“It has been almost two years since I said goodbye to the symptoms of Crohn’s disease. Sometimes I remember the agony I went through day after day and I can’t believe the happy change in my life.
I had constant diarrhea and urinary incontinence. I could talk to you, and in the middle of the conversation, suddenly run away “on business.” For 2 years, when my illness was in the acute stage, I almost did not listen to anyone. When they spoke to me, all I thought about was where the nearest toilet was. This happened up to 15 times a day! Antidiarrheal drugs hardly helped.
This, of course, meant extreme inconvenience while traveling – I constantly needed to know the location of the toilet and be ready to rush to it. No flying – it was not for me. I just wouldn’t be able to stand in line or wait out the times when the toilets are closed. During my illness, I literally became an expert in toilet matters! I knew about every place where the toilet was and when it was closed. Most importantly, the constant urge was a huge problem at work. My workflow involved frequent movement and I had to contrive, plan routes in advance. I also suffered from reflux disease and without medication (like a proton pump inhibitor, for example), I simply could not live or sleep.
In addition to all of the above, my joints hurt, especially my knees, neck and shoulders. Painkillers were my best friends. At that moment I looked and felt terrible, in a word, an old and sick person. Needless to say, I was constantly tired, changeable in mood and depressed. I was told that diet had no effect on my illness and that with the prescribed medication I could eat almost anything with the same symptoms. And I ate whatever I liked. My top list included fast food, chocolate, pies and sausage buns. I also did not disdain alcohol and drank everything indiscriminately.
It was only when the situation had gone too far and I was just at an emotional and physical day that my wife encouraged me to change. After giving up all wheat and refined sugar, the weight began to disappear. Two weeks later, my symptoms just disappeared. I started to sleep well and feel much better. At first, I continued to take medication. Feeling good enough to start training, and I did them as much as possible. Minus 2 sizes in clothes, then another minus two.
I soon decided on a “hardcore” 10-day detox program that eliminated alcohol, caffeine, wheat, sugar, dairy beans, and all refined foods. And although my wife did not believe that I would be able to give up alcohol (however, like me), I still did it. And this 10-day program allowed me to get rid of even more fat, as well as to refuse drugs. Reflux disappeared, diarrhea and pain disappeared. Fully! The training continued more and more intensively, and I began to delve into the topic in more detail. I bought a lot of books, stopped watching TV and read, read. My bibles are Nora Gedgades “Primal Body, Primal Mind” