# anybody used aloe vera juice??



## Guest (Dec 27, 2001)

i have just started usein aloe vera juice , about 40ml twice a day to help with the dreaded irratable bowl.has anybody else used this befor and what sort of reasults have they had.do you have any other natuiral remidies that may also help me







cheers Matt


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## linesse (Sep 18, 2000)

Hi! I use aloe vera juice. I am a C-type. I find it to be very soothing on an irritated gut.I sort of got forgetful lately, missed taking it a lot; and have gotten worse! Best to drink my aloe!


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## rachelclare (Sep 16, 2001)

Tried it. Foul stuff. Unfortunately it did not seem to make any difference. My best tip is fibre drinks.


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## loon (Dec 10, 2001)

Never tried it - I am C-type and have been having sucess with triphala & magnisium (coupled w/ high fiber diet - 35 grams or more a day).Good luck!loon


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## scottyswotty (Jun 29, 2000)

Hi MattGlad to see you are looking into natural remedies. Getting enough Omega-3 fatty acids will help. As will looking into the "eat right for your blood type diet". Some doctors out there rubbish this diet but they are doctors afterall!Luckily you live in New Zealand. If you really want to get serious about getting to the causes of your "IBS" (if there is such a thing!) then you might want to have a look at these 2 people.1. Allan K Phillips www.neurolink.co.nz (Auckland)2. John Godwin www.nziim.org.nz (Tauranga)Both have developed amazing systems that are different but complement each other. I see both of them and I am getting rid of a lot more than just digestive troubles!







ScottySwotty


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## NZChick (Nov 19, 2001)

I tried aloe vera, it didn't help. Good to see another kiwi! Try the sites listed above, they're good. I'm having accupuncture at the mo, and seeing a dietician, still living in hope...


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## agent99 (Feb 1, 2002)

I was glad to see this question, as I was going to ask it myself. I started taking aloe vera juice today - it was just one more thing I haven't tried yet. (It's supposed to be cranberry flavoured but in fact a tablespoonful made me want to throw up. I'm going to try tonic water as a mixer.) I'll let you know how I get on. Good luck, and wish me luck!


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## LauraR (Feb 19, 2000)

Hi, tried the juice and NOTHING! I am not a C or D, but I am IBS, bowel spasms, gas and BLOAT! UGH!I have had great success with a nutritional supplement in powder form. It's all about diet and controlling symptoms. Not cured, but in control.LauraInsoluable and Soluable Fiber for IBSers


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## Windaloo (Feb 3, 2002)

Agent99, i think i know the one you mean, cranberry flavoured from Holland/barretts...was thinking of trying it but since I have D, i think I'll give it a miss.Anyway I have started my search into Cocunut, Myrrh(soak crystals in water),Papaya, Tapioca to see if they help.


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

One thing with aloe juice preparations.Some of them have more or less aloe latex in them depending on how it was processed.Bascially the more bitter it is the more latex it has in it.Aloe latex is a stimulatory laxative so may make constipated people feel better, but long term use of stimulatory laxatives may make you very dependant on them. Trying to break that dependance can be very hard to do.K.


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## BethL. (Mar 29, 2002)

I know MANY people who have found that aloe vera juice helps relieve constipation. And I have never heard of any negative side effects from it. Why not give it a try?... if you're constipated, that is.


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## Relieved (May 1, 2001)

I drink about an egg cup full of Aloe Vera juice every afternoon, about an hour before my evening meal and when I haven't taken it, my insides feel much worse, so I take it regularly now. The one I drink has a mild laxative affect and is 99% Aloe Vera juice, but being a "natural" product, that laxative affect and being C, helps me. I also take magnezium each afternoon and then two softeners after my evening meal at night time. It seems to be working for me, so I'm taking all this and it being from a Health Shop makes it safer then over the counter drugs. You can put the Aloe in some fruit juice so you don't taste it, but I prefer the natural way.







Wouldn't be without it now even tho I still go from C to D and back again, but that's I.Bowel for you.


