Introducing New Foods

It’s been a while since I’ve posted, simply because there isn’t much to report. I’m doing well and still feeling great. I am introducing a few new foods to the diet. Foods that have a little fat, are harder to digest, or are not so alkaline forming.

Avocado:  Fats and oils are highly perishable. As such, they often rancidify in our bodies if not properly digested and eliminated. This results in the formation of free radicals which have a ravaging effect on mucous membrane cells, which likely contributes to Crohn’s. Even good fat, such as avocado, can only be introduced after the colon is healed. So I am now able to introduce avocado in moderation.

I intend to use it as in guacamole, and dressings over my salads. A couple of the dressings.

           

Tomato: Tomatoes are acidic, although they are alkaline forming. So tomatoes in moderation with other alkaline forming foods I can now test in moderation. One of my favorite dishes is zucchini lasagna. It’s raw, and the noodles are thinly sliced zucchini noodles. The tomato sauce includes sundried soaked tomatoes, tomatoes, dates for sweetening, and some Italian spices. I layer the sauce with crimini mushrooms and the zucchini noodles. It’s delicious. I’ll add a layer of nut cheese to this once I can eat nuts again.

Lemon Juice: Lemons also are acidic, but they are also alkaline forming. Basically, the juice I can add to dressing recipes. It would be used in guacamole, and salad dressings.

Guacamole at this stage I make with avocado, lemon juice and diced tomatoes.

I’ll also use the lemon juice in some salad dressings. Tomatoes very ripe, with some avocado and lemon juice is a good one.

Peaches, Nectarines and Cherries:   These are only slightly or moderately alkaline forming, but as long as they’re not acid forming, I can have them now with other alkaline forming foods.

Seeds:  I cannot eat the seed shell without them being soaked, but the inside of the seeds in moderation I can introduce at this time. Seeds are generally slightly alkaline forming, but can be on salads. Also I intend to make seed hummus after sprouting seeds. I haven’t done it yet, but will test this out soon. Luna’s living kitchen has seed hummus that’s delicious, so I definitely want to try to make this.

Popcorn: This is moderately acidic, and I can only have very little. I’m certain Dr. Azar would not have suggested this at this time, but I have inquired and she is supporting it as long as I have very very little and see how I react to it. Also, I cannot eat the partially popped cornels. This would be difficult on the digestive tract.

Ultimately, as I introduce these items, if I continue to feel well and my symptoms don’t return, then I can introduce even more items. My next tests are in about a month. If they remain as they are or improve, we’ll add more items at that time.

There is an ironic and unfortunate situation with someone very close to me. The only person I leaned on when I was diagnosed with Crohn’s is now having Crohn’s and colitis symptoms. She has non-stop diarrhea and has lost 22 pounds in the past month. She has undigested particles in her stool and everything just goes right through her. She is not having inflammation yet, but that came much later with me. She has some tests next week to determine what the cause is, but at this time the belief is it is a digestive tract disorder or disease. I’m not sure that I can disclose who this is at this time, so can you just keep my friend in your thoughts and prayers. I’d greatly appreciate it!

Test Results

Great news! I had a call from my doctor’s office with the test results from my Tuesday afternoon appointment. There are two specific items that I needed to see improvement. The sediment rate, which is an indicator of the inflammation in the body. The higher the rate the greater the inflammation, and since Crohn’s is an inflammatory disease, this is the best indicator of the condition of the inflammation in my colon.

Secondly, the hemoglobin count is a count of red blood cells. Whenever Crohn’s is active, the red blood count drops and I become anemic. Red blood cells contain hemoglobin, which is a protein that carries oxygen. The role of red blood cells is for the hemoglobin to absorb oxygen in your lungs and carry it to all the muscles, organs and tissues in your body, and oxygen is essential to the life of your cells.

A “normal” sediment rate for a woman is 20 or lower. At my most ill Crohn’s moment, my sediment rate was 107. This is insanely high. I have never had a sediment rate under 68 while not on medication. Since my diagnosis, the lowest sediment rate I have had is 36, and that was while I was taking medication. I was hoping that this recent test would result in a sed rate of 60 or lower. I was soooo happy to hear the news that my sediment rate is only 42! This is an awesome improvement from 107 in March, and to be there without medication is very very exciting and great news.

My hemoglobin count in March was 10.2. I was hoping to have it improve to 11 or higher, but most of all, I needed it to show improvement. Improvement means I am producing more red blood cells, which basically means it’s just a matter of time for it to become normal. I knew that the hemoglobin had to have improved because my energy level has improved, and that would be an indicator that my body is getting the oxygen it needs. The good news here is that my hemoglobin was 10.9. Soooo close to 11. Yay again!!

I return in six weeks. My goal of course is to get my sediment rate under 20 and my hemoglobin close to 12. I’ll continue to stay on my healing diet and include juice three times a day. Twice I juice apple and carrots which are high in Pectin. Pectin is completely digested in the colon and releases needed fatty acids. Since pectin is fermented only when it reaches the colon, it is said to assist in all colon related illnesses. It is even a colon cancer treatment. Pectin acts as a detoxicant, as a regulator and a protectant of the gastrointestinal tract, as an immune system stimulant and as an anti-ulcer and antinephritic agent (counter acting).  I am certain that the apple/carrot juice is a primary factor in reducing my colon inflammation, and therefore, improving my sediment rate.

I also juice romaine, cucumber, red sweet peppers, carrots and apples once daily. This gives additional pectin, and the iron I need in order to increase my hemoglobin. Other than juicing three times daily, I primarily eat only sweet alkaline forming fruits. On occasion, about once a week, I’ll have greens for lunch or dinner, and once to twice a week, I’ll have steamed squash or sweet potatoes for dinner.

The details of “My Healing Diet” is a blog entry on 11-23-11 if you’d like all the details. Ultimately, I am very happy with my current test results and am resolved to have even better results six weeks from now!!

Doctor’s Appointment

I had a doctor’s appointment today, but there’s not much to report until the test results come back. My gut feeling is that my hemoglobin has improved, but is likely not normal quite yet. I also expect that my sediment rate has improved as well, but also is not normal. It has yet to be normal since my diagnosis last September, but as long as it is below 60, I think I’ll be happy.

I feel good, with ample energy to get through my day, and my bowels seem normal, so I’m certain both tests will show improvement. I should get the results on Thursday, so I’ll update this blog when they come in. The water and juice fast certainly helped my condition, but at the same time, I am completely off the meds and I haven’t had a sediment rate below 100 when I have been off medication, so I’m a little anxious to see the results. Keep your fingers crossed.

If both of these indicators are improved, then I simply stay on track with my diet for now until both hit “normal.” Once they are both normal, I can begin introducing some additional foods. I’m looking forward to that day, since this diet is very boring at this point. But then again, at least I feel good, and that’s more important that a temporary pleasure of the pallet.  

Daily Update

Day 1: I have been psyching myself up for this water fast and juice diet for about a month, and it made this first day easy. I drank a little over a gallon of water. I drank about 16 oz every couple hours that I was awake. I spent about 30 minutes in the sun, 15 minutes on each side. Dr. Azar warned me not to stay in the sun much because it drains energy, leaving less available for healing.

I thought about food only a couple of times, and was able to block it out of my mind very easily with some positive self talk. Some side effects that Dr. Azar warned me could happen were a head ache and an upset gut, possibly even vomiting. I didn’t get a headache but had a very mild upset gut.  It was so mild that often with Crohn’s, the gut feels much worse than what I experienced.

The biggest issue is that I’m very tired. She indicated that these days I must have complete rest. Well there’s a reason for it and that’s because I have no energy to do anything else. Ultimately, the first day was as good as expected. I meditated much more than a typical day, and wrote a lot. Read a little bit, but not much.

I recently started dating a Baptist Pastor, believe it or not. He’s not what I stereotyped him to be, but I think he’s influenced me to listen to more Christian music. This first day, instead of my Christian music randomly playing on my iPod, I filtered the music and listened to Christian music exclusively for several hours. I don’t recall the last time I’ve done that. From what I have read about fasting, it that it can very well be a spiritual experience as well. Maybe that was the seed that prompted me in this direction.

All in all, it was a good day.

Day 2:  Last night, I went to sleep around 9:30 p.m. and woke up at 7:30 a.m. Ten hours sleep. Not bad. But even with ten hours sleep, I’m drained. Not tired enough to sleep all day, but drained enough to do nothing other than write, listen to music, and meditate in silence. I also went to church and spent some time with my mother and a friend on the phone.

I hope I didn't mess things up though. I was tired last night and didn’t make it to church. I typically go to 5:00 p.m. mass on Saturday nights. But because I missed it, I went to church this morning. It’s Pentecostal Sunday. The day the Holy Spirit came down upon the apostles. Any ways, I took communion, which of course is a small wafer and the body of Jesus Christ. I hope because of what it is, it won’t mess things up for. I’m thinking it’s okay;-)

Overall, I feel okay today, very drained again. However, I felt as if I had a little more energy in the afternoon. In talking with Dr. Azar today, she said feeling tired is fine and expected, as it only tells me how much my body needs to rest during this process. The fact that I didn’t get a headache, and still don’t have one, indicates the cleanse-ness of my body. Yay. The healing diet I’ve been following has clearly done my body good.

Dr. Azar also said that it’s the time of day I start of my water fast in which the clock starts for the length of time I continue on the fast. The actual time of day I started was about lunch time on Friday. However, I did have a decaffeinated iced tea after that time. The maximum time she recommends being on the water fast without being in the care of a doctor is 72 hours, which means if I don’t count the iced tea, I am done with the water fast by 2:00 p.m. tomorrow. After three days without food, organs start to panic since they are not getting the nutrients they need and there could be complications, which is why a water fast for more than three days really needs to be done in a doctor’s care. Therefore, I will likely only fast until about lunch time tomorrow in which I’ll start the watermelon juice as noted in my prior post for day three.

That’s the recap for today.

Day Three:  Today, I took off about noon to go to Folly beach and will be there until Friday. My juicer of course is coming with me. This is the day, I introduced juice to my diet. Only watermelon juice of four ounces every two hours and as much water as I like, so that the total amount of liquid I consume is at least a gallon.

The view is awesome!

When I spoke with Dr. Azar last night, as I do every evening so far during this fast, she indicated that the light headedness I’m experiencing is to be expected. Additionally, she was not concerned at all about me taking communion yesterday, as suspected.

Some interesting advice from Dr. Azar has to do with how the hotel cleans my room, towels and sheets. From advice she has given me months ago, I have changed my laundry detergent, body lotion, hair products, even most of my make up (although I don’t wear much) to natural products without preservatives. The skin is our largest organ, and whatever is on our skin is absorbed into our blood steam, just as if we ingested it.

So during my stay, I will not be using their towels, nor will I allow them to clean my room with chemicals. During this cleansing time, she doesn’t want my system to have to process cleaning ingredients. When in good health our body knows how to rid germs and chemicals that are not good for us. But during this fast, the focus is to allow the body to do nothing but heal. When they service my room they are only allowed to make my bed and empty my garbage. I would have never thought of how damaging to this process chemicals in cleaning supplies could be.

Last night I went to sleep about 11:00 p.m. and awoke at 7:00 a.m. Only eight hours sleep. That surprised me, but I made up for it by napping for a couple hours once I arrived at the beach. I’m still drained, and also have a mild headache which Dr. Azar warned me would occur. The body has to get used to digesting things again, even if it is just watermelon juice. I will be discussing with her if I should change the plan for tomorrow because of it.

I went to Earth Fare yesterday to shop for everything I need to take with me, and they only had one seedless watermelon and no mangos. I thought that would be enough to get me started and had plans to stop at another Earth Fare to pick up those items for the balance of my juice fast. There was one in Charleston, which was on my way to Folly Beach. However, I had so much juice that came out of one small personal seedless watermelon, that there was no need to pick up any more. I only used three of the eight sections and got 14 ounces. The other half I used when I got to the hotel. This is enough to not only get me through the day, but I’ll still have enough for twelve ounces tomorrow. Who would have thought that that much juice would come out of such a small watermelon?

My recent normal weight is right around 125 pounds, give or take a pound. The two weeks prior to starting this fast, I knew it was possible that I would lose weight during this time, which candidly, for the first time in my life is not what I desire. So I added extra calories and got up to 128 pounds, which is what I weighed in at Saturday morning when I started the water fast. This morning I was 123.8. This is not bad. I basically don’t want to get under 120, which likely won’t occur, because as of tomorrow I will be able to drink as much juice as I like. I shouldn’t lose any more weight from tomorrow on as long as Dr. Azar doesn’t change my diet due to my headache. Can you believe just a year ago when I went to Europe I was 160 pounds. Now that’s one major benefit from my Crohn’s disease :)

My symptoms have basically disappeared since I’ve started this fast, and that also had occurred without any supplements or medication. The medication I was taking included budesonide, a corticosteroid and immune suppressant, in which I was taking three capsules daily. I had weaned myself down to only one prior to starting this fast. The second medication is Asacol, an anti-inflammatory and immune suppressant. I was prescribed six tablets daily. I was down to only two.

On Friday afternoon, I stopped taking both medications. I also have been taking iron supplements for my anemia, B-12 since a plant based diet lacks in this regard, and a probiotic. According to Dr. Azar, all of these items will just interfere with the body’s healing. They stimulate the body because they need to be processed, which will detract from the body healing.

Just to clarify my objective, it is to heal Crohn’s not just to get in remission. Healing is my goal. This fast is just part of the process. The entire process could take a year to two years or longer. I suspect I will do this water/juice fast at least once a year until the Crohn’s is healed. 

Day 4:  Yesterday, I had a mild headache and thought Dr. Azar might suggest changing my diet today. She did not. So I was able to drink as much fruit juice as I wanted. Honey dew melon and mango is absolutely delicious, but so sweet I had to water it down. I have realized that I brought entirely too much fruit and vegetables. I could have gotten away with half of what I brought. Since my entire diet has never been juice, I really didn’t know how much to bring. It’s amazing how much juice comes out of fruit, especially melons.

My lightheadedness is gone most of the time. Only when I go from laying down to standing up quickly do I experience it. My headache is gone and I’m not as tired as other days, although I did sleep eleven hours. Now for the Crohn’s symptoms that is nasty to discuss, bowel movements. I had my first movement in three days. All I have to say is it is clear that I am cleansing. Haha. You can ask me details off line if you’re interested. This also was something I expected.

Tropical depression Beryl came through. Yesterday and this morning were rainy. The afternoon became overcast and windy. Tomorrow and Thursday are supposed to be beautiful days. I wanted to get some sun while I was here. I’m hopeful the weather man is right about the next two days.

Because the weather wasn’t so desirable today, I went to the Tanger Outlet Mall in North Charleston. I definitely must be feeling better to have enough energy to shop:) My Coach handbag faded from the sun tremendously. I assume because I drive a convertible, it gets more sun than it should. Can you believe they swapped out my bag for another? You’ve got to love Coach. I was surprised to see they had iPad covers for $59. This is about the same price you can get one from Apple that has a similar quality. Any ways….moving on.

Ultimately, today was an awesome day. I feel great considering. I’m still getting lots of rest, writing and reading, as well as listening to music. This absolutely has been a no stress get-away. It is quite nice so far.

Day 5 and 6:  The only issue that I’ve experienced is a little too much gas. Lol. Dr. Azar said it was too much of the green juice, so I’ve back off of that to only 1 serving, and the gas has subsided.

Otherwise, I’m feeling great. No fasting or Crohn’s symptoms at all. I have more energy than I expected considering that I'm not eating solid foods. I also no longer have the bloated gut that I've had for months now, and up to the day I started this fast. I’m certain my colon inflammation is way down. Yay.

My bowel movements are only once a day, which is normal. It would be more if I had a significantly inflamed colon. I’m struggling getting the amount of sleep and rest that I should because I don’t feel like I need it. But I am being very good and not pushing myself at all to do anything physical. I did take a break to get a pedicure and manicure today. Other than that, it’s the same daily routine: read, write, meditate, and get some sun. I have also found myself singing a lot :-)

There’s not much more to say. The weather has been gorgeous these two days. Tomorrow is the last day of the juice fast. Then I have three days transitioning back to my normal healing diet. I’ll be traveling back to Charlotte tomorrow. This has been great for my health, I am certain!

Day 7 and 8:  Hmmm….what to do. I was supposed to head up to Tazewell, VA for a Bikefest, but my friend with the motorcycle has been sick, so those plans have been cancelled. Therefore, I now am home in Charlotte for the weekend without plans.

I have technically finished my juice fast yesterday, and today I’m supposed to begin transitioning back to solid foods by eating melons. I feel so good that I’m not sure I want to go back to eating solid foods. That’s crazy, isn’t it? But since my active plans for this weekend have been cancelled, I can be restful for a couple more days, and therefore, I believe I am going to stay on this juice diet for one or two more days. If I continue the juice through tomorrow, then  I can transition back Monday through Wednesday, instead.

The only foods I am not eating in juice form, that I would eat on my healing diet is bananas, squash and sweet potatoes. All the other foods I’m getting in juice form, and I’m getting enough calories that my weight stabilized during this process at 123 pounds.

One major symptom that is gone is the bloating I have had in my gut. I have had this since June of last year to some degree. To those that are observant, you could always tell how much discomfort I'd have in my gut based upon the looseness of my clothes in my midsection. I'm thrilled to say I have a flat stomach at the moment and can even wear my skinny jeans without any discomfort.  Wow! I'm so happy and grateful that this water/juice fast has delivered some fabulous results. I’d recommend it to anyone with Crohn’s or colitis. Make sure to work with a doctor before doing this on your own, though. For those interested, Dr. Zarin Azar is wonderful: drzarinazar@yahoo.com – 760.751.0638.

Days 9 and 10: Saturday and Sunday I stayed on the juice diet. I’ll begin transitioning to solid foods on Monday. I still feel great!!

Transition Day 1:  Ultimately, I had a total of three water fast days and six juice fast days. I absolutely feel the best I have in probably a year. I added solid food today. Watermelon only. All went well. I’ll eat all other fruits tomorrow, and by Wednesday will be back to my healing diet. 

My Water Fast and Juice Healing Retreat

Since adding apple/carrot juice to my diet, my energy levels have sky rocketed and I am back to 100% in that regard. However, my gut still isn't 100%, although it is significantly improved. I still get gurgling, and my bowel movements aren't quite normal yet.  When I read the book Self Healing Crohn’s and Colitis, they discussed a water fast, as well as a juice healing diet as a way to give your bowel a rest and enable it to heal up more rapidly.

Water Fast Description: 

Days One and Two:  I’ll be water fasting for two to three days. The definition of “fast” is a complete physiological rest (in bed), including abstinence from all food except pure water. This enables the body to utilize virtually all available energy for self-healing; all activities are ceased and energy conserved for the organism to use for self-healing. Fasting is generally not necessary for recovery from Crohn's, however, it can significantly speed up the healing. Fasting must be undertaken only when conditions are favorable and not when severe malnutrition is present or when a person is unable to take complete rest.

Juice Healing Diet:

I will then transition to the juice healing diet for the balance of seven days. Juice therapy has been known to greatly improve chronic digestive troubles, help overcome ulcers, increase vitality and resolve many more health problems. Juicers break open the cells of the vegetables or fruits, releasing minerals many times more effectively than our chewing can. Raw juices are rich in “organic” water, enzymes, vitamins and minerals, all of which assimilate within minutes.

After becoming comfortable with the healing diet (described in an earlier blog), which I have been following for a couple of months now, and symptoms have diminished and stabilized somewhat but are still lingering and not reducing further, an all-juice diet for one to five days, depending on how you feel, will expedite healing. It also requires complete rest during this time. This juicy diet gives the bowel a rest and enables it to heal up more rapidly.

Day Three:  I will transition from the water fast to the juice diet by drinking only watermelon juice of 4 oz every two hours for the first day of the juice diet.

Day Four:  The second day on the juice diet, I will be having apple/carrot juice twice a day, then as much juice as I like from the following fruits:  apples, grapes, pears, melons, persimmons, and mango. This will be the plan for the first day of the juice diet.

Days Five through Seven:  The remaining three days, I’ll also add romaine and cucumber twice a day.

Transitioning to the Healing Diet

Day Eight:  I’ll be transitioning back to the healing diet, which you can find the details of this diet in an earlier blog called “My Healing Diet.” In addition to continuing with the juice on this day, I’ll have only two melon meals. Melons are the most easily digested fruit, and this will help the digestive system ease into having to work again.

