Cured My Crohn's
alec_h...@yahoo.com
past 10 years or so. I finally took the time to write down my story,
and the lessons I have learned that helped me (after lots of painful
trial and error) kick Crohn's butt. This includes my diet and outlook.
If it helps one person it will be worth the work. Don't worry, I have
nothing to sell; this is just about sharing in the hopes of helping.
http://curedmycrohns.blogspot.com/
Brad P
<alec_h...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
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There is no cure for Crohn's. You may have it effectively under control, but
its not cured. If you had a cure, you'd be a millionaire 100 fold.
Like you said in your disclaimer:
"When I tell you about what worked for me to heal myself of Crohn's disease
it is just that; things that worked for me and not specific advice for you."
I would imagine a cure would work for everyone. Either way, congrats on
getting your disease under control.
jrusso2
water or one that was cured by breathing more fresh air. Or eating
some root flour in water.
Jeanette
Vanny
spent a lot of time and put a lot of thought into your blog. I agree
wholeheartedly that diet plays a significant role in managing the bowels -
there are many foods that one must avoid when one has either chronic
diarrhoea or constipation.
Like you, I have to watch my diet very closely because I have dozens of food
intolerances and the older I get the more intolerant I am ;-). However, if
Crohn's was due to diet one could argue that everyone who survives on
packaged, tinned and fast food with a couple of litres of sodas a day would
have Crohn's.
We are very sensitised to the word 'cure' here, because the majority of us
are struggling with the disease in a very major way. Believe you me, we
would love for diet to be the cure for Crohn's, but it is not. There are
patients here with severe, fulminant disease that are resistant to
medication, patients who are always in a flare, patients who are in
wheelchairs due to IBD malaise and weakness and/or thromboembolism, etc.
Eating healthily, i.e. eating whatever does not exacerbate your disease, is
a very good idea, but it will not cure IBD.
I think that the major issue is that Crohn's and UC are very complicated
disease involving an array of multiple genetic defects resulting in apparent
subtypes of disease. Some patients have been recorded as only ever having
one major IBD flare and that's it for the rest of their lives. This absolute
minority of fortunate individuals tend to imagine that they have cured
themselves in some way or other. Indeed, some come here to sneer at the rest
of and tell us that we are making ourselves sick because we have not taken
the road that they have. Once individual said that all we had to do to cure
ourselves was to drink our own urine. How urine is going to cure IBD beats
me.
I would also point out, to those that think that they have cure themselves,
that 10 years is not long in the scheme of things, if one is planning to
live until 80. It would be interesting to talk to "self-cured" IBD patients
in 20 years time and see where they are at. However, I will probably not be
around to quiz them myself as I am not planning to live until 80 - more
realistically 60, preferably 49.
Enjoy your illness-free days and thank you for sharing your story.
Vanny (on another chocolate-, sweet-, soda-, milk-, coffee-, black tea-,
alcohol-, cream-, fast food-, onion-, fresh fruit and vegetable-, citrus
fruit-, tomato-, red meat-, stringy vegetable-free day)
<alec_h...@yahoo.com> schrieb im Newsbeitrag
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Toom Tabard
I had UC for 10 years and have now had absolutely no symptoms for
almost 30+ years. If that isn't a cure then I don't know what is. On
occasions I've mentioned it on this group, there has been some
positive interest, but a lot of negativity: that I was only in
remission; that I couldn't have had UC; etc
I my case, I was lucky to get referred to a medical consultant
(previously I'd been referred to surgical consultants) who recommended
that I go onto a very high-fibre diet (previously a bland diet had
been strongly advised) and go onto sulphasalazine for several years
(previously it had only been prescribed during flare-ups). I was
symptom free within a couple of months and have since had no further
problems.
It is a complex disease, but, for some, there has been a cure, and for
many UC cases it has been linked to a healthy balancing of faecal
flora. The point is that for those suffering long term, they should,
by definition, perhaps be trying something different, and what has
worked for others may well be a pointer if they haven't tried that
particular treatment themselves. If the medical profession isn't
coming up with effective treatment then the anecdotal experience of
individuals can provide useful pointers, as it did in the case of
duodenal ulcers.
