My Crohn’s symptoms have been somewhat better since about March, which I’m very pleased about.
I’ve been on Methotrexate 25mg and Humira 40mg weekly injections for about a year now.
I started exercising regularly again around February. That has definitely made me feel better in various ways and perhaps has helped specifically with the Crohn’s as well.
I was hoping my annual colonoscopy in July would show improvement compared with the previous year but my doctor said I still have a lot of inflammation on my left side. I think the improvement might be because some other parts of my system are somewhat better.
I’ve been interested in exploring holistic/natural/alternative approaches to treating Crohn’s, but wasn’t sure where to go or if the cost would be huge (because insurance wouldn’t cover it). In June I did some online research and found out that Northwestern Memorial, one of the large hospitals in Chicago, has a Center for Integrative Medicine and Wellness which is covered by our health insurance for at least some of their services. So I could have a consultation with Dr Ring, the medical director, without it costing us anything. I made an appointment with her for mid-September (that was the first available!)
When I met with Dr Ring she said she had seen Crohn’s patients successfully helped to remission with such things as supplements, diet changes, acupuncture and homeopathic medicine. My heart sank at the sound of diet restrictions again, especially since it didn’t seem that they helped much in 2007, but I decided to try them again, at least for a while. The doctor recommended a protein/vitamin/mineral shake formulated to help with digestive issues (Mediclear) that came with a recommended three week ‘detox’ diet plan. After week 3 it suggests adding foods back one at a time, each three days, to see if I am sensitive to them. However Dr Ring suggested I avoid gluten, dairy and sugar for at least twelve weeks rather than just three. The detox diet also restricts eggs, soy, peanuts, corn and tomato. I might try adding some of them back after the three weeks to increase my food choices.
A restricted diet is doable if I focus on what I can eat rather than what I can’t, and make sure I have a variety of foods and drinks at home I like a lot, that I can eat. I take an allowed snack with me when I go out for a while to make sure I don’t get hungry and have to find something allowed while I’m out. Being hungry wouldn’t be the end of the world under normal circumstances, but I tend to get nauseous when I’m hungry, maybe because of Crohn’s, so I try to have a snack available. Also it’s much harder not to wish I could eat restricted foods if I’m around them when I’m hungry.
On the whole it’s best to avoid foods that are at all processed because they include substances not on my diet. Even things like enriched juices and milk substitutes tend to include soy or corn derivatives. If I’m not super-sensitive to those it probably doesn’t matter if I have a little, but if I do keep having small amounts and I do happen to be super-sensitive some of my symptoms won’t go away.
Dr Ring did comprehensive blood tests and suggested a vitamin D (D3 actually because it’s more easily absorbed) and zinc supplement because my levels of those are low and they’re important for digestive healing. Also turmeric and fish oil (EPA+DHA) because they have anti-inflammatory properties.
I asked her about acupuncture and she believes it helps so I’ve started a course of acupuncture, one treatment a week for six weeks to start with. Ania Grimone, the acupuncturist I see, is at the same center but unfortunately our health insurance doesn’t cover acupuncture. I’ve heard it doesn’t hurt which has mostly been my experience, however it does hurt when Ania puts needles in my ears. She said that’s because they are large intestine points and I have inflammation there. She said they wouldn’t be reactive if I didn’t have any inflammation. After each of the two treatments I’ve had so far, Ania has put something like tiny band aids with balls in the middle over some of the ear acupuncture points and said I should press them gently when I think about it. Ania also recommends a restricted diet and is experienced with Chinese medicine, so at some point she might suggest some herbs.
My Crohn’s doctor, Dr Mutlu, is open to me trying alternative approaches as long as I stay on the conventional meds while my symptoms continue to be serious and as long as I run suggested supplements by her so she can look up possible interactions with my medications first. I’m glad she is so open to them.
It’s been a bit frustrating that it’s hard to find specific and consistent information on natural approaches to treating Crohn’s. A couple of days ago I was excited to run across a website I hadn’t seen before by Jini Patel Thompson called Listen to Your Gut. The free information on here seems much more specific and tailored to Crohn’s and well-researched than what I’ve found elsewhere and I’ve ordered Jini’s book. I’ll be interested to see what she says about diet when it arrives.
I just started taking probiotics as well. I tried a while back and couldn’t tell if they helped but based on information from Jini’s site and other places I don’t think I was taking enough to make a difference anyway.
I don’t actually know if any of these alternative approaches will help, but they are a lot less risky than the meds and the meds have not been super-effective anyway. It seems plausible to me that with persistence perhaps I will see improvement over time through natural/holistic/alternative approaches which address any deficiencies and imbalances that could be contributing to the Crohn’s symptoms. It seems worth trying especially now I’ve tried most of the conventional medical options out there.
Source: ehiprimarycare.com/role-of-yeast-in-diet-and-health/