Meat, Dairy, Vegan…What is Best? So Confused

Intro:

My name is Danny, I’m 27 Male, I live in Ireland, i was diagnosed with UC in Oct 2011. Having a really hard time coping with this illness, I had a really tough time at the start of this disease it hit me like a ton of bricks.

I’m Trying to figure out what is the best options for me.
I can’t find much support where i live. So I’m searching for help. I’m a very open – minded person and willing for other options.

Some more about me:

I’m a horticulturist, with a passion for the outdoors, walking, cycling, and living. I Practice Tai Chi(which amazing on the body and mind) I try to be body aware and mindful. I Love to grow organic vegetables, Flowers and plant trees. There is nothing more delicious than growing your own ripe strawberries! :) and seeing all the wonderful creatures that like to get involved too!I like to dance Like a looney to any music that makes me happy! I like eating and cooking Delicious food from organic sources and my garden :)

Symptoms:

I have recently had a serious flare up, i Lost 20 kg in a few weeks, i have toilet trips up to 15 – 20 times a day, diarrhea, blood, mucus, Fatigue, weakness,urgency, abdominal cramps, depression.

Meat, Dairy, Vegan…What is Best? So Confused

Having a really hard time coping with this illness, I had a really tough time at the start of this disease it hit me like a ton of bricks I started bleeding heavily and lost a lot of weight, I got blood transfusions, I was fed through a food drip that went up my nose and into my stomach, then all the other countless test pokes, prods and scopes. Nearly ended up in intensive care. I’ve Tried Remecade, Humira, Pentasa, Imuran,slippery elm powder, Fish oil. but it still persists.

UC strangely enough, as horribly degrading as it gets, changed my life for the better!?

I know sounds a bit mad but if i didn’t get this illness I wouldn’t have the greater respect for life that i now have. I have such a huge appreciation for everything living and being. But UC has seriously knocked my self esteem and confidence I feel I will be scraping back to getting my life back in order for awhile. Getting all these tests, pokes, prods, become ordinary after awhile,they become normal. There is not stranger than looking up your butt on a tv screen though! :)

MY HUGE concerns for me at the moment are the fact that (according to the doctors) i have no other option but for surgery, I have recently tried a diet that involved a holistic vegan healing diet of just fruit and veg, coming from 27 years of meat and dairy ( and being happy eating that way) this was very difficult, unfortunately for me it went wrong and i lost over 20 kg in a few weeks through a severe detox, it went too far and I got in such a bad state that my organs were nearly failing i was getting blood test and my veins were collapsing and i passed out. so off to the hospital for me! So now I’m feeling very lost and confused as to what to do about diet as i don’t want to get surgery I hear scd diet ,gaps Vegan healing and just don’t know what to do anyone have any suggestions?

I’m currently on steroids 40 mg, trying to build my weight back up,awaiting referral for surgery.

Ask Adam:

“Hi Adam thank you for the ebook it was good to relate to someone who has suffered just has much as me. My question is other options beside surgery.

I have recently tried a self healing colitis vegan healing diet plan By Dr Klein And I really could not stick to it, i just kept going and got a flare up. I went from 160 pounds to 116, I have also really messed my head up trying to figure out the right foods to eat, I’m Feeling lost.Your website looks great any help will be very much appreciated.
Thanks Danny”

What up Danny,

Thanks for being so real with your story and letting us all know how you are feeling and where your brain is at right now.  Since you’ve read the ebooks I wrote, you know that the plan of attack that I’ve taken with diet is very different from the Dr. Klein approach.  I am in NO way a vegan and I could in no way imagine pulling off the health I’ve achieved without meats in my diet.  The reality for me is that high quality proteins are a very big part of my diet.  And they have proved to be very helpful in getting me out of flare ups in the past.  Although not every single meal, at least 2 meals per day are filled with animal protein of some sort.  Often atop different types of salads (which I’m sure your garden could pull off very nicely.  heck, feel free to put on some fresh strawberries too:)

What I might do if I was in your shoes, along with the blessings of a GI doctor because I’m concerned that you’ve lost so much weight..is this.  I’d consider getting involved with the diet that I use, and feel free to use some of the basic recipes I’ve outlined in my cookbook (that’s what they’re there for), and see if you can achieve some progress.  Now, the bonus kicker would be that if you’re still on a prednisone taper, that in combination with beginning the diet might help you out alot and show you that your body can handle a major diet change(and cutting out nearly all dairy is a biggie for sure if you’ve never done that before).   But again, anything even remotely associated with prednisone needs to be discussed with your doctor because that drug is super powerful and can have devestating effects if not used/stopped properly.

But for sure, if you’re mentally up for it, and physically up for it, I’d suspect you could see some great improvement with diet changes that could lead you to a nice long remission period filled with you creating some award winning salads and other meals (hope you like to use the grill/BBQ).

In the end though, you just need to be real with yourself.  Keep on educating yourself.  Although I’ve never had surgery, the writing is on the wall(or at least on some pages here on the site) that for those who do opt to go that route, they are too very happy with their decisions.

Also, you might want to read up on the most talked about probiotic on the site called Renew Life.  I myself don’t use pill form probiotics, I stick to things like sauerkraut (which I’m sure you could make yourself up in Ireland right:)  Here’s my sauerkraut post story to read.

Keep your head up and we all wish you the best,

Adam Scheuer