Toom
Toom Tabard
>
> I would also point out, to those that think that they have cure themselves,
> that 10 years is not long in the scheme of things, if one is planning to
> live until 80. It would be interesting to talk to "self-cured" IBD patients
> in 20 years time and see where they are at. However, I will probably not be
> around to quiz them myself as I am not planning to live until 80 - more
> realistically 60, preferably 49.
>
As I've previously mentioned, and just mentioned again in another
message, I've been free of all symptoms of UC for 30+ years.
With regard to 'those that think that they have cure (sic)
themselves', one would hope that successes, whether we call them long-
term remission or cures, would be welcomed by others as providing both
hope and something to try if they have not already done so.
Unless the causative triggers of the particular IBD are known, then it
is, to a large extent, sophistry to distinguish between long-term
remission and a cure. Many diseases are curable, but you can get then
again if you happen to exposed to the causative agent, inbalance or
infective source in the future.
Toom
Jeanette
We all know that UC is not Crohn's and most of us have gone through
lists of alternative treatments without success or limited success.
Toom Tabard
Indeed, so if what people have tried doesn't work, the only thing that
will work will be another alternative, whether that comes from the
medical establishment or individuals' experiences.
Toom
alec_h...@yahoo.com
they do now by sharing my story. I speak to those of you who have
come to this forum in seach of help. With that in mind, I owe it to
you to respond to a few of the wothwhile points that have been been
made by other participants.
1) It has been said that there is no cure. There may not be a cure
for everyone but there is for me. This has been proven by using the
strict definition of the scientific method on my self. I make no
claims about anyone else because the only body I have healed has been
my own but if you would go read the customer reviews on Amazon of
books by Jordan Rubin or David Klein (whose diet recommendations I
followed) you will see I am far from alone.
Perhaps some people think that the definition of “cure” is that I,
Alec Herring, should be able to eat doughnuts and never have any
Crohn’s symptoms. Well, my definition of “cure” is different then.
My definition is “being able to live a life completely free from
Crohn’s symptoms without drugs.” This is what I am able to do through
management of my diet, outlook and exercise – mostly diet. I like my
definition and I’m sticking with it. Sorry if it offends anyone. I'm
not here to try and hurt anyone's feelings (even though there are some
of those types here) or say others are "wrong" in how they've managed
Crohn's and I am "right". I'm just sharing MY truth in the hopes that
there are others out there that it will help because their bodies,
circumstances, genetics make-up or whatever are similar to mine.
2) It has been said that to be called a "cure" a method must by
definition work for everybody. This is false. In the history if
clinical trials for prescription or over-the-counter medications there
has never been a trial of anything that needed a 100% success ratio to
be determined a drug worth delivering to the market. Think about it,
lets say there were 10 of us with a headache and we all took an
aspirin at the same time. An hour later 8 of us feel totally better
and 2 of us don't. Does that mean that the 8 are not really cured?
Does it mean that aspirins are not worth producing, prescribing or
taking? It might be incorrect to say that 1 aspirin cures all
headaches, in all people in 1 hour, but it would also be incorrect to
say that aspirins are not a cure for many people when used correctly.
3) Some people say that if I had a true cure I'd be a millionaire.
Why? Where is the logic in this? Maybe Jordan Rubin and David Klein
are making millions but why am I wrong if I’m not? All I’m saying is
I struggled, I learned some stuff that helped me (mostly simple to
understand dietary principals) now I’m sharing it for free in the
hopes that it helps someone. That’s it. Want to spend money? Go buy
the books I read for $10 at a used bookstore.
