Is This One Belief Sabotaging Your Recovery from Crohn’s?

Are you limiting your own recovery from Crohn’s Disease?

I’ve seen patient after patient lose hope because their doctors tell them there’s no hope outside of standard protocol.

Keeping hope alive makes a critical difference in any long-term success.

Thankfully, there are other voices … other experts … other survivors with stories that inspire hope for recovery through natural health and functional medicine.

Guaranteed for Life

My daughter’s initial diagnosis with Crohn’s was both frightening and disheartening.  The pediatric GI told us there would never be full recovery.  Kitty would have Crohn’s for life.  Steroids, immunosuppressants, and biologics would almost certainly be necessary.  She would have to take drugs with dangerous side effects.full recovery.  Kitty would have Crohn’s for life.  Steroids, immunosuppressants, and biologics would almost certainly be necessary.  She would have to take drugs with dangerous side effects.

This doctor had been involved in top research institutions and had years of experience …

His help was critical in the recovery that followed …

However, he didn’t know everything!

And I was determined to find a better way.

I didn’t want to settle for the results conventional treatment promised.  Someconventional patients had eventually reduced their use of drugs, experienced temporary relief through successive surgeries, or continued to battle nasty symptoms.  I didn’t want my daughter to be reduced to getting monthly infusions, packing a J-pouch, or carrying matches with her everywhere she went.

The Solution – A Custom Crohn’s Diet

I scoured the web, the library, and my community for success stories.

I found others thriving who …

• didn’t rely on dangerous drugs
• experimented with safer options
• followed elemental diets with the SAME results as those on dangerous drugs
• and who rapidly improved with changes to diet and lifestyle

I asked the doctor to work with me.  In the time between the colonoscopy and the official diagnosis, we had already made changes that eliminated blood in the stool and reduced cramps.  He put Kitty on a low-risk ASA drug (like a highly targeted aspirin).  He prescribed short term treatments to fight yeast and bacteria.  He reluctantly put off steroids. She never needed them.

We made radical changes to Kitty’s diet.  What worked was NOTHING like the “low residue” version recommended by the doctor.  We combined the Maker’s Diet, the SCD Diet, and foods chosen through a rotation diet.  Kitty created her own map to recovery.  It wasn’t scientifically tested.

Rapid Results

Diet and lifestyle changes stopped my daughter’s body from shutting down. Kitty was coming back to life.  At the appointment six months after diagnosis, her doctor repeatedly checked the chart. He couldn’t believe his eyes:  normal inflammatory markers, healthy weight gain, and a healthy complexion.

Was this the same patient?  Where was the wispy ghost of a girl he had once known?!  The children’s hospital had never seen anyone do what we did; nor had they ever seen the results we had attained.

Six years later, a new GI, a gifted surgeon, told us it didn’t matter what my daughter ate.  Again.  She could have pizza, ice cream … the works.  It wouldn’t make a difference unless she had a food allergy or sensitivity.

The new doctor gave a slight nod to her success.  Everyone was different, and Kitty’s diet seemed to be working for her.  The short course of the ASA drug was responsible for the changes, and the rest was insignificant. Her health had mysteriously turned around and could reverse again at a moment’s notice. He couldn’t explain why the children’s hospital had been surprised at her progress.

He warned that she would relapse.  Ultimately, the food thing probably didn’t make much of a difference.

Balderdash.

While it’s true that Kitty could flare again, everything we’ve experienced has confirmed that her actions were and are largely responsible for her recovery.

Doctors don’t know everything

GIs are specialists.  They have limited backgrounds in nutrition.  Patients need their help at all hours.  They are constantly working to stay informed about new developments in treatment and dealing with new government and insurance regulations.  We’re thankful for their expertise.

We’re also thankful for the health pioneers who have sought More.  These individuals believe we were MADE to be healthy. They affirm that better health is almost always within reach.

Listen to your doctor.  Keep reading, studying and searching.  Find one thing YOU can do today to make a difference in your health.

If you’re too overwhelmed right now to figure out what to do …

Take a short walk if you are able …

Stretch gently …

Listen to good music and have a cup of tea …

Write a letter to a friend …

Juice some vegetables or make a delicious green smoothie …

Or read this.

NOTE:  I'm testing the boundaries of branding here on BeBee.  Will showing more add depth or cause confusion?  I provide marketing writing for the health industry - along with education and tech.  What do my fellow bees think? 

This article first appeared on www.quenchingcrohns.com