Day Nine: I’ll eat melons again, but I can have them for all meals. 

Day Ten: I return to work on this day, and will be able to eat all the fruit on the healing diet that I like.

Day Eleven: I can add the vegetables on the healing diet as well.

I’ll likely blog daily as to how I am feeling along the way. Wish me luckJ

Awesome Diet Change

I haven't quite been improving from this last flare up as quickly as my first diagnosis. I had some immediate improvement once I started back on the medicine, but I haven't gotten to remission and I've been on meds and the healing diet since March 16. I consulted with my holistic Gastroenterologist, Dr. Azar about a week ago. I shared with her my food log and asked what I can do to expedite my healing. She suggested adding apple/carrot juice to my diet twice daily in addition to what I had been eating and drinking. 

I started doing so early last week and by the end of the week I had amazing improvement. My energy level is back to 100%, and my gut is feeling remarkably better. My bowel movements have reduced to my normal three per day. I still have some minor symptoms, but wow, what an improvement in the past week. I'm not sure if this is all because of the apple/carrot juice, or just coincidental and all of the other things I had been doing simply started working.

In any regard, not only do I feel great, but I've began to reduce the meds because of it. I am on two medications. One is a corticosteroid and immune suppressant, budesonide. The other is an anti inflammatory and immune suppressant, mesalamine. I used to take three capsules of budesonide and two tablets of mesalamine twice a day. I'm down to two capsules of budesonide and 1 tablet of mesalamine twice a day and there has been no worsening of symptoms. Yay! 

When I inquired with Dr. Azar as to why the apple/carrot juice works so well, she informed me that the juice is very healing, cleansing and anti inflammatory to the colon all at the same time. There is a large amount of pectin in both apples and carrots which is healing for the gut. Pectin is completely digested in the colon and releases needed fatty acids. Since pectin is fermented only when it reaches the colon, it is said to assist in all colon related illnesses. It is even a colon cancer treatment. Pectin acts as a detoxicant, as a regulator and a protectant of the gastrointestinal tract, as an immune system stimulant and as an anti-ulcer and antinephritic agent (counter acting).  

I'm just very happy with my progress in the past week. Apple and carrot juice has become my best friend :)

Good News

The good news is that I'm not getting worse. I've seemed to have plateaued. As soon as I went on the medication, my energy improved and bowel movements improved, but neither improved to 100%. I still go to bed at 9:00 p.m. and require 10 hours sleep in order to have enough energy to work the next day. I still have irregular bowel movements and wake in the middle of the night each night because of it, among other inconveniences. I still don't have enough energy to do anything other than work and rest.

But the good news is, I'm not getting worse. I'm going to do something radical later this month. I'm taking some time off work and basically having a health retreat. I'll be water fasting for two to three days, then juice fasting for another four to five days. My days will consist of meditation, rest, reading, walking the beach, getting some sun, and plenty of sleep. I believe that this time will jump start my continued improvement. I'm consulting with my holistic GI to finalize the plan later this month.

Ultimately, this recent flare up must be really bad because diet and medication isn't improving it as quickly as when I was initially diagnosed. I'm excited about my healthy retreat later this month. I think it will really help.

The Most Important Words You'll Ever Hear

When I was getting a divorce, it was a very tough time, and I wrote down affirmations that I said to myself a few times a day. I’ve done this to lose weight, to get a promotion, to get focused on new habits and many other things. Yet, I haven’t written any affirmations for healing my Crohn’s and to help with will power to stick to the healing diet and habits that will keep me healthy. So I wrote them tonight and thought I’d share them.

Remember that the most important words you'll every hear are the words you say to yourself. Your subconscious doesn't know the difference between truth and fiction. Feed it your desired truths. Here are my desired truths...

• I am doing awesome sticking to the healing diet.

• Eating animal and processed foods will make my Crohn's flare up and I hate the feeling of a flare up. 

• Eating acid forming foods will make my Crohn's flare up and I hate the feeling of a flare up. 

• I refuse to feel as bad as I felt on March 17 again.

• Eating the wrong foods will make me have a flare up and make me feel as bad as I did on March 17.

• I refuse to feel that way again.

• My body knows how to heal itself when I eat properly and give it the rest it needs. 

• That’s why I always eat properly, get the rest, and sunshine I need to stay healthy.

• I love how I look because I'm adhering to the healing diet and am getting ample rest. 

• I love how I feel because I'm adhering to the healing diet, getting ample rest and sunshine I need to stay healthy. 

• My colon is healing right now. 

• It has serviced me well and because I'm doing everything right it is healing rapidly and I feel great.

• I'm so grateful for my health and blessed to be healing so that I can continue to live a healthy and happy life. 

• Thank you Lord for everything!

Recent Test Results

I had a doctor's appointment on Tuesday afternoon to check my progress. Some good news and some not so good news. My prior sediment rate was 107. It's only down slightly to 97. When I got the 107 results, I thought it was artificially high because I had been snowboard instructing the weekend before, and was wicked sore. Every muscle in my body seemed sore from walking up and down the mountain with all day students. But clearly, my new test results of only 10 lower probably means that the 107 sediment rate was primarily due to my colon inflammation, not muscle inflammation.

