Let me share my experiences relating to, what western medicine identifies as, Chron’s disease. This, like all challenges I’ve faced in my life, wasn’t something I identified with then, or now. Where I recognized the ailments I was obviously experiencing (hard to miss that acute, inside-splitting pain), it was always temporal – something to move through. You also would never hear me say “I have Chron’s Disease” etc. – I would say, instead… ‘doctors keep trying to label this as Chron’s’ or something along those lines. An important distinction, because mind makes matter.
So one of the first things that is important when facing an ailment like Chron’s or any other disease (dis-ease), is not identifying as that thing. It’s not yours. It is simply something that you are facing at this time, and like all things in time, it is finite. Our bodies have extraordinary abilities to heal on their own, if we simply get out of the way. All of the time that people often spend imagining the worst possible outcome (due to fear, and trying to overcome that fear – it has some benefit, but not in the obsessive way that I’m identifying here) only perpetuates that very outcome. So yeah – be real, recognize what you’re experiencing, but don’t make it yours and carry it around on a pedestal. All experiences – all challenges – are lessons waiting to be uncovered. The uncovering directly corresponds to our healing. The more we can accept what we’re experiencing with optimism and tenacity to persist beyond the current difficulties, the better we are able to navigate the circumstance.
My dis-ease in my digestive tract was always a bit of a background noise. Never loud enough to cause me to adjust my eating behaviors beyond a day or few days, before going back to my old routine of eating glorious takeout from any number of amazing places. Pizza and soda were a staple in my diet. I was always seeking the best cheeseburger. I long in hunger as I think back to all of those good times. Yet, it had consequences… and those consequences led me, hunched over, focusing very deliberately to keep my car in my lane as I drove the 40 or so minutes to the nearest hospital (not being able to afford an ambulance). The pain was almost too much for me to take, as the tears streamed down my face. I was used to the acute pain in my lower intestine by this point, but this was a whole new level.
At first, doctors were going to take out my appendix because of how engorged my stomach was – not really understanding the problem at all. I spent 3 days in the hospital in excruciating pain. On the 3rd night, I came face to face with my mortality. I really thought it was possible that I might die, and I had to come to peace with that – which I did. I communed with Great Spirit, in my own way, and was ready for whatever may come next.
And would you believe it? The very next morning I woke up free of pain – largely. My stomach was relaxed once more. I felt an ease in my abdomen that I hadn’t felt in what seemed like an eternity. Phew. And jeeze – leave the appendix alone people. ‘Err… we don’t know what’s going on, so let’s take that thingey out’. Brilliant logic.
When I look back to my stay at the hospital I recognize the saline solution I was administered went a long way to opening up my system and allowing me to expel that which was encapsulated. It’s not pretty, but I was basically really backed up, and it’s my belief that one section of my digestive tract got completely blocked, likely as a result of inflammation.
I was able to get a colonoscopy done during this stretch at the hospital and everything looked fine. I later, within a few days, had an endoscopy performed (swallowed a camera that took video of my entire digestive system) by a specialist. Everything looked great – not even signs of inflammation.
I worked with the specialist off and on, but never wanted any medication and it was clear they weren’t really sure what was going on anyway. Regardless, in his professional opinion, it was Chron’s disease. I was not willing to take medication and set out on the path of fixing this shit myself.
Through process of elimination I was able to identify the foods that really triggered my system – not surprisingly, all of the stuff I love. Processed foods, pizza, breads, pasta, sugar, dairy, alcohol, and so on. It was a long road through many dietary changes, ups and downs. Yet, I stand here now free of pain and I do not worry about the pain returning.
So really, my antidote comes down to two things – mindset, and diet. Believe in yourself. Pay attention to what agrees with your system or doesn’t. For me, I had to cut out processed foods and carbs, at the very least in their unhealthy forms. I spent years still eating rice and potatoes until encountering another health crisis in the form of what western medicine would call Lyme Disease (see what I did there? 😉 ). I also had to nix dairy. These days there are tons of dairy and carb alternatives, so it’s not all that difficult to do. You have a lot of support, as long as you make the choice to get better. For me it was just that – I could keep eating these things I loved, which would ultimately put me in extreme pain… or I could remove them from my diet and honor my vessel. But honestly, the pain was such a motivating factor that it wasn’t so much a choice but a necessity. In the same way most people can relate to that hangover after a night of drinking as being ‘not worth it, and you’re never going to drink again’ – Chron’s was like this for me. That pizza looks incredible, but the agony that coincides just doesn’t make it worth it.
Tips to make the pain flare-ups more manageable, and the time you spend hunched over the toilet much reduced…
- The second you feel a flare up coming, drink massive amounts of prune juice. It will clean you out good. Might be a slip and slide down there, but it sure beats the agony that otherwise ensues. Usually best to time this in the evening when you’re not at the workplace eh?
- Saline solutions (salt water). Seriously a miracle cure in my eyes. It soothes the digestive tract and does a great job of returning everything to a homeostasis. You can pick it up at your local pharmacy or make it yourself.
- Get omega 3’s in your diet – Hempseed oil is a great option (update Sept 2022… I have since started to lean heavily on Olive oil and Avocado oil, having noticed (at least in my dogs) some reactions over time to the hempseed oil). Flax seeds. These will help reduce inflammation.
- Intermittent fasting would be a good move to give your system time to relax. Very important not to eat after 7 PM or so.