"How I Overcame The Pain of Crohn's Disease At Age 37 With My Doctor Saying I Would Have To Lose My Insides For A Colostomy Bag... For The Rest Of My Life"

If you're suffering too, find out now how to enjoy eating tasty food and be free from the pain and suffering of Crohn's Disease and IBS. From now on, it's possible for you to restore your energy, feel fit and well, and start to Enjoy Your Life Again... I did!

You Can Overcome The Pain of Crohn's Disease

It’s important for you to read every word of this letter, because it’s a record of how I found a powerful way to ease the debilitating pain of my Crohn's.

Knowing how I dealt with it will be a great help to you in your struggle for pain relief. 

Sometimes, when I speak to fellow Crohn sufferers, some will say that diet is hard work; they seem to want a quick and easy answer without any effort.  I can understand that.

It seems to them that to pop a pill is the answer.

It's the modern way - we all want quick and easy. 

I agree that when you are in pain, pills and drugs are OK for a while (I had steroids to start my treatment) but they are not a long term solution. 

For me the steroids eased the pain - short term. 

It was such a relief and I thought that they were wonderful.

But I had to keep stepping up the dose.

It could not go on.  I had to find another way.

I don't take any medication now.

Haven't done so for years.

Yes, I watch what I eat but I still enjoy my food.

In fact, I have discovered many new and delicious foods to eat that I doubt I would have found - had I not had Crohn's!

Now it is possible for you to eat your way back to good health too with a natural, drug free way of treating crohn's disease and IBS, developed specifically to beat your digestive problems.

If you're suffering from Crohn's Disease, IBS or Colitis - there is a natural way to help ease your suffering and make your pain disappear.

My new diet released me from the symptoms of crohn's disease quickly and safely by eliminating the cause.

You can overcome the pain of Crohn's disease.

My Crohn's Experience and How It Can Help You to Get Pain Free

After years of suffering, and within 5 weeks of treatment, I came off the steroids and made a miraculous recovery, by changing my diet and watching what I ate.

That was a little over 24 years ago and since then I have gained control of my crohn's and I’m pain free to enjoy food, and life, once again.

Although my suffering was such a long time ago, I will never ever forget the pain, the misery, the discomfort: every day was like a form of torture.

To eat was so painful in my stomach, and to make things worse, everything I did eat either went straight through me or made me badly constipated; my intestines were so painful and swollen. I was left bleeding from the diarrhoea or else I was so constipated it was days before I could pass anything.

At this point I was so thin, weak and miserable from my Crohn's Disease

At the same time, I lost weight rapidly: my normal weight was around 8stone 4 pounds but I dropped like a stone to 6stone 10 pounds.

My hair fell out, my joints ached and I couldn’t sleep at night. I was so tired and unhappy.

That's not like me. I am by nature a happy, positive person, full of fun and always laughing, but this condition wore me down so much.

Normal life was nearly impossible.

When my husband went to work I really struggled to care for my five children and do the housework too.

Going into town to the shops for groceries was out of the question: I was always afraid that I would not be near to a toilet when I needed it.

In some ways it was fortunate that we lived in a village with a shop just a few yards up the road, because if I needed to, I could always make a quick dash home!

I remember thinking how I must try and keep as cheerful as I could for the sake of my husband and the children; I was so, so low.

I Feared I Would Not Live To See My Children Grow Up

We were so worried because we thought that I might have stomach cancer and we both feared that I might not live to see the children grow up. It was an intensely emotional and very frightening period of our lives.

I think that the trigger for my crohn's was a serious car accident that I experienced which left me with trauma and stress for months afterwards. I put my stomach pains and toilet problems down to that.  I didn’t consult my doctor for almost a year after the accident.

My GP was very sympathetic but he was not too sure what my problem was: perhaps I had IBS (irritable bowel syndrome) he was baffled. He referred me to a specialist at the local hospital where I was diagnosed with all the symptoms of crohn’s disease.

It was 1986, and back then it seemed that very little was known about Crohn's Disease.  The thought of having a 'disease' made me feel as though I was ‘untouchable’.