I have not improved as quickly this time on the medication as I did the first time. My cheating on the diet last week is not what's making the difference, because when I was first diagnosed, I wasn't on any special diet and within one week my sediment rate went down to 86. I've been on the medication for a little over two weeks when this recent test was taken, yet I'm not as low as the previous one week on meds produced. I clearly need to keep to the healing diet while taking the meds in order to expedite getting into remission since my body is not reacting on the medication as it had prior.

Unfortunately, that was the somewhat good news. The not so good news is that my hemoglobin has dropped to a new low. It was 10.2 my last test about five weeks ago. It dropped to 9.0:( So my anemia has gotten worse. I had not been juicing with iron rich foods (this is noted under "How to Cure Anemia" post) because the vegetable juice increases and loosens your bowel movements. And currently those changes would make each day a bit more difficult since my bowel movements are not yet back to normal. In any regard, juicing with iron rich foods and a prescribed iron supplement has immediately been added to my daily routine.

I feel much better than these results show. I clearly do not feel 100% but I've had some very good days. My energy is enough to make it through the work day without needing a nap, and I awake after about 9 to 10 hours sleep. So my fatigue has improved. Even my bowel movements have improved in frequency and consistency, yet they are not normal. Ultimately, the test results are just confirmation that I need to stick to the healing diet! That added to the medication will likely be the quickest way to remission, and once I'm in remission my anemia will likely improve easily as it had before.

My plan is to wean off the meds when it is clear that my sediment rate is normal or close too, indicating the my colon inflammation is gone. Once I'm off the medication, I have to stick to the diet. I refuse to go through this again due to my own diet decisions.

If you don't recall what the healing diet is and want a refresher, it's detailed under a post called "My Healing Diet."

Wish me luck, I'll be going back for additional tests in about 30 days to ensure that my hemoglobin is not still dropping. I'm going to be perfectly adhering to the diet, meditating, getting my vitamin D from the sun, and getting plenty of rest. Next test results are sure to be much better than these:)

On the Mend

I’m certain that March 17 was the worse medical day of my life. But fortunately, every day since then I have felt a little better. The Crohn’s and the meds, not sure which one contributed more, made my muscles and joints hurt all over. I couldn’t sleep for days due to the pain in my muscles. I hurt so bad a couple of the days I had to walk with a cane. 

I’m still not 100% but I’m certainly doing much better. My muscle and joint pain is gone now, but I still need about ten hours sleep. With enough sleep, however, I have enough energy to actively make it through each day now. Yay.

My gut is not quite normal yet. But there’s been improvement there too. My appetite has returned, but I’m not digesting normal quite yet. Bowel movements have improved, but they also are not normal quite yet.

Now this week, I’ve been very bad on the diet. Meaning, I haven’t followed it most of the week. I figured since the medication is managing my symptoms, I was going to take the opportunity to eat all of my favorite foods. So I did:)

I’ve still eaten vegetarian, but I’ve had vegan pizza, Mexican, pasta, a salad with thousand island dressings, Krispy Kreme donuts, and ice cream (almond milk based). All of this has slowed down my recovery I’m certain, but I know I will not be able to eat this as I wean off the medication and certainly won’t be able to do so once I’m off the meds, so I took this week and cheated massively!

Tomorrow starts the healing diet again so I can get to feeling 100% and begin to wean myself off the meds again.

You really don’t know how enjoyable the taste of certain foods are until you haven’t had it for months and then have it again. It was a wonderful tasteful week!

A Turn for the Worse

The fatigue continued to get worse and worse. I first started going to sleep at 9 p.m. so that I’d have enough energy to get up and make it through a work day. But then, that wasn’t early enough, and I began going to sleep by 8 p.m. and even then I didn’t have enough energy to make it through the day. So I literally began going to sleep when I got home from work. I’d get something to eat and then get to sleep by 6:30 p.m. and even then, with twelve hours sleep, my day was a struggle.

My appetite had been non-existent and because I was only awake 12 hours a day I was missing meals. Because of the lack of energy, preparing food hasn’t been a priority either, so I’ve lost about 5 lbs in the past two weeks. I’m really thin compared to any time in my life. I don’t think I’ve weighed 120 lbs since I was in junior high school. I really don’t want to lose any more weight, but I just haven’t had the energy to prepare food or eat.

Friday, the 16^th, and my birthday, things came to a head and I left work early. I cancelled my evening plans, and was in bed by 3 p.m. Yet Saturday, I awoke at 10:00 a.m. just to realize that I didn’t have any more energy than when I went to sleep. This was the worse day I have had since my diagnosis, and may actually have been my worse ever, even compared to the days prior to my diagnosis that I refer to as my walking zombie days.

I have been soooo strict on the healing diet, yet things got worse and worse. Dr. Azar says you cleanse in layers, and this did not surprise her. But ultimately, I have been feeling ill since the end of January, and I cannot continue this way.

I made the decision Friday night to start back on the medication. Dr. Sigmon had recommended that I start back up on the mesalamine, which is an anti-inflammatory, the last two times I have seen him. I didn’t listen and tried to manage things holistically. But Friday night it became evident that I would have a long painful road ahead of me if I were to continue holistically.

