Green tea extract was never mentioned to me by Dr. Oikonomou, the Shen protege. He and Shen wanted me on biologics a few years before I was actually on them. Dr. O had been mentioning them to me, specifically Remicade, probably starting in 2011 and 2012. I never went on Remicade while he was still treating me. I was resistant to it, initially. Dr. O moved to Mount Sinai in NYC in 2015 (and he is now in Chicago which is where he originally came from), and my care was then taken over by Dr. Brand, who immediately recommended I go on Remicade to supplement the antibiotics. I was all set to do that when, in the first part of 2015, I was diagnosed with Stage 3 thyroid cancer. Dr. Brand then told me NO REMICADE until the cancer treatment completed. Because I would have surgery and radiation via radioactive iodine, I was not safe to have Remicade until 6 months later. Remicade proved to be a game changer as far as the inflammation in the Pouch, but not so much for my main problem area which is the J Pouch inlet. Which is strictured and was dilated 3 times in late 2021 and early 2022.
I would also like to hear more from Poucho on why Shen is souping up Green Tea extract in lieu of probiotics.