4) It has been said that I am not cured, I’m just in remission. This
is incorrect because remission implies that there is a mystery as to
the cause and timing of symptoms. For me this is not the case. I
know that within hours of eating what I shouldn’t, I’ll have
symptoms. Nevertheless, lets say for discussion purposes that I have
“only” been in remission for 10 years. My question to you is “would
you be willing to change your diet to potentially be able to live
symptom free for 10 years?” What’s the worst that can happen? What if
you didn’t feel 100% better like I do but you felt 50 % better? What
about 25% better – wouldn’t that still be worth it?
I admit, it took me TWO years of life and death struggle to change my
diet. I’m not superman. I'm not the smartest guy in the world. I
suffered a lot more than I had to . . . . but now I don’t. I'm
healthy. Symptom free. And RESULTS are what count. Feeling better
is what you, dear reader, are looking for. So forget the negativity
and nay-sayers and find people who are actually better and see if you
can learn from them something that will help you.
kan...@yahoo.com
I'm lately a very infrequent visitor to this forum, but back in the
day it was my support group during really hard times. Since, I too,
have figured out how to deal with this disease and the lessons I've
learned are not much different from the ones you've shared. I
appreciate you taking the time to post.
I lament the fact that I did not know what I know now, back when I may
have been able to fix my problem prior to surgery that has made it
impossible for me to ever be normal. My biggest problem being a
"mechanical" blockage between what is left of my small and the
beginning of my large intestine. Even after my second surgery I was
not able to eat anyting fibrous, which makes it extremely difficult to
eat a "curative" diet. I can eat a well cooked root vegetable or well
cooked broccoli heads, finely diced onions cooked well, mushy zucchini
or summer squash, but not too much else. Peppers diced however small
can get stuck as well as green beans, peas, beans, corn, apples,
peaches, strawberries. Makes for a very limited diet! I wish there
were others out there like me for which to get some dietary
inspiration. I can eat chicken and a steak fillet, for example, but
need to be careful with chewier cuts of meat, for lack of a better
description. I give these as examples so you can see the limits to
which I personally am exposed.
Anyway, enough about me. I'm glad you have figured out what works for
you. I too think the medical establishment is off their rocker when
they say diet doesn't matter. I really do believe that if I never ate
sugar or grains, I would probably be able to keep all symptoms away,
And for the record, I really cannot eat salad, unless I want to be
visiting the hospital with an obstruction.
Kim
News Groups
I had UC and took "Colozide" everything went to normal for a while, then
problems gas, bloating, variable bowel movemts, gas discomfort?
I will do a fructose and lactose test soon.Eliminated gluten! has anyone had
a similat experience!
Gastroeneteologist does not believe it's UC as he said I'd be on the toilet
said more often and never solid!
"Brad P" <brad...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:goe2bd$24j$1...@news.datemas.de...
Wayne Marsh
"News Groups" <ser> wrote:
> Has anyone had
> a similar experience?
Almost everybody in the developed world experiences the symptoms of
irritable bowel syndrome at one time or another. It seems to be one of
the side effects of "civilization." Sometimes it affects people with
IBD, too.
Wayne Marsh Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
wayne...@mac.com
Vanny
tumours, etc., all of which can cause concomitant constipation and
diarrhoea.
I suggest that you eliminate all high sugar sources from your diet - honey,
table sugar, coke and other sodas, sweets, chocolate, etc., in addition to
wind-causing vegetables
http://hcd2.bupa.co.uk/fact_sheets/html/Irritable_bowel_syndrome.html and
all dairy (especially milk and soft cheeses) for a while and see if that
helps you. Breakfast cereals and fast foods can contain a lot of sugar.
Go for a more alkaline diet, which is better for the body.
http://www.energiseforlife.com/list_of_alkaline_foods.php This means
elimating coffee, cocoa, black and green teas and alcohol from your diet. A
lot of people abuse alcohol and don't seem to be aware of this fact. If you
do drink, try abstaining for a few weeks.
The modern Western diet is geared towards high sugar, which ferments very
fast and produces gases. A lot of people think that a chocolate bar is a
snack - it isn't - it is a treat and treats should be limited to once or
twice a week at the most. Try moving to complex carbohydrates, such as
potatoes, noodles, pasta, whole wheat bread, etc., together with white meat
and fish, tofu, etc. Eat less or no red meat, which is a lot harder to
digest.
