[Guest]

Okay, I'm about to attempt both. The colon hydrotherapy (or colonic irrigation) I am trying for the second time, and a ProFlora enema (cow dairy whey) for the first time. Anyone have any thoughts, experiences to share? Both the hydrotherapist and the dairy whey enema proponent, David Webster, are adamant that they have cured many IBS sufferers. Webster has written a book, Acidophilus and Colon Health. Has anyone read it? He is quite radical and the theory is interesting. He claims that the colon should be slightly acidic, and that the problem is that most colon's are alkaline. The solution is an enema with dairy whey, and ongoing taking of dairy whey, which keeps the colon in ph balance--adult's "breastmilk".The hydrotherapist says the opposite about acid. She thinks (along with much of the medical establishment, I think, that the colon should be slightly alkaline. My own stool ph is 5.5--too acidic. Healthy is around 6.0, Webster says. But then I am not sure if stool ph would be a measurement of the colon ph. Ideas?One other difference is that an enema only reaches 8 inches of the colon, while a colonic reaches all five feet of your colon. Your thougths on the value of these approaches welcome...

 

[Guest]

Just wanted to let you know that although I have no experience with this, I am very interested in knowing what your experiences are. Good luck and keep us posted.Regards,bonpo

 

[sstorm7]

I've had four sessions of colon hydrotherapy under 2 different therapists. I want my money back. It took me years to get the courage to do it, and I was sure that all my problems were caused by "impacted matter" up there. I described my symptoms to both therapists, and even though I'm classic IBS, neither one recognized that at all. One therapist even said that the training they went through was similar to the training that massage therapists have, and that she has no medical training at all. I know we're all a little frustrated by the standard Western treatments and are seeking alternative measures, but this is not the one. Any authoritative medical literature on the subject will tell you that colon hydrotherapy is damaging, can rob the body of good bacteria, and is completely useless since waste matter does not "build up" on the colon walls like they would have you believe. My four sessions did absolutely nothing to relieve any of my symptoms. Maybe people who have serious impactions or parasites can benefit from this, I don't know, but for most of us IBSers, it's useless. I was a big believer at first because I could see all the stuff that they got out of me, even right after I'd gone to the bathroom, but now I believe that it all came from further up in the intestines, and the matter was just food that wasn't done processing yet. So, BAD idea.

 

[Kathleen M.]

The impacted material theory does have several large holes in it.The main one being that you shed the cells lining the intestine and make new ones, much like the process that your skin goes though. If we had that crud they say we have we'd all die from obstructions early in life as none of the cells would get through it and exit the body, and eventually it'd pack up in there 'til we was full.That and since no one has ever seen this stuff in a colonoscopy.....K.PS, I could claim I've cured lots of IBS patients too, I'd see how many patients of theirs who were "cured" would be willing to share their miraculous recovery with you before you spend money on this.[This message has been edited by kmottus (edited 01-03-2001).]

 

[JeanG]

I have heard also that it is useless, and could be dangerous. If you do a search on this subject there have been quite a few discussions the past year on this, most of it very negative.JeanG

 

[flux]

Pay careful attention to sstorm7 and KMottus's statement above. They are right!

quote:The hydrotherapist says the opposite about acid. She thinks (along with much of the medical establishment, I think,that the colon should be slightly alkaline.

quote:My own stool ph is 5.5--too acidic. Healthy is around 6.0, Webster says. But then I am not sure if stool ph would be a measurement of the colon ph. Ideas?

6-7 seems reasonable to me, but it depends on what you eat and your bacterial makeup, plus transit time and and how much fatty acid the colon absorbs. In addition, you are right it measures stool pH and not colonic lumen pH nor does it measure the pH at the mucosal level. Having it slightly acidic could mean you are malabsorbing carbohydrates or it could mean you eat a lot of fiber and have active bacteria.

 

[Guest]

After going through a few sessions myself, I would strongly advise anyone to stay as far away from colonic hydrotherapy as possible. It is nothing like doing an enema. Afterwards I was so dizzy I almost fainted, and experienced severe cramping to where I could not even stand for the whole day. It is supposed to be painless, but Ibsers tend to feel more pain and the hour was quite painful. It did produce a bm, but had no lasting affects except the fact that I missed my car payment due to the eighty dollar sessions.

