Oregon senator Robert Kruse is sponsoring Oregon Senate Bill 777 which aims to reduce the number of ailments medical marijuana can be used for as well creating stricter criteria regarding it’s use with ailments that would remain allowable. Additionally it would require patients to have a doctor verify their illness & eligibility every six months. Continue reading “Oregon Bill Threatens To Restrict Patient Access To Medical Marijuana” »
GoodBelly Splash, A Healthier Alternative In Your Grocer’s Cold Drink Case.
I recently reviewed GoodBelly BigShot, but for those who do not know about GoodBelly I’ll recap the main idea behind GoodBelly. GoodBelly is an organic, non-dairy, probiotic(Lactobacillus plantarum299v) drink. GoodBelly originally was just a single product but they have expanded their product line to offer GoodBelly BigShot, GoodBelly Splash, GoodBelly Plus & GoodBelly To-Go. The people at GoodBelly were kind enough to furnish me with some samples of GoodBelly Splash which I am reviewing today. Continue reading “Review – GoodBelly Splash Probiotic Drink” »
Writer Lia Serbyn has written a funny, but all too real article on the toll Irritable Bowel Syndrome can take on one’s relationships.
IBS doesn’t exactly enrich your love life. It behaves like a stalker slapped with a restraining order; it’ll show up any damn time it pleases because it knows you have no serious protection against it.
Her experiences are similar to mine. Irritable Bowel Syndrome affects all relationships, not just romantic ones. Even close friends & family can seemingly turn on you, becoming frustrated with your illness. Maybe it’s a survival of the fittest animal instinct that comes into play. The desire to leave the straggling Wildebeest behind the herd as a “decoy” to the lions. Perhaps it’s not as sinister as that… Perhaps it’s just frustration. You’d love to go on that long road trip, you’d love to go over for dinner or go out to a movie, you’d love to go to the beach… But you… Just… Can’t. Continue reading “Is Irritable Bowel Syndrome Interfering With Your Relationships?” »
Chelsea Rushton is a 22 year old mother of two who developed Gastroparesis after the birth of her second child. She also suffers from Fibromyalgia as well. Her husband works full time along with going to school. It is hard to imagine the strain this illness can cause on not just her, but on everyone around her.
“I want to cry when I tell you that we need, so badly, more studies on gastroparesis,” [her mother, Sherri Petersen] said. “We need the awareness to get out there that this is a real disease. This is not something that is in your head that many are told it is … She has been told many times over, ‘You don’t really hurt. Just go home and take a Tylenol.’ “
Chelsea’s surgery was scheduled for March 10th, 2011. Hopefully things went smoothly. We wish her the best in her recovery & hopefully her rehabilitation from Gastroparesis.
You can read the full story at The Standard-Examiner.
A recent study coming out of Penn State University is showing more positive results for the opiod antagonist Naltrexone. They studied 40 people who had active Crohn’s Disease and gave them a daily, orally administered, 4.5mg dose of Naltrexone or a placebo. Eighty percent of those treated with Naltrexone stated that they had improvement in their symptoms, 78% had confirmed benefit via endoscopy & 33% went into remission. Naltrexone had a huge lead against placebo, for example while 33% went into remission on Naltrexone, only 8% went into remission while taking the placebo. Overall it looks like Naltrexone may be of great help to those with Crohn’s Disease. Hopefully the positive results will continue as more studies are done.
For those with Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Naltrexone might be of use as well. There is another opioid based antagonist that’s being studied called Mu-Delta. It’s somewhat different than Naltrexone & the manufacturer is focusing on Irritable Bowel Syndrome specifically.
More Info:
LowDoseNaltrexone.org
“WANTED: Crohn’s End” is a documentary that will feature people with various digestive conditions(Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Crohn’s Disease & Ulcerative Colitis) who are using natural alternative treatments. The director(Reid Kimball) has Crohn’s Disease himself. He has regained his quality of life after starting the Specific Carbohydrate Diet. During the documentary he will be taking part by trying out some of these additional alternative treatments in search of an effective cure for Crohn’s Disease.
The documentary will highlight the fact that for many, drugs may not be effective and might even make their situation worse. It will focus on the healing that can come from things like diet changes, herbs, supplements, probiotics or even alternative therapies such as Helminthic Therapy.
Overall this looks to be a fascinating documentary & could be a real eye opener for those who are struggling with these conditions, but may not know there are other things they can try outside the scope of modern medicine.
“WANTED: Crohn’s End” reached it’s Kickstarter funding goal on March 8th, 2011. There is no firm release date at this time, but for now you can view the trailer on the WANTED: Crohn’s End website.
For Now, FDA Blocks Approval Of Xifaxan for Usage By Those With Irritable Bowel Syndrome.
Salix Pharmaceuticals confirmed on Tuesday(March 8th, 2011) that approval of their drug Xifaxan(aka Rifaxamin) for use in those with Irritable Bowel Syndrome was put on hold by the FDA for the time being. The FDA stated that they did not feel the drug was ready for approval in it’s current form & are requesting Salix provide them with additional information about the drug before they’ll reconsider. Salix’s stock price took an immediate hit on the news & has stayed down by about 25% since. Continue reading “FDA Puts Brakes On Approval Of Salix’s Xifaxan For Irritable Bowel Syndrome” »
Goodbelly ramps up the probiotics with one of their newest products, “Goodbelly BigShot”.
A while back I reviewed the original GoodBelly drink, but for those who do not know I’ll recap the main idea behind GoodBelly. GoodBelly is essentially an organic, non-dairy, probiotic(Lactobacillus plantarum299v) drink. GoodBelly originally was just a single product but they have expanded their product line to offer GoodBelly BigShot, GoodBelly Splash, GoodBelly Plus & GoodBelly To-Go. The people at GoodBelly were kind enough to furnish me with some samples of GoodBelly BigShot which I am reviewing today. Continue reading “Review – GoodBelly BigShot Probiotic Drink” »
American Idol contestant Casey Abrams had to sit out the recent results show of American Idol due to a flare up of his Ulcerative Colitis. It appears this is not the first time that Abrams has had to be hospitalized while with the show. In February he was admitted to a local hospital due to stomach pains. Abrams is a fan favorite due to his unique funky voice & bushy beard. It appears he is now doing better after receiving blood transfusions while hospitalized and it’s assumed he will be ready for next weeks show.
We here wish him the best & hope this brings more awareness to Ulcerative Colitis.
If you’re in the Portland, Oregon area & you are dealing with Crohn’s Disease or Ulcerative Colitis then you may want to check out the Oregon IBD Connection 2011. It will be held on Saturday, March 19th at the Buckley Center Auditorium on the University of Portland campus. Check-in begins at 11:45am while the event starts at noon and goes until 4pm. It is recommended that you pre-register online by Sunday, March 13th. It appears you will be able to also register when you arrive to the event if you are unable to do so in time online. The event is provided at no cost, will have light refreshments available & a many speakers discussing Crohn’s Disease research & treatment. You can register at the CCFA website.
Event Details:
Oregon IBD Connection 2011