Sopwith

August 22nd, 2019 at 3:18 PM ^

To say the least. It's also not a here-and-gone condition, either... unfortunately, like most chronic inflammatory disorders, it is often relapsing/remitting. Man am I glad Ambry's feeling better, but realistically he's got a lot of battles ahead of him in a long war. It sucks.

Joined: 06/29/2010

MGoPoints: 61109

SBayBlue

August 23rd, 2019 at 10:11 PM ^

I think Ambry will be just fine. Look at all the athletes on this list:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_people_diagnosed_with_ulcerative_colitis

David Garrard had a thirteen year career in the NFL with Crohns. Rolf Benirschke had UC and retired as the all time points leader as a kicker for the Chargers.

If one medicine doesn't control the disease, he will just move to the next until he finds the one that works best for him.

Joined: 06/29/2015

MGoPoints: 3586

FLwolvfan22

August 22nd, 2019 at 9:47 PM ^

With 20 years of experience with UC, I can say that he has to watch his diet. Keeping a perfect diet (no gluten, only specific carbs, no refined sugars, etc) can keep you in remission most times but not all times. As someone else pointed out in this forum, their doctor tells them diet has no role in the disease. Absolute rubbish, couldn't be further from the truth. If diet plays no role in colitis, just go ahead and eat a can of cashews with a two liter of coke and then tell me diet plays no issue in colitis. UC is an inflammation issue, find the source of the inflammation and try to elimenate the  source of the inflammation. Treating the symptoms is not the same as healing the inflammation

Joined: 03/03/2012

MGoPoints: 6707

SBayBlue

August 23rd, 2019 at 9:56 PM ^

I believe it was me you were referring to about diet not having a positive or negative impact on UC or Crohns. Perhaps you can make your point to my doctor who is the foremost expert in the US on IBD. (I was sitting next to people in the lobby who had flown in from Japan and Italy to see him.) Maybe he could use your expertise.

My friend has UC. The only time he has flare ups is when he doesn't take his medicine. Without fail. The biologics turn off the tumor necrosis factor (TMF) which is what starts the inflammation process.

Eat a perfect diet and don't take medicine and tell me your are fine. Then eat a bunch of hot and spicy foods and receive your medicine and tell me in which scenario you have a flare up.

Sure, if you down a quart of Tabasco sauce, eat a bushel of cashews, and drink of fifth of JD, it will trigger illness. It will also trigger illness if you don't have IBD.

Don't get me wrong, eating poorly has a lot of side effects, like heart disease and cancer, and I'm a believer in eating right. There are many things that can go wrong with the body by eating the wrong things. But I believe, based on my own experience, and doctor's advice, that it has minimal to no effect in UC or Crohn's. The only time that I have been sick with a Crohn's flare up is pre-medicine. After that, it's been all good.

This article just confirms what I am saying. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2777086/

 

PA: It seems that no matter how much I try to educate a patient with Crohn’s disease they always come back with the idea that their disease is caused by diet.

JC: I would agree that this is a common misconception for those living with Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, and is also understandable. It is often during times of disease activity that individuals experience pain with or after eating, creating a strong association between diet and symptoms. It is natural that they would make a connection between diet and disease.

If you are living with an unpredictable chronic disease, diet can provide a sense of control and hope. Anecdotal stories of a cure or promises of preventing recurrence through diet are very powerful, but unfortunately, many patients then internalize a responsibility for their disease. Currently, there is no evidence to support the role of diet in disease perpetuation and I advise patients that what they eat will not cause or cure their disease. The intent is to absolve them from feeling responsible for causing their disease.

 

Joined: 06/29/2015

MGoPoints: 3586

MichiganTeacher

August 22nd, 2019 at 3:10 PM ^

I don't mind hearing good news a second time from the official source. As Brian was saying in his mailbag, having Ambry back and functional would instantly move CB out of the 'most worrisome position on the field' spot.

Joined: 10/06/2011

MGoPoints: 9263

Benthom11

August 22nd, 2019 at 3:25 PM ^

Would it?  I can't think of a more worrisome position even with Ambry around.  Ambry is largely unproven and played all last year behind Brandon Watson.  And even with Ambry, 3rd CB looks weaker than last year when is was exposed.  

 

What position worries you more? 

DT maybe, but both starters are returning, 2 big recruits are coming in, and many of the DEs are getting big enough to at least be able to play spot snaps at DT. That sounds a lot better than CB to me.

Besides DT, there aren't any other major worrisome positions.  DE is strong, Safety looks strong, Viper is strong other than slightly iffy depth, interior OL is very strong, Runyan is okay at LT, I think the RB trio will be good, WR is outstanding, LB should be pretty good - great depth, QB is strong. 

So maybe RT?  The depth isn't very good and Mayfield is unproven, but I still don't see it as a major issue unless Mayfield gets hurt.

Joined: 08/06/2017

MGoPoints: 704

JPC

August 22nd, 2019 at 3:31 PM ^

Watson was a good, but athletically limited, DB. There's a reason why he didn't look questionable until he got matched up with really good athletes. Being behind him doesn't mean Ambry wasn't good. It means he wasn't polished. 

