Turmeric extract Curcumin

Hi,
I just wanted to share this solution. I started taking curcumin, which is a turmeric extract. It's considered a powerful natural anti-inflammatory. It's helped get my bleeding down to a very low level. My UC is severe and most things don't even put a dent in it. (ie: Asacol and Uceris didn't do anything for me).

I'm impressed with how well this has worked so far and I imagine this could have a more substantial benefit for those with Mild to Moderate UC.

Specifically, I'm taking Curcumasorb 6 units per day. This is available over the counter, but of course it's always a good idea to consult your physician.

I absolutely love my curcumin, I can't go a day without it! I use http://www.newchapter.com/force-of-the-whole/turmeric-force which says to take 1/day but I take 6/day (2 per meal). Once I got the dose right it made a HUGE difference. The dose I got by reading what dose they were using in the studies where curcumin helps uc..

How long until you saw results?

My GI said the same thing. It works for those with mild UC.

Im in between moderate and severe so it didnt work for me :-/. I tried it. It did decrease bleeding but just a tad, nothing crazy. I thought, if a handful works for mild, maybe a bucket full daily would work for me but then I read that it can cause stomach ulcers if you over do it so I ended up crossing it off my "Remedies To Do List".

Yes, Curcumin is very good, but you must make sure to get a good bio-available one whose dosage is high enough.

dobs, Welcome to the forum!

I've been using curcumin for 18 months and it's helped me a lot.

The amount you take is important. I was taking 2 grams a day when I started to flare. I upped it to 3 grams a day and the flare disappeared. I was in remission on the 3 grams a day, no other UC meds, for a year.

My current flare started in September. I was on Uceris and cortenemas for about a month without getting better. I got advice on this board to go up to 6 grams a day and once I did, I improved within days. Now, 35 days since I went to the 6 grams, the flare is 90% under control (still some frequency and weirdly-formed stools) and I've tapered from 40 MG to 2.5 MG of prednisone.

I use Doctor's Best in the 500 mg capsule:

http://www.amazon.com/Doctors-Best-Curcumin-BioPerine-120-Count/dp/B000BD0RQS

It's expensive and a pain to swallow 12 large capsules a day but worth it.

Hi Bananagirl,

It looks like 8-10 grams of curcumin per day is safe. I've seen those numbers in several places (Pubmed papers, etc.) but with a quick search, I found it here, far right column on the page:

http://depts.washington.edu/integonc/clinicians/act/curcumin.shtml

They mention that curcumin has been shown to reduce colon polyps. I hadn't heard that before. More good news.

I just started Curcumin... 2 grams a day. My first pee after is funny colored. Haven't noticed a decrease in blood yet... but its only been a few days. I mentioned to my GP who usually hates my hippy ideas and she was all for nna it and wanted to make sure I was taking atleast 2g otherwise its not effective.

Going to up to 3 next week if I don't notice any improvement.

Yeah at first I was like WHOA how'd I get so dehydrated... then I realized it was sorta more orange tinted... and almost seemed to sit lower in the toilet bowl.

Just keeping my bathroom trips interesting I guess :D

Oh my gosh!!
I would have freaked out! Haha... crazy!

For those searching for an optimum dose this article notes that:

Snehasikta Swarnakar, senior scientist at Indian Institute of Chemical Biology (IICB)`s Drug Development Diagnostic and Biotechnology Division said...
It (curcumin) has been shown to be a good cure for gastric ailments like inflammation and ulceration. While its low doses are not effective, at high doses it might aggravate the situation. But we have come up with the optimum dose at which curcumin is therapeutic. ... For rats, the proper dose is around 50 mg per kg of their body weight, which is equivalent to 100 mg per kg of body weight in humans.

Careful, now everyone is going to be doing the burping thing!
I'm taking 1.5g / day (6 units). That's the max listed on the bottle. Maybe I need to increase this to 3g / day?
I noticed a big decrease in bleeding after a week of use.
Also, the instructions on the bottle say to take it in between meals. That sounds different than what most are doing.

I'm going to try the 100mg/kg. That's 6.2g for me (8 units 3x/day). My doctor says, "go for it!".

I took Inflaguard for a while. It has Turmeric/Curcumin, Boswellia, and Cat's claw. I can't remember the dosage I took because it was a long time ago. It didn't seem to do anything for me, although I am sure I did not take it at the mega doses quoted here.