I started back on the mesalamine Friday night. But when I awoke Saturday feeling so bad after seventeen hours sleep, I also started on the budesonide. Budesonide is an immune system suppressant and corticosteroid. I really didn’t want to start taking this, but I felt so miserable, so much so that I couldn’t image that the mesalamine alone would make an impact in a timely basis. Mesalamine is really meant to keep Crohn’s in remission, not to manage a flare up and clearly I was having a sever flare up.

I have already taken many days off of work this year, and I can’t afford to take another two weeks off right now which was the picture in my mind that would occur if I relied upon the mesalamine alone.

I’m very disappointed that back on the meds. But holistically working through this will take much longer and require much more time off work, and I don’t know how to keep my job with the amount of time I believe this disease would require curing holistically.

So I’m back on the meds. I feel better today than yesterday, but keep in mind, yesterday I was like the walking dead. I only got up to eat and use the rest room.

Oh yeah, in all of this of course, my bowel movements are all messed up. I almost didn’t make it to the toilet in enough time on Friday night. That would have been very embarrassing.

Now, the side effects of the meds have my muscles and joints fatigued everywhere. I had so much pain in my left ankle yesterday, I had to use a cane to get around the house. Of course I have Stephanie and Rick taking care of Rusty, because I don’t have enough energy to walk him.

Last time I was on the meds, it took about 4 to 5 days in order for me to have enough strength to make it through a work day. Tonight will make 2 full days. I really hope I can get back to work before Wednesday.

Any ways, once I am feeling good again and all my symptoms are gone, I do plan on weaning of the medication again, in an attempt to stay of the meds this time.

I Just Want To Feel Healthy Again

The weekend of February 25, I was up at Beech Mountain with my boyfriend Rich, for the totally retro 80s weekend. It was quite fun actually, but I had no energy at all. I just felt drained the entire weekend. It felt like I had a mild fever and all I wanted to do was rest. Since I was in the middle of a Crohn's flare up, I just assumed that my fatigue and mild fever was related to the flare up.

But come Tuesday evening, I was so tired and felt feverish, and sure enough, my temperature was over 103. I assume that I had the flu because my fever hit over 103 through the next Saturday. In addition to the fever, I felt like I had arthritis in all my joints, had sinus and head congestion, massive fatigue, and a nasty cough. Just to put fuel on the fire, I also got this awful fever blister. My upper lip swelled up so much it looked like Angelina Jolie on botox! Seriously! 

This weekend, I was supposed to go to Louisville, KY, with Rich. His daughter is playing in a volleyball tournament there. I had to cancel, and instead, I'm home just resting. I still have the nasty cough, and massive fatigue. It seems that all the symptoms are running together. I'm not sure if I'm recovering from the flu or just dealing with cleansing symptoms.

This past week, I did return to work, but at then end of each day I was so tired. I've been going to sleep no later than 9:00 p.m. and getting at lease 10 hours sleep each day and it doesn't seem to be enough. Last night I slept 12 hours! That's crazy. 

My holistic doctor, Dr. Azar, says I'm going through a deeper layer of cleansing, and the fatigue and cough and fever has a lot to do with the effects of cleansing. If you've been reading this blog, you know that my healing diet, is also a cleansing diet, and I've been very strict at adhering to this diet over the past month because I simply want to feel healthy again, and cheating on the diet, I believe is what triggered the most recent flare up.

So, I'm on the most boring healing diet without any variance. I eat a banana smoothie for breakfast, a honeydew or cantaloupe for lunch. I have juice each day consisting of celery, carrots, red pepper, cucumber, romaine and an apple, and my dinner is either sweet potatoes, potatoes or acorn squash. This diet not only is perfect for creating an alkaline environment in my GI tract, but the juice is also great for improving my anemic condition.

This is the diet I have been following for about a month. Now and then I'll have mango, raisins, or pears. In any regard, I'm so bored with the diet, but at the same time, it's now just something I do without thinking about it.

I just want to feel healthy again...

If I just keep getting my rest and sticking to the diet, I should feel better soon.

Most Recent Test Results

Well....I wish I had good news, but I don't. Last Tuesday, I had some blood work done, and my sediment rate was 107. Hemoglobin was 10.2. So ultimately, inflammation has not reduced in the past month and I'm anemic again. Arrgh. But my appointment with Dr. Sigmon gave me more focus on holistic healing than I have ever had.

This nasty disease has 50-80% ending in surgury:( Treatment starts with aminosalicylates. This is basically one of the meds I was given when I was first diagnosed, mesalamine, and may help reduce inflammation. According to Dr. Sigmon, it only works in 25% of Crohn's patients.

The next level of treatment is oral steroids. This also is one of the medications I was given when I was first diagnosed. Budesonide is the one I was prescribed. It's an immune suppressant. Without going into a huge amount of explanation, the pyramid of treatment is shown below. A Crohn's sufferer will usually start at the bottom of the pyramid, and as the body develops a tolerance for the medication they have to go to the next level of treatment.

Hopefully you live a full life before you reach the top level:-(

When I arrived at my doctor's office, I really thought that Dr. Sigmon would be mad because he recommended that I start taking Asacol the last visit approximately five weeks ago. And now here I arrive after not taking his advise. When I explained to him that I didn't start taking the medication, and that I was trying to control the symptoms by diet, I really expected him to get mad at me. But he didn't.

