I made an appointment with an Ear, Nose and Throat doctor on Monday. Dr. Suri after reading my history and looking at the medication I was on, immediately knew what was causing the problem. Evidently, one of the medications I was taking for Crohn's, budesonide, creates a lot of acid. And the acid can escalade up the GI tract to the throat. This acid burned my throat and the burning of the throat caused the inflammation.
What I did the days after being diagnosed with laryngitis and pharyngitis, only made the situation worse. I really stopped eating and drinking much because it hurt to swallow. So my healing diet, or my juice diet, is filled with alkaline forming foods, and if I were to have continued with this, I\ would likely have helped to neutralize the acid.
Ahhhh!!!!
So, from now on, when I take budesonide, I have to take another medication to help offset the acid side effect. Gosh darn. Another med, when all I want is to get off of them.
In any regard, at least I found the cause of the problem and then therefore could do something to manage it. I was put on a heavy duty antacid and soon my voice became normal. Dr. Suri warned me that the acid burn in the throat would take weeks to heal, however, so it was important to keep additional acid from getting to my throat, which meant that I have to stick to alkaline forming foods or stay on the antacid for about 6 weeks.
Now all of this happened very close to the time in which I would be preparing for a colonoscopy, which I had today. But before I get to the results of the colonoscopy, I do want to share with you what I decided to do to prepare for it.
I took a few days off work and spent it on what I call a healthy retreat. I get out of Charlotte, and away from all my responsibilities. My objective there is to relax and to fast. This gives my GI tract a rest and allows my nerve energy to focus on healing versus my work and home responsibilities.
I have done this once before, and it did wonders for my gut. It is not just to get away from responsibilities, but it also to be in a place, with no food or temptations. The first three days, I water fast, then the next several days, I juice fast. The last time I did this was over 2 years ago and it is the time in which I transitioned off all medication.
That was my plan for this health retreat as well. Last Wednesday, the 9th, I left Charlotte and went to Myrtle Beach. I started my water fast Tuesday morning at 9:00 a.m. after having a morning juice. The balance of Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, I would only drink water. Friday through today, I would have no solid foods. This gives my colon a well needed rest, but it also means that my colon will not likely get worse because I am giving it nothing to react to.
Therefore, beginning Tuesday, I also stopped taking all medication. Below is how I managed my fast:
Tues-Thurs: Only water with zero dissolved solids. Meaning pure water.
Friday: Only melon juice. After having nothing in my GI tract, I wanted to introduce only the easiest to digest juice.
Saturday: Alkaline forming fruit juice only, not including any citrus or acid fruits. I clearly don't want acid affecting my throat so alkaline forming fruits were a must. Additionally, any citrus or acid fruits such as oranges and pineapple, aggravate the GI tract even if they are alkaline forming. So those fruits are not allowed.
Sunday: I added vegetable juice. Again I stayed with alkaline forming vegetables. Vegetable juice is a little tougher to digest, so this was added only after my GI tract was introduced to the easy to digest fruit juice. Any veggies with oxalic acid is to be avoided because it irritates the GI tract.
Monday and Tuesday: Only clear liquid fruit juice because I was preparing for the Tuesday afternoon colonoscopy. I had to buy juice, versus juicing this myself because the cloudy color associated with freshly juiced fruit, versus juice from concentrate. So I got some apple and white grape juice in addition to some vegetable broth.
Other than what I drank on Monday and Tuesday morning, I cold press juiced organic fruits and vegetables only.
So, after all of this, you'd think that I did everything possible to prepare for the best colonoscopy ever, wouldn't you? Well, it's about my bed time, so I will post the results of the colonoscopy tomorrow, or Thursday at the latest. And finally, I will then be caught up on my progress.
Stay tuned again...
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