Read around the subject: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Healthy_diet
Check that you are not intolerant to artificial food colourings and
preservatives by eliminating these from your diet. Monosodiumglutamate (MSG)
and other flavour enhancers may also cause problems.
In the interim, keep a food and symptoms diary and if you still have
problems and the allergologist does not find anything, consider consulting a
nutritionist and use your food and symptom diary as the basis for
discussion. If that fails consider going for a second GI opinion because it
could be something else other than IBS.
Personally, I consider IBS to be the 'psychosomatic' diagnosis of the gut
world and it is a great way of throwing the ball back into the patient's
court and imply that it is all in their head.
Vanny
"News Groups" <ser> schrieb im Newsbeitrag
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Cran
news:49ca030a$0$19326$afc3...@news.optusnet.com.au...
>I am experienecing what the gastroenterologists thinks is Irritable bowel .
>I had UC and took "Colozide" everything went to normal for a while, then
>problems gas, bloating, variable bowel movemts, gas discomfort?
>
> I will do a fructose and lactose test soon.Eliminated gluten! has anyone
> had a similat experience!
>
> Gastroeneteologist does not believe it's UC as he said I'd be on the
> toilet said more often and never solid!
======================================
Yes, similar situation here, except with Crohn's disease. I had 2 1/2 feet
of bowel removed (plus fistulas) due to Crohn's 27 years ago. Within a few
months of having the surgery, I started developing Crohn's-like pain, and by
a year and a half after the surgery I was experiencing pain that was worse
than I had had with the Crohn's.
I went back to the gastroenterologist - at first he thought the Crohn's had
probably recurred, but when all the tests came back negative, I was told I
had irritable bowel syndrome. I was stunned! I had read before that IBS
was "only" a common, non-serious functional bowel disorder, so I couldn't
believe that what I had was only that, but the doctor insisted it was. I
asked him if IBS can be more painful than Crohn's (the way I had it), and he
said no. So I insisted that it couldn't be IBS then, since I was having a
LOT more pain than I had when I had the Crohn's, even when my Crohn's was at
it's worst, right before the surgery. I was convinced that the tests must
have missed something, so I begged the doctor to let me have exploratory
surgery, but he refused, and I was basically brushed off with prescriptions
for anti-spasmodics and pain killers.
Then I went to another (quite reputable) gastroenterologist in another city,
had all the tests over again with him and was again told I had only IBS.
However, this doctor didn't reject or doubt it when I told him the pain I
was having, and that helped me greatly in finally accepting that indeed it
was (is) IBS that I have. I've tried eliminating dairy, fructose, gluten
from my diet but it doesn't really make a difference with me, though it does
help some with IBS. But still, there are many foods I have to stay away
from (like vegetables and legumes for example). I've done quite a lot of
experimenting with diet and supplements over the years, attempting to reduce
the severity of the IBS condition itself, all to no avail.
On the positive side, I have not had a single recurrence of Crohn's since I
had the surgery 27 years ago, and that's without taking any drugs
(preventively) for it. The last colonoscopy, upper GI with follow through
and catscan tests I had a year ago showed my bowels are "healthy", with no
inflammation. (Though I still spend most of my life in bed with disabling
IBS...). If you do have IBS, I hope it's just a mild case.
======================
Richard Evans
>Gastroeneteologist does not believe it's UC as he said I'd be on the toilet
>said more often and never solid!
I have had UC since 1972. Well documented lesions with annual
colonoscopies. I control symptoms with Questran and Imodium,
inflammation with Asacol. On a good day, I'm still sprinting to the
john 2-3 times per day and the stools are often solid..
So as a data point of one, it is possible to have UC and solid stools.
News Groups
little gas! and no diahrroea.but when there is gas It can be very
uncomfortable!
PS. Gastro said you UC always produces diahrrea!
"Cran" <cr...@none.com> wrote in message
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