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I decided to submit my story when I saw Adam’s facebook post requesting more stories involving naturopaths/homeopathic experiences.
I am 30 years old and was diagnosed about a year ago. I have a mildly stressful job as a customer service rep but can at least leave most of my stress at work. I was diagnosed with IBS at 16 but my symptoms were occasional where I would experience nausea and constipation. Usually if I ate light and ate yogurt my symptoms would subside in a couple of days. I am fairly healthy other than my diagnosis of crohns/uc. My diet prior to the diagnosis was fairly healthy as I do like fruits and vegetables but still included most boxed foods, gluten, and sugar.
Something Interesting About Me:
I’ve managed to keep my hobbies through this disease like snowboarding and fitness but I’ve also gained some as a result of the diagnosis. I’ve kept up with my fitness but definitely focus more on yoga as this can be a massage for the intestines and have also come to love mediation. I now make it part of my daily routine because it’s been beneficial in so many area of my life.
Colitis Symptoms:
My current symptoms are bright blood that is occasionally on the stool but mostly on the TP. Yay, a huge success for me as it used to color the whole bowl red. I also have some cramping of my colon when I eat something that irritates the Crohns. I have some inflammation in other areas of my body which I now understand are a part of the UC/Crohns. As I’ve come to realize from all of your stories and other reading the symptoms can be elusive before you realize they are part of the UC. Lately my common response is “duh, I should have realized this was connected.” I have to take a second to be thankful I did not have some of the symptoms that many of you have expressed with severe diarrhea and urgency. I’m sure I was on my way but I support all of you and give you major credit for hanging in there during these flare ups.
Natural IBD Solutions:
About a year ago I was diagnosed with UC/Crohns. My symptoms were bright blood in the stool and some loose stools. I kept an eye on the blood and prayed for hemorrhoids which only UCers can relate to. The blood went from on the TP to throughout the stool and I began to fear looking into the bowl so I scheduled an apt with the GI doc. After the standard colonoscopy I was told most of my UC was in the last portion of the colon, proctitis, and a couple spots in the small intestine which led to the Crohn’s diagnosis.
What I’m doing now to treat this beast is what has motivated me to finally make this post. I was of course offered the meds for treatment by the GI doc but after much contemplation and reading I decided this was not the route for me at least not as my first attempt. However, I do not begrudge any one who does make them their first course of action.
Different strokes for different folks has been my motto during this process.
I attempted a more natural solution going gluten free, less processed foods and less sugar with mild improvement. I started take vitamin B, D, and C, fish oil, a liquid mineral and a pro biotic. I did have some improvement but not enough to call remission. I also experimented with aloe vera juice and capsules which are still a supplement I add in and out as needed and find its most helpful with arthritis/joint pain that I experience.
After 6 months of experimenting with diet and supplements I went to a chiropractor who uses a method called KST. In a nut shell we operate under the assumption that not all physical ailments are caused by physical things so we made a lot of adjustments to resolve any emotional, spiritual and psychological causes.
I saw HUGE improvement after this.
Probably cut the blood down by half and also helped my depression and anxiety that had been present before the diagnosis but still frequently reared its ugly head. I would recommend this treatment for anyone with any ailment and my chiropractor has now become my pseudo general practitioner. I went med free getting rid of my depression/anxiety meds and hormonal birth control. I figured it could do no harm. I had been seeing her for about 3 months when she recommended a naturopath she had seen since we were seeing some stagnation in my progression. Under the naturopath adjusted my supplements to a variety of Neem
, Pau D’arco
, A tak Gravio-Cat
and a better suited probiotic.
She is operating under the thought from the testing we did and what she’s seen recently that there are more molds now in foods and the air that are causing inflammation for people. Mine manifested in the form of Crohn’s and UC. For some of her other patients the cause was a parasite. For diet we cut out corn and any corn related products and a list of other mold inducing foods. Certainly no more restrictive than the diet I was doing and we were able to add back in some gluten. I also added in some Metamucil for constipation. With this regimen I saw immediate results. After 5 months I am now down to, as I described above, some stomach cramping and little to no blood with my BPs. I can look in the toilet again without fear!
Next Steps:
With the anniversary of the diagnosis just past feel hope for the future. Remission is out there! I am so happy to share this with all of you as this site has been a place to find encouragement and support. When I search for a symptom and get pages of results a sense of normalcy washes over me. “yay I’m not the only one and I’m not crazy!” Thanks to everyone for sharing their story and allowing me to share mine.
written by Allison G
Submitted in the colitis venting area
I am 30 years old and was diagnosed about a year ago. I have a mildly stressful job as a customer service rep but can at least leave most of my stress at work.