I explained a little bit about the diet I was on, and mentioned candidly, that it was very boring. His response was, "but you're likely the healthy person I've met today."

Ultimately, I decided to stay on the holistic approach because that visit convinced me that if I go with the medical route, it likely will end in surgery. If I stay on the holistic route, I will likely become healthier and add year to my life. As your body battles this disease for years on the medical route, you take years off of your life. But on the holistic approach, the diet itself is so healthy, you add years to your life, and once the ulcers are healed, my life will be back to being close to normal.

I don't wish this disease upon any one. It is nasty, and it sucks that I have to deal with it, but my visit with Dr. Sigmon that day just reinforced how I need to stay focused and committed to my diet and holistic healing.

Get More Rest!

My symptoms are getting a little better. I am definitely not normal yet, however. I need about 9 hours sleep if I don't do anything during the day that overly exerts my energy. I'm still having about 5 bowel movements a day, but the discomfort in my gut has subsided. So I have improved quite a bit, but I'm not back to normal yet.

Saturday, I instructed up at Beech mountain. By lunch time I was beat. Walking up and down the mountain while instructing just wore me out that quickly. So you can imagine how tired I was at 3:30 when my lessons were over. I had to go back to the apartment to take a nap in order to have enough energy to learn some acrobalance, which I had planed for the evening.

Acrobalance is very cool, by the way. One of the ski instructors, Jeff Anderson, does this and is exceptional at it. It's a cross between yoga and acrobatics, and a little like what you'd see at a cirque du soleil. You can check it out at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nIMx0zVqvDM.

In any regard, I've been wanting to do this with him all season, and he finally was off work so that we could Saturday night. It's a bit of a work out. I worked up a sweat for sure, even though we only performed for about 30 minutes.

Dr. Azar keeps talking to me getting more rest. She says the body only heals when resting, and using my energy for other things will just prolong my healing. Her words were in my thoughts when I decided to take Sunday off from instrucing. I did absolutely nothing that day, even after sleeping ten hours Saturday night, and even after vegging all day on Sunday, I still slept ten hours Sunday night as well. For those of you that know me, that certainly is not normal, but my body needed every second of it.

Today, my legs are soooo sore from all day of lessons on Saturday, so clearly I burned a lot of energy Saturday, but still, needing an entire day to recover for this certainly means that my body has not recovered very well from my Crohn's flare up yet. I need to take Dr. Azar's advise it appears, and rest is my objective until I'm feeling 100%.

A Flare Up :-(

I’m quite certain I got that stomach flu that’s going around. Here are the symptoms: fever, upset gut, diarrhea and/or vomiting, and fatigue. Well….that sounds a lot like a Crohn’s flare up too. So how do I know I had the stomach flu? Because my boyfriend got all of the same symptoms a few days following when I got mine and he clearly doesn’t have Crohn’s:) So I’m pretty certain what I had was the stomach flu.

That’s actually good news, so I thought. I had a gastrointestinal problem that was not related to my disease. Yay!

But that wishful thinking was very short lived, however. As you may recall, I had a sediment rate of 100 recently, which means my body has inflammation, and based upon the fact I have Crohn’s, it is likely some of the high rate was related to inflammation in my colon.

Now add to the fact that no matter what I do with my diet, the stomach flu creates an acid environment in the GI tract. Current inflammation and an acidic environment leads to a Crohn’s flare up for sure, and that is exactly what happened.

Immediately following my stomach flu, I rolled right into a flare up. Dr. Azar had warned me that this could happen, and she also told me that it would likely be shorter in duration and not as intense. Fortunately, she appears right.

So I have been having this flare up since right after my stomach flu cleared up which as far as I can tell was somewhere around Wednesday last week. Right after my fever broke, I assumed the stomach flu had passed, but my bowel movements were still about eight daily, and they are not controllable like before when I was doing so well. My gut cramps up with each one, and there is blood in my stool, which means the ulcers in my colon are active.

However, I am only mildly fatigued and I don’t have a fever. This is much more mild so far than when I was the walking zombie in September. I was needing 14-18 hours sleep and even with that amount of sleep, I didn’t have the energy to even walk my dog.

Now, with about 10 hours sleep, I have enough energy for a full work day. The bowel movements are certainly inconvenient, but in the past 5 days, they have reduced a little bit, as I’m down to about 5 daily, and the consistency has improved. Even the amount of blood has reduced. I believe I am on my way to remission again.

Dr. Azar has warned me that this could happen a few times even while on the strict healing diet during the first year or so. The body goes through cleansing in layers, and until it is clear of all toxic waste, it cannot focus solely on healing the Crohn’s ulcers. But each time, they are likely to be easier to handle.

I water fasted for a day, and now am only eating sweet fruits and juicing. May daily food journal is very bland with a banana smoothie for breakfast. Cantaloupe for lunch, and mango and banana snacks when needed. Dinner is vegetable juice and maybe another banana smoothie as a evening snack

Cross your fingers for me, because this flareup being so mild is giving me great hope to get into remission quickly, and that my ulcers are truly healing. I can’t possibly have this mild of symptoms during a flare up if the ulcers are still as bad as my walking zombie days. I’ll keep you posted.