I Was Told I Would Lose My Insides

Well, at least it wasn't cancer, but in some ways, I felt that it was pretty close.

Despite the good news regarding cancer, I hated the idea of wearing a bag.

My life had been turned upside down.

I remember that when I had my appointment with the hospital consultant he suggested I take steroids to start my Crohn's treatment. If that did not work, then he would operate to remove all or part of my large intestine. This would mean I would have to wear a colostomy bag for the rest of my life.

As a young woman the thought of having to wear a bag was terrible: how would my children feel, and how would I ever be able to let my husband see me intimately again.

I Could Keel Over And Die At Any Minute!

My husband asked the specialist what side effects I could expect from taking steroids.

As if it were yesterday, I can picture him now; he turned to my husband, tilted his head forward, and peering over his half-moon glasses replied: “I don’t expect any”.

As it turned out, amongst the information my husband had discovered, was that the steroids used to treat the condition were effective at pain relief, but there was a risk of sudden death from my taking them.

We were not impressed, because we knew that there were side effects to these drugs, and effectively, he had dismissed us. How dare we ask!

Nonetheless, I started on the drugs, I was desperate to get help. But my husband was now determined to find an alternative treatment, and we decided to look elsewhere for a second opinion; there must be an alternative to butchery and drugs!

Now I Was So Fit - I Felt I Could Have Danced All Night

The steroids rapidly began to help ease the pain and almost overnight, my energy returned. I began to feel so much better; my appetite returned and I could eat again, but I was still alternating between diarrhoea and constipation. So even though I was able to eat now, I was afraid to.

The more I ate, the more uncomfortable I became.

I began to feel so much stronger and my energy levels rose tremendously. I was able to do the housework with gusto and for a while, we all felt a little happier.

But I was still suffering inside.

My Face Swelled Like A Balloon, and My Hair Grew Like Topsy

My hair started to grow again and thickened up nicely.

However my face was now so swollen, I felt like a balloon and I hated looking in the mirror.

What must other people have thought: now I felt ugly, it was all a dreadful experience.

My husband and I were still concerned about the threatened removal of my intestines and he decided that there must be a better way to deal with my problem.

Back then there was no internet to turn to, and all of the medical people we spoke to said we must follow the advice we were given.

Most of them were not very familiar with my problem or irritable bowel syndrome, they didn’t seem to know any better.

Like A Drug Addict, I Needed My Steroid Fix

The consultant told us he didn’t expect any side effects. Right!

Apart from the need to eat and having more energy, which I welcomed, I experienced several unpleasant effects.

My eyeballs ached and I started to get sharp pains in my legs; because of this sensation I and found myself unable to sleep properly at night and unable to walk during the day. What was happening to me?

Then there were the shakes.

A few hours after taking my dose of steroids I would start to sweat and shake, I needed more drugs.

I felt like a junkie - I knew when it was time for the next dose - I didn’t need to check my watch.

As a result of these symptoms, I was admitted to hospital for observation

There Had To Be Another Way

The day after my consultation, my husband went to visit all the local bookshops.

Pretty much, most of them drew a blank; there was very little written about crohn's disease. But just at the point of giving up on his book search, my husband found one with just a few lines that referred to a Doctor 300 miles away in Cambridge, who specialised in treating Crohn’s patients.

This was our lifeline, by hook or by crook, we had to see him.

Our only hope now was that our Doctor would refer me to him.

I immediately went back to see my GP. He told me that if it was possible to refer me, he would, but that by rejecting the treatment locally, I may not be able to get help here again. I decided that it was a risk worth taking.

By now I was at my wits end.

After a few days my GP phoned me to say that he had managed to get me referred to Addenbrookes Hospital, Cambridge: can you believe it, we were ecstatic!

No More Solid Food Or Beverages

Within days I was given an appointment at Addenbrookes Hospital in Cambridge.

On arrival at the hospital, I saw the Consultant Physician, Professor John Hunter, straight away.

