.

I forgot to add that I am gluten free, dairy free (except butter), caffeine free, and yeast free. I was treated for gut bacteria (Klebsiella and citrobacter freundii) found last year found by a integrative pediatrician.  He also found clostrium through an organic acids test. GI docs should be running tests on all IBD patients to screen for gut bacterias since we are more suseptible to them. The conventional labs are not detecting the bacterias that my peds doctor found. I also take high doses of probiotics. :)

 Reply posted for Lca.

The only oil I can tolerate is organic safflower oil made by Spectrum. The other cooking oils either contain added preservatives, naturally occuring sulfites (I react to) or are high in salicylates (i.e Olive oil). I have to use safflower oil to cook with, as a skin moisturizer, and as salad dressing. I even use it as an ingredient when making my own sunblock lotion. :)

 Reply posted for sylviag.

Thanks for the information. I think the itchiness is most likely to be due to leaky gut as it usually only flares up if I am not careful with my diet (scd) but also can be in response to new supplements or medication change. I think leaky gut makes us all more susceptible to intolerance, allergy, sensitivity to food and additives. I am careful to avoid gluten, lectins, nightshades etc that can all cause or perpetuate leaky gut.

I am quite surprised there is so much discussion of using canola or sunflower oil on the salicylate site. I think vegetable oils have a role in  chronic health problems. They are a relatively new addition to our diets and are prone to oxidation as well as having a high omega 6:3 ratio. Animal derived fats are much more stable and food from animals also tends to be very low in salicylates

 Reply posted for Lca.

If you are itchy...you most likely have a problems with salicylates. You DO NOT want to risk developing full blown sals intolerance. It will ruin your life. Your sals bucket is filling up and will overflow if you continue to take these sals drugs and have itchy symptoms. if your disease is confined to the lower part of your intestine, you can have your doctor order a Compounded topical steroid (cellulose free Budesonide). It needs to be mixed by a compounding pharmacy because regular RX budesonide contains preservatives, which fall under the salicylates category. Of course, you would need to make sure you are not allergic to budesonide. I take the enemas when I have a flare and control my condition through diet (low sals, lowfat, no caffeine, peanut products, hard veggies (sulfur)  or chocolate. Check out salicylatesensitivity.com for info on symptoms or google salicylate intolerance. A rash and/or hives is one symptoms of sals intolerance. 

 Reply posted for sylviag.

I forgot to add that my new friend who survived Reyes Syndrome also has multiple chemical sensitivity and cannot tolerate foods, cleaning products and cosmetics high in salicylates (like me).

 Reply posted for nancyt.

Yes...I took NSAIDS prior to developing colitis in the 1990's. I also recently found a patient (and now friend) who had Reye's Sydrome as a child and almost died as a result. She developed allergic colitis later and had to have her colon removed at a young age. She also developed a host of other chronic health problems after surviving Reyes Syndrome, including nocturnal myoclonus.  We know that if patients fall within a specific age group and were given baby aspirin  (back in 1960's-1980's) to treat chicken pox or the flu, the odds of having a metabolic. genetic or intolerance to ASA meds needs to be seriously considered as the liver may have been affected. The problem is that no-one is asking for this type of Critical information before prescribing IBD meds to patients or examining sals food allergies/intolerances as a possible cause and the pharma companies are not stressing this or educating patients and docs on it. Sals are in foods, as well as medications. The only way to determine if you have a sals problem is to go on an elimination diet. You can read more about it at saliylatesensitivity.com

 Reply posted for sylviag.

That's a very interesting paper. Thank you.

I had a similar experience to Never Ending. Uc started after taking a high dose of Ibuprofen, prescribed for a hamstring injury. The uc symptoms seemed to start gradually in the following weeks and I too think the ibuprofen probably wasn't the cause but was very likely to have tipped me over the edge.

The salicylate information is interesting as Mesalamine makes me a little itchy, especially if the dose is changed but I have always continued to take it.

Sorry nancyt - not the answer to your question but I do think ibuprofen can be an aggravating factor.

 Reply posted for nancyt.

I can't say that I've never taken NSAIDS... actually kind of the opposite.  I had abdominal pain when I was in nursing school, and not working full time, so not having benefits. I can't say that it was or wasn't the beginning of my Crohn's, bc I'm just not entirely sure that it was... but it could have been.  Anyway, I went to something set up in my community to help students, mothers and other people who had a hard time getting insurance, and saw a nurse practitioner who said that I had a strained muscle in my stomach, and I was supposed to rest it, and take 800 mg of ibuprofen 4 times a day. The OTC max dosage is 1,200 mg/day, but prescription max dosage is 3,200 mg/day.  I still think that's a lot.  As I took the NSAIDS, they would work-- which really does make sense if it was the start of CD since it would have been reducing the inflammation,  but the longer I was on NSAIDS the more pain I had in between doses.  When I was supposed to be done with the ibuprofen, it never went away, but got a little more tolerable for a month, and then there were a few months where it got gradually worse again, until I couldn't take it anymore and had to go to the ER. I was told that it more than likely didn't "give" me Crohn's, but certainly either initiated or exacerbated the flare. I know that doesn't directly answer your question, but I figured if I could give you some info one way or another I would.

 Reply posted for alanschachter.

I can share from personal experience that salicylate sensitivity or intolerance can cause colitis or worsen it. Salicylates are derived from plants and are chemically structured, as well as naturally occurring in fruits and veggies. SS can be dose dependent, hence reactions can be triggered depending on a persons personal threshold. NSAIDS are a form of salicylates, as well as Asacol, canasa, and several other IBD meds.

Most patients would have no idea if they had a sals intolerance when prescribed their IBD meds. Sals are in preservatives, spices, menthol (mouthwash), toothpaste, gum, mints, alcoholic beverages, aloe, honey, meds, sunblock, colognes (and anything scented), cleaning products, hand sanitizers and most cosmetic products. This commonly overlooked and underdiagnosed/misdisgnosed condition can cause many symptoms and suffering for the patient. Salicylates taken long term can also cause mitochondrial dysfunction in some patients.

I guess the answer to your question is that a person who has a predisposition  i.e. (genetics) to trigger a salicylate intolerance can develop colitis as a result of taking NSAIDs.  Here is a great article on this topic. "The Significance of Salicylate Intolerance in Diseases of the Lower Intestinal Tract."

http://www.jpp.krakow.pl/journal/archive/09_05_s5/pdf/89_09_05_s5_article.pdf

Warmest regards,

Syl

p.s. I have to take compounded topic steriods to treat my condition if I have a flare.

 Reply posted for alanschachter.

So, in answer to my question: Do you have colitis and have you ever taken Motrin?