In the fall of 2008, I was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease known as Crohn's Disease. Crohn's Disease causes inflammation and ulcers within the digestive tract and can spread deep into the lining of bowel. Currently, there is no cure for Crohn's.
It was at age 22 when I began experiencing severe, unexplained stomach and gastro issues. For a variety of reasons I didn't seek the medical help of a specialist. I was sick on and off for 18 years without knowing what was wrong.
At age 40, the wheels came off the cart. Every day I suffered with headaches and severe fatigue. The fatigue was honestly the worst part of the disease at that point since I had gotten used to the constant pain in my stomach and intestines. I was miserable, unhappy and sick on a daily basis. My body weight was low because I was afraid to eat. My ankles began swelling and suddenly walking became a struggle.
I was desperate and at my breaking point!
I sought the help of a wonderful gastroenterologist. I just couldn't go on being sick and in pain every single day. It was destroying me physically and mentally. It was disrupting my life, my work, my marriage and motherhood. I knew the answer wouldn't be easy, but I needed the pain to subside. And I was desperate to understand what was wrong with me.
After a series of blood work and a colonoscopy in the hospital, I woke up to a nurse staring down at me telling me I had Crohn's disease. The disease was scattered throughout my large intestine and the ulcers were quite deep.
Immediately my doctor put me on two drugs (Lialda and 6MP). They worked really great in the beginning but became less and less effective over time. I began trying to understand how my diet controlled the disease. I knew anything carbonated was bad. Beer...absolutely no! Fast food and processed food...absolutely no! I needed to learn everything I could about the disease.
Slowly I discovered that it wasn't just one food in particular that triggered my symptoms. It was the way certain foods were spiced and/or prepared and/or cooked. It came down to fine tuning the details of everything I ate and drank. To this day, I don't think I have it dialed in 100% and I probably never will.
In 2011 things got worse and I had to go on Remicade. Remicade is a biological drug that I receive every 8 weeks through an intravenous (it takes about 3 hrs for the infusion).
Tom and I got into running a few weeks after my first treatment. The first few infusions were tough because I felt really tired afterwards. Also, I had to pee all night long and my back and kidneys hurt. After the 5th infusion the side effects subsided. Today, I don't even notice any side effects at all and I can go for a run or bike ride immediately after my treatment.
I'm guessing Remicade has helped, but learning about food and diet has helped me a thousand times more. I believe most autoimmune diseases are triggered by food and what we eat. If you think I'm off base I invite you to watch the documentary 'Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead'. You'll see what I mean.
There's a lot more to my story but I'm going to wrap it up at this point. Someday I'll share my discoveries about food in general and how eliminating certain foods have brought me into remission...which is where I am today.
I'll end with this thought: If you have stomach and/or gastro issues be aware of how your body responds to refined carbs (white bread, white pasta, white rice, etc) and sugar. IMO, significantly cutting back on refined carbs and sugar is what brought me into remission today. And I'll leave it at that...for now.
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