March 2012: My Crohn's journey has completely changed over the past few months...see the (many) blog posts from December until now.
As of right now (June 2011), I've been battling Crohn's disease for five years. Instead of the traditional medical route of medications and steroids, I chose to try natural things through supplements, diet, etc. I have had varying degrees of success but the hugest thing is that so far I've avoided ANY hospitalizations or surgeries. God is good! Below are some things I have tried and how they worked for my specific Crohn's case. Each body is so different, which makes finding "the" thing quite a journey. Often it is not just one thing but a combination of various products, diet, etc.
As of right now (June 2011), I've been battling Crohn's disease for five years. Instead of the traditional medical route of medications and steroids, I chose to try natural things through supplements, diet, etc. I have had varying degrees of success but the hugest thing is that so far I've avoided ANY hospitalizations or surgeries. God is good! Below are some things I have tried and how they worked for my specific Crohn's case. Each body is so different, which makes finding "the" thing quite a journey. Often it is not just one thing but a combination of various products, diet, etc.
And just for those of you who have looked at my "Food" page, you may be wondering how my love for food works with my battle with Crohn's disease. It's a constant struggle. Just because I LOVE donuts does NOT mean I eat them with any frequency. At all. I love cheeseburgers and fries too. My gut doesn't. It's a balancing act. I'm so far from perfect at always finding that balance, but I do try. Hard. As much as I love food, I also love healthy living too. It's just not always as much fun. (To eat OR write about.)
I was taking several products from Mannatech for eighteen months or so. While they did help keep me from getting horribly, horribly sick, they did not bring the healing results I was hoping for. This may have been partially due to the fact that I could not afford to consume boatloads of it and/or the fact that it is just not the right nutrition for my particular body; probably a combination of both. I did hear some amazing stories of things it was doing for people so I'm not saying they have bad products. :)
For a couple months last summer, I tried The Maker's Diet using the book Patient Health Thyself by Jordan Rubin. While the logic of the diet makes a ton of sense to me, living it out is one of the hardest things I have EVER done. Many of the "super foods" I couldn't even eat because they gave me tremendous pain. I was losing lots of weight from sheer lack of things to eat. I did feel pretty good while on it though so I may give it another shot, just being a little more lenient so I can survive more easily. :) I know diet is a HUGE part of Crohn's but figuring out what in the world that "diet" should be is a monumental challenge.
As of last October, I have been using products from Reliv. So far I really like these products a LOT! I have noticed many positive improvements since I started taking them (only one cold since I started taking them, thicker hair, far less abdominal pain, etc.). I am still waiting for them to do more "major" in depth healing in my gut but it is a long process. I'm trying to be patient. :) I highly recommend Reliv! If you are interested in learning more about it or becoming a distributor, please contact me.
Also, if anyone who stumbles across this blog has Crohn's disease, I would LOVE to hear from you!