He told me I was in serious shape and my steroid dose was far too high. They had to be reduced as soon as possible.

He admitted me to the ward immediately,

My husband and I did not expect that; we thought we would have to return home and wait for treatment at a later date.

I had only travelled with an overnight bag, so it was straight into a hospital nightgown, and my husband drove the 300 miles back home to take care of the children.

I Got My 'Food' By A Tube Through My Nose

Little did I know it, but I was about to start a five week stay in hospital.

Because my insides were so inflamed, I was taken off all solid foods immediately.

I was told that I would be given a liquid 'meal' for nourishment - if you could call it that - a liquid concoction comprised of essential vitamins and minerals, called E0128.

The Exclusion Diet As My Treatment To Control The Disease

I hated being away from my family but the medical team at the hospital were absolutely fantastic and at long last I felt I was in safe hands.

The second stage of my recovery programme was to introduce food gradually, one by one, to establish which foods I reacted to.

This involved, on day one, plain chicken; day two, white rice; day three, pears; day four plain white boiled fish and on day five carrots.

So now I had five foods and two seasonings, salt and pepper to go home with and to carry on at home introducing a new food each day.

After Five Long Weeks, I Was Back Home Again With My Family

I was so happy to be home, and now I believed that I was getting back to some form of normality.

But it was not to be for long.

I returned from hospital with bottles of Evening Primrose Oil capsules and a strict diet to follow.

I followed the dietary plan the hospital had given me for three weeks, introducing a new type of food each day: until the day I tried one of my favourite vegetables - runner beans.

This turned out to be one of my triggers; it set everything off again; the pain, the diarrhoea the aching joints.

I was so ill I had to go back to Cambridge.

Back To Hospital Again, This Time For An Operation

When I arrived back at Addenbrookes Hospital the decision was made to operate immediately to remove a part of my small intestine, a procedure known as a resection.

After eight or nine days recovery I was allowed back home to recuperate.

After the operation the process of trying individual foods became easier.

I no longer had any flare ups with the intensity I had experienced before the operation, but I still got painful reactions if I ate the wrong stuff.

Everyone is different of course, but I immediately began the task of isolating the foods I had to avoid:

Dairy products and derivatives - such as milk powder and lactose.
Egg Yolks
Citrus fruits - Oranges/Grapefruits/Lemons/Grapes
Pineapples/ Blackcurrants/Apricots
Beef and Pork
Cabbage/Spinach/Leeks/ Runner beans/fresh Tomatoes
Rye/Barley/Maize (sweet corn)
Red wine/Beer

Most of these items will cause me to react badly and some give me aching joints, sore eyes and serious pain, even now.

I still have to take care with some things like chicken for instance, because food processors inject chicken breasts with pork extracts and some bread has barley and rye in it - bad news!

Foods I Can Now Eat With No Bad Reaction:

White Rice/Brown Rice/Potatoes/Pasta (egg free)/Egg White
Wheat/Oats/Quinoa
Chicken
Lamb - I can only eat occasionally, it can upset me
Beef - tried it in October 2011 and had no reaction!
Fish and Prawns
Bananas/Mangos/Strawberries/Cherries/Apples(skins off)
Carrots/Courgettes/Broccoli/Squash/Tinned Tomatoes
Tomato Sauce/Brown sauce/Rice Vinegar
Turmeric/Chillies/Ginger/Fresh Coriander/most spices
Lentils/Kidney beans/Chick Peas
Dark Chocolate/Sugar/Tea/Coffee
Sheep’s milk and sheep’s cheese/Soya milk
Marmite
Gin/Vodka (an occasional treat!)

And, fortunately for me, the list of pain free foods gets bigger.

You can see from this that my intake is varied, and I am so grateful that I can eat my favourite meals: Asian curries, such as Indian/Thai/Japanese etc.

I have been in remission now for over twenty years, and I had another baby - my sixth - within two years of my operation.

Although I get occasional bouts of pain if I eat something that I shouldn’t, I lead a normal, active life.

I am highly indebted and extremely grateful to Professor John Hunter, nutritionist Elizabeth Workman and their support team for the help, care and kind support they gave me all those years ago.

They were wonderful.

How To Avoid The Pain Of Crohn's Disease And Get Your Life Back

I found out what foods suited me by trial and error but thank goodness I was able to do so. So many people are less fortunate than I am.

Had I known at the outset how important diet is in the successful treatment of my condition, maybe I would have been spared some suffering.

If you are suffering now and have not tried treating your condition with a diet program, please give it a try.

Now that so much more is known about the effects of food on our condition you can say goodbye to the pain.

Natural treatments and diet plays a big part in improving our quality of life. We now have the secret that helps us to lead more normal lives.

What Do I Recommend?

I live in a small community and quite often I get people call me for advice, or stop me in the street, to tell me that they have a digestive problem, or that they know someone - a family member or friend - with Crohn's or IBS.

They ask me what they can do to help them, or who is the best medical person to see.

Obviously, I am not qualified to recommend a particular medical practitioner, but I always suggest that the best person to start with is their Doctor. When they see their GP they should ask about diet and make sure to pursue it.

Not everyone follows my advice at first, but eventually, after a bit more suffering, they call me again in desperation.

I think the problem is that no one really wants to give up the ‘bad’ foods they have come to enjoy. The truth is that sacrifices have to be made, no matter how uncomfortable; as if the ailment wasn’t enough - no pain, no gain!

This Book Could Be The Answer To Your Prayers . . .

Some time ago I heard about a program called ‘Great Taste No Pain’, which a friend had tried, and she told me that it changed her life, literally, overnight. Because it is a system that teaches how to eat to minimize acidity in your body and what foods you should eat together to ensure pain-free meals.

I tried it, and to my amazement, I not only felt good (comfortable in my stomach), but I had more energy than I usually do after a meal.

Despite all my previous experiences, I didn't realise the benefit of combining foods to prevent digestive pain: it's not just about what to eat and what not to eat.

And while still not to be eaten at every meal, you can eat meat with Great Taste No Pain, provided it's not a meat you react badly to - in my case I react to beef and pork.

Basically, this is a program of food recipes and dietary advice devised by a lady who suffered herself for twenty years with stomach problems; she also spent time in hospital being tube fed. I found it very easy to read because she details what to eat and what not to eat in, simple terms.

As an introduction to her book, she gives away a free Quick Start food guide, which details how to be pain free in one day; although personally I think it’s more likely to take a few days. But in any case, the free guide is a four-day plan, and she guarantees results.

I love the recipes and the great thing for me is I don’t have to spend time thinking about what I can have to eat for my next meal - all the thinking is done for me!

In my opinion ‘Great Taste No Pain’ is about the best crohn's diet plan that I have found to help manage my digestive troubles; and I have read a lot about my condition, believe me!

Whilst reading it I discovered many things I didn’t know about diet and acid foods, particularly how milk is bad for us. Milk was one of the foods I loved to drink all those years ago; little did I know how bad it was for me.

The plan works for anyone suffering with Acid Reflux (GERD), Gastritis, Constipation, Heartburn, Diverticulosis, Diverticulitis, Diarrhoea, Colitis, and IBS (IBD).

So, please have a look at it and at least get the free Quick Start Guide; it’s nice to get something for nothing, and I am sure that you will benefit from it. It has my highest recommendation.

I would like to add, that one of the main reasons I wrote this letter is because I draw real satisfaction from helping people.

At the same time, because I know how miserable digestive pain from Crohn's Disease, Colitis and IBS (IBD) can be, I am now able to refer anyone that contacts me to a helpful and effective resource.

I'm sure it will open your eyes, and change your life for the better.

Because a lot of medical people don't accept that there is a diet connection, I wanted to be involved in a means of spreading the word for everyone with digestive problems - there is a practical solution.

There's no need for you to suffer when helpful, tried and tested solutions are available.

I  hope I've been of some help and I sincerely wish you good health and happiness for the future.

Helen.