I agree though, DB is almost definitely not going to be better this year. 

Joined: 10/13/2018

MGoPoints: 12224

Blue In NC

August 22nd, 2019 at 3:40 PM ^

Agreed.  DT will be okay, not great, not terrible.  If we lose one DT, that prognosis probably doesn't swing greatly.

CB could either be really strong (Hill, Ambry looks very good plus 3rd CB Gray really emerges) or if one of Hill or Ambry goes down (especially Hill), we suddenly look very shaky (at least what's been shown on the field, not dismissing the possibility that guys can step up).  So CB is much more at risk IMO.

Joined: 06/30/2008

MGoPoints: 8572

MichiganTeacher

August 22nd, 2019 at 11:39 PM ^

DT concerns me more if Ambry is back. In that case, we have two very good corners. Yes, I know that Ambry is unproven. But 1) he has a high athletic ceiling, 2) he's been on the field a lot already if not as a starting CB, 3) word from inside the program seems to be that he has made the jump.

I agree our 3rd corner might turn out to be weaker than last year. But we don't play a lot of teams that can exploit that, particularly this year. ND, probably OSU, maybe Iowa if they're on fire. 2 very good CB and 3rd who's talented but inexperienced is pretty ok at CB.

DT, on the other hand, will almost certainly be exposed every game if we are not solid there. Jeter is less proven than Ambry. Kemp is probably undersized. Dwumfour may be weak against the run. They moved Ben Mason there - that's not a good sign. The freshman are talented but they're freshman. So yeah, I'm worried about DT. And as Bill Parcells said, the two most important positions in football are QB and defensive line. So if CB and DL are both shaky, then DL is definitely the more worrisome.

Joined: 10/06/2011

MGoPoints: 9263

Search4Meaning

August 22nd, 2019 at 3:23 PM ^

Good to have him back.  Let's hope this doesn't hold him back.

UC can have flair ups and temporary calm times.  The good news is there are plenty of treatments (nothing can cure it) and he has one of the best Healthcare systems in the world to help him. 

 

Joined: 01/06/2010

MGoPoints: 3175

uminks

August 22nd, 2019 at 3:32 PM ^

Great news! I hope Ambry can stay healthy and will be able to deal with his condition. All the best to him on the field and I hope he has a great season.

Joined: 11/10/2009

MGoPoints: 32049

Mongo

August 22nd, 2019 at 4:18 PM ^

Wow, that was quick.  Hope that includes full contact.  If so, he will definitely be ready by the B1G opener at Madison ... if not sooner.  Harbaugh made it sound like he wasn't going to be able to break camp in the 110.  So this seems like a very positive development.  Hope his condition stays in remission and his health is back on track to 100%.

Joined: 06/25/2016

MGoPoints: 9585

umbig11

August 22nd, 2019 at 5:32 PM ^

No contact yet. He has to get over a couple of hurdles first. Every player must go through the NCAA mandated 5 day acclimation period whether you are late to camp or not.

"The acclimatization schedule is student-specific, meaning, the entire team does not need to be on the same five day acclimation period if a student joins the team at a later point. All football student-athletes are required to go through an acclimatization period regardless of when they join the team." 

Joined: 07/21/2010

MGoPoints: 115573

Bo Harbaugh

August 22nd, 2019 at 4:41 PM ^

First off, I have no idea what Ambry's treatment was, so this is just a question and not meant to cause any controversy...It is pure curiousity about treating illness in collegiate players.

Quick question for any MGO doctors on here. I had an ex gf that had an auto-immune disease that caused her to lose like 20 lbs in a month.  Colitis was involved and they put her on steroids as part of her treatment and remission.  Not sure if that was for medicinal purposes or weight gain.  Anyways, it worked, and she stayed on them for months after.

1) Are these the same types of steroids that the NCAA would ban if not for a health reason?  I know there are many different types of steroids btw.

2) I'm assuming any treatment (supplements/medications) that Ambry took would be NCAA checked/approved by our athletic department? Knowing the NCAA, they would care more about their arbitrary draconian rules than a players health - unless it comes to paying kids under the table of course- that's totally kosher so long as you are SEC.

3) The person's health comes first, so I don't really care what was necessary to get Ambry healthy, but how does it work in general with the NCAA when a player needs to use what might be considered a banned substance in order to get healthy....is there any precedent here?

 

Joined: 08/03/2019

MGoPoints: 38635

Blue1972

August 22nd, 2019 at 6:14 PM ^

I am a doctor and also play one on TV.

 

Simply put, anabolic steroids, when not prescribed for a medical condition, are typically banned by various sports organizations.

 

In Ambry's case, any steroid he would have taken would unlikely to  have been an anabolic steroid. If on any steroid, it would be a glucocorticoid such as prednisone or some form of methylprednisolone.

 

Regardless, no concerns.

Joined: 09/12/2010

MGoPoints: 3855