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## Tiss (Aug 22, 2000)

I drink about 1/2 cup of George's aloe vera juice a day. I think it helps alot with the bloating and gas. There is NO taste whatsoever. I have tried the others-YUK-couldn't take the taste. I buy George's at the health food store.


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## Sigal (Jun 26, 2002)

I mentioned this elsewhere, but I use an aloe drink which totally controls my nausea (it also has lemon juice and chamomile -- so who knows what's helping?) -- but it has yet to help the gas and bloating. It does seems to help also with the frequency of D -- I think!


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## Guest (Aug 15, 2002)

Coincidentally, just read an article in last issue of 'Health' magazine. It basically says that there is no internal benefit of drinking the juice, that it only has a topical benefit for the skin [eg for burns etc as we've historically known it to have].


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## kamie (Sep 14, 2002)

Aloe Vera juice needs to be made from the gel to do any good. I like Friut of the Earth. It comes in a gallon jug and is generally available at Walmart.The kind of juice you get and the processing of the plant will make all the difference in what it does or does not do.For one, it is a mild and soothing liquid with a slightly smooth texture.While there might be a great debate on it's technical usefulness, putting a gently smoothe liquid into ones highly irritable gut could very well be as "healing" as running water over a wound.In that case, you could just drink some water, but Aloe tends to have a bit more slip than standard water. Although, much much water following aloe is a good idea simply because water after anyting related to IBS seems to be a good idea.At least for me that's what lends a helping hand.Kamie


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## honichou (Jun 30, 2002)

Just so that everyone is an informed consumer, I am going to quote from "Healthy Digestion - A Natural Approach to Relieving Ingigestion, Gas, Hearburn, Constipation, Colitis, and more" by David Hoffman, who is a British Herbalist


> quote: Many well-know laxative plants owe their efficacy to the presence of polyphenolic anthranoid compounds. Theses anthraquinone laxatives include 1,8-dihydroxyahtnraquinone and its glycoside derivatives and are found in senna, cascara [also known as buckthorn], rhubarb, aloe, and other member of the Liliaceae (lily) family.Anthraquinones exert their laxative effect by damaging ephithelial cells, leading to changes in the way nutrients are assimilated across the gut wall, in the activity od cells that secrete digestive juices, and in the way peristalsis moves material along the gut. Damaged epithelial cells can appear as dark patches in the colonic mucosa. This condition is called pseudomelanosis coli, is caused by the chronic use of anthranoid laxatives and has recently been associated with an increased risk of colon and rectal cancer . . .


It is not a good idea to use these laxatives over the long-term.Steven


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## Duce94 (Aug 11, 2002)

I am type-C and am taking aloe vera juice. It seems like it takes the edge off. The only thing I can't get useto is the taste.


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## kamie (Sep 14, 2002)

I totally agree that it's not a good idea to use any laxative over a long term period.The same goes for most herbs and suppliments.The body simply needs a "Healthy Additive" vacation every once in a while in which one should opt for just clean simple wholesome foods and plenty of water.However, as we all know, there are times when it's necessary to take a laxative or wind up in the hospital. At the best, the ER people help you attain a BM in various medically supervised ways and at worst, you wind up spending the evening on an operating room table.After my wonderful little emergency surgery for a dandy fine impaction that was to the point of NO gut sounds and a totally stopped Urine function, I kept having trouble getting my bowels to working again.We ( me and my bowel) stayed in the hospital a number of days trying to recover bodily functions.It's a long and dreary story, but even after I got sprung from the colon torture chamber, my bowels were still giving me grief. As a matter of fact, I'm now about 5 months post op from that surgery and my bowels are still giving me grief.Anyway, I was telling the colon surgeon about my distress and he recomended Senna as a DAILY!laxative. Well, knowing herbs as I do and having had the unhappy experience of taking senna years ago I told him that Senna was bad news for me as it caused severe cramping as does milk of magnesia. So as an alternative we discussed Aloe Vera juice.The Colon surgeon didn't think that Aloe would be strong enough to accomplish the job I needed but he told me it wouldn't hurt to use Aloe on a regular basis. Well, for me Aloe worked fine.Currently I don't take Aloe because the other doctor, the Gastroenterologist, felt that he liked Miralax better for my condition.Now please bear in mind,that what I am about to say here is not a recomendation for self action regarding your bowels and constipation and any kind of regime. I'm going to share here what my Gastroenterologists office told me about laxatives.Again, this is not a suggestion. I am merely relaying what I have been told with respect to my personal very particular situation.My personal bowel situation involves a gynecological pelvic problem that had attached my colon to the ovary and both things were plastered to the wall of the musculature of the pelvic girdle. The colon was twisted around the ovary so there was a lot of structural complexity involved in my particular case. I would think that the rules for some one who has a condition like mine might be somewhat different than other cases of IBS C that might not involve pelvic adhesions, twists of the colon and endometrial influence.So, when I went for follow up care after my emergency surgery, the gastroenterologists office informed me that their office handled a lot of cases where women had bowle problems, in particular IBS C after having a hysterectomy.I had a hysterectomy on April 2nd and by April 20th/21st(?) I was in bowel distress getting ready to have emergency surgery.Any way, the Gastroenterologists office told me that their formula was to take metamucil every day,to take milk of magnesia every day and have one cup of hot strong black coffee every day for the rest of my life.Well,I'm now 47 and for the rest of my life might just be a really long time.In my case, since milk of magnesia contributes to my cramping which starts the domino effect of bowel problems, the gastroenterologist wrote me a prescription for Miralax and told me to use that instead of Milk of Magnesia.So, because I too am cautious about taking too many laxatives and such, I don't take my laxaive every day. I really try to handle things with my diet and a stretching/yoga routine and walking.However, I Had the emergency surgery at the end of April and I suffered most of May and by the end of june I was back at the ER for problems.Then I was back at the ER about mid August for more problems. And last week I was back at the ER for still another problem.So who knows what the real right answer is about those laxatives.From my perspective of having a colon with a structure problem and probably left over external adhesions, I suppose in my bowel health life it often comes down to choosing the lesser of several medical evils.Some days, ya just do what you have to do to get a BM going because I can tell you first hand that getting an Impaction from not being able to get that mess out of the body efficiently isn't a good choice either.So I try to be prudent and mind my fiber, but if the situation comes down to taking a laxative one or tow too many days in a row or going to the ER to see what they'll do to me next, then I'm voting on the laxative.In August the ER personel decided that a good ol soap enema was the way to go for that situation.That stuff stayed in me for over 30 minutes before anything would budge. Then I had to get up and walk around before there were any signs of life. Thank goodness things finally moved and my Urine function returned with the release of pressure.Well, last week, th ER personel decided to put me on an I.V. of Demerol and Phenegrin and elevate a saline solution to get the saline into my system faster.Well that worked too and as soon as the Urine function returned with the decent BM I was allowed to go home.I've been pooping plenty fine and good ever since but last night the pain started getting bad again.So, who knows.I had x-rays at the ER and it showed definate colon stuff. I saw the gynecologist this week and he's thinking my OVARY might have grown back or that I have something that feels round and hard in a suspicious place. So I'm having an Ultrasoundon Monday as well as having a visit with a new gastroenterologist because I moved to another state over the summer.Until then, I am under doctors orders to take my Miralax every day and take it easy.Well, today I had no choices about taking it easy. I had a good nights sleep but I woke up with a headache and hot ears. The BP was at183/121 with a pulse of 87.Because I was not in technical tachycardia I didn't have to go to the hospital but it was definately a sit down day with plenty water and light foods.So what I am saying here, is that my case is probably not the norm for most people who suffer with IBS so most people don't need to take huge drastic measures all the time.So take care and be prudent with your laxatives but if you've got a problem that keeps sending you to the ER or your problem keeps putting you into tachycardia, which constipation WILL do, then it's probably a good idea to only take your laxatives under the watch of your doctor.KamieBy the way, I think in that whole plant family that Aloe VEra is definatly the lesser of all evils where developing problems with the colon are concerned.If one must take a poison, then choose the most harmonious one possible.


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