 

[bunged up]

At the risk of being redundant, i was told bt a highly recommended naturopath that there was 'no doubt' that my colon was impacted with years of gunk, and the only way to get rid of it was colonic irrigation. (I passed) I had a colonoscopy soon after, and the GI remarked how clean my colon was. Stay away from these quacks.. they kill people.

 

[Kris]

Not intending to insult anyone, however I was surprised to read the ignorance of individual's opinions on colonics. I am surprised at the one person who said that they were dizzy and felt nauseous during their treatment. Well,of course, the effects of toxins being "stirred up" (if you will)will make you feel dizzy, a little nausous and compacted waste being moved will cause cramping. But it passes and your next treatments will unlikely be as uncomfortable. The talk about intestines not being impacted is not a true statement. My grandfather died because his bowels were completed back up and poisoned his system.I also have a friend who is a nurse who has watched many stomach surgeries and tells of seeing the bowels of people packed, twisted and in odd shapes. Another, sister of a friend, was rushed to the hospital with stomach pains. They discovered that her bowels were "telescoping" which means they were running inside of itself because of her being so impact. She is only 25 years old. One more thing, those of you claiming that people die at the hands of hydrotherapists. Where do you get your data on that? It sounds like pure assumption to me. A helpful piece of info if you are worried about destroying your good bacteria. Replace it with Shaklee's Optiflora. It guarantees live delivery of Bifidus and Acidophilus to the intestine.Besides, there are other ways people destroy their good bacteria besides colonics. Antibiotics and poor diet. As you can see I am FOR colonic irrigation. I have benefitted from it greatly and feel much much better since starting treatments one year ago. I have had approximately 10 treatments and my health is greatly improving.

 

[flux]

quote:the effects of toxins being "stirred up"

This is silly. The toxins are "stirred up" by normal motions of the gut. It is normal to have toxic material holding in the colon. That's what the colon is for.

quote:The talk about intestines not being impacted is not a true statement. My grandfather died because his bowels were completed back up and poisoned his system.

Impaction is not a condition present in IBSers nor it is what colonnics purport to treat. Having impaction that does not poison anyone unless the intestine bursts.

quote: also have a friend who is a nurse who has watched many stomach surgeries and tells of seeing the bowels of people packed, twisted and in odd shapes.

Maybe that's why they are having surgery

There are cases of people have congenital defects, but they cannot be repaired by having a colonic. Also, the intestines move around. They are not like metal pipes.

quote:"telescoping" which means they were running inside of itself because of her being so impact. She is only 25 years old.

This is condition called intussusception, although it usually presents in babies, not in adults. This condition is not caused by impaction, however, and it cannot be corrected by a colonic.

quote:One more thing, those of you claiming that people die at the hands of hydrotherapists.

Having such an event take place is not surprising. It is well-known anecedotally that some people have had to get surgery to fix tears and damage caused by these "therapists". [This message has been edited by flux (edited 01-08-2001).]

 

[Delta]

I would think that any unneccessary invasive technique would cause a lot of discomfort in an IBS sufferer. I had a flex sig and was in pain for days.... and that was just a tiny tube and some injected air. The controversy aside, I would not attempt anything like colonics just based on that previous experience with invasion.

 

[Kathleen M.]

Eisele JW, Reay DT. Deaths related to coffee enemas. JAMA 244:1608-1609, 1980.Amebiasis associated with colonic irrigation - Colorado. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report 30:101-102, 1981. Amebiasis associated with colonic irrigation - Colorado. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report 30:101-102, 1981. Istre GR and others. An outbreak of amebiasis spread by colonic irrigation at a chiropractic clinic. New England Journal of Medicine 307:339-342, 1982. Benjamin R and others. The case against colonic irrigation. California Morbidity, Sept 27, 1985. K

 

[Kathleen M.]

Eisele JW, Reay DT. Deaths related to coffee enemas. JAMA 244:1608-1609, 1980.Amebiasis associated with colonic irrigation - Colorado. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report 30:101-102, 1981. Istre GR and others. An outbreak of amebiasis spread by colonic irrigation at a chiropractic clinic. New England Journal of Medicine 307:339-342, 1982. Benjamin R and others. The case against colonic irrigation. California Morbidity, Sept 27, 1985. K [This message has been edited by kmottus (edited 01-08-2001).]