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How I became 98% symptom free of my colitis.. 

 I was diagnosed 12 years ago with Colitis.   I have been taking Asacol, which helped somewhat with controlling the symptoms.  

 I have since been taking two Caltrate-D chewable tablets daily and am only taking one 400mg Asacol pill daily.   I used to take 4-6 Asacol pills a day.  The Caltrate-D has all but eliminated my symptoms !   The Caltrate pills do NOT have this effect, so I always get the chewable tablets.   They are available OTC at your drugstore.   I get the store brand, to save a few bucks.

 Reply posted for mikeb.

  I wouldn't know, since I've never had Chron's.    Ask your doctor if it's ok to take calcium supplements.  If he says it's ok, you may want to try the chewable tablets I use.  Let me know if it helps you out.  That would be another big success story.

             Andy

 Reply posted for sawdustman.

Any chance this might help my Croh's??? 

 Reply posted for chili.

 Sorry to hear about your struggles.  UC is a frustrating condition.   My main point in my note about taking the Calcium supplements is to use the chewable tablet form.  The pill form had NO positive effect on my UC, although it did provide more calcium.  Try the CVS brand of chewables.  They come 60 to a bottle labeled "Calcium Chewables 600 MG Plus,  Builds Stronger Bones.....  The label is red.  I'm convinced the difference is in the coating on the tablets.

I'm concerned you're taking prednisone.  It sometimes weakens the immune system, and considering UC is an auto-immune(sp?) disease that means the immune system is confused and attacks the body, in this case the colon.  The only time my GI doc prescribed prednisone he immediately tapered me off the stuff very gradually.  He didn't want me on it long term.

Let me know if the CVS chewables help out.  If not, you may have other stuff going on.

 Reply posted for sawdustman.

Calcium supplements helped me for a while, too. Before I had a GI doctor and was diagnosed with UC, my doctor thought I just had hemorrhoids and a spastic colon. The only thing I had ever been prescribed for it was suppositories. I had been having bloody stools on and off for about half a year and had been prescribed suppositories two or three times when things wouldnt clear up on their own. Then my first bad flare came, and the suppositories werent doing the job. I remembered seeing a calcium supplement at the store that said on the label that it promotes colon health - I think it was Caltrate. So I started taking calcium supplements and things cleared up after a few weeks.

That was the last time calcium saved me though. Each flare Ive had has made things worse and called for stronger medication. When I started seeing a GI doctor, I told him about how before I just got better by taking calcium and having a high fiber diet. He looked confused and asked what the calcium did. I told him I didnt know, but it definitely seemed to help.

I dont remember exactly which calcium supplements helped me because I tried various ones. Im pretty sure Posture-D was the one that I noticed to help, but I had tried quite a few others like Nature Made, Tums, a generic local brand, and maybe some others. I did try a chewable kind besides Tums that I think was Caltrate. Now that Ive been on prednisone for about 9 months, Im trying to get as much calcium as possible. I try not to take a supplement more than once every 4 hours. When I was flaring up really bad I had to hold off a little bit. I started seeing the pills in my stools because I could hardly digest them at all, and figured if anything they were hurting me at that point.

 Reply posted for ksugolfer.

I honestly don't remember, but I would guess about a week.  I made this discovery years ago, by accident.

 Reply posted for sawdustman.

How long did it take to see improvement once you started taking the Caltrate chewbles?

How I became 98% symptom free of my colitis.Just curious, how did you come about Caltrate, was this doctor recommended? I am wondering why it works or how it works. Are you free and clear or gas, bloating, distention, loose stools, etc? Do you have mild, moderate, or severe ulcerative colitis?

My family practice doctor put me on Caltrate-D for stronger bones.  After taking the pills for a while, I thought Id try the chewable tablets.  Within a few days, my symptoms were almost gone. I dont have bloating or loose stools any more.  Not sure how my colitis is rated, but I do know that I take two Caltrate-D 600 mg chewable tablets a day, plus one Asacol(400mg) pill a day, and Im symptom free.  Not sure why it works, but it has helped me tremendously.   At my last colonoscopy, my gastro doc said I had a "pristine" colon.  

 Reply posted for sawdustman.

Just curious, how did you come about Caltrate, was this doctor recommended? I am wondering why it works or how it works. Are you free and clear or gas, bloating, distention, loose stools, etc? Do you have mild, moderate, or severe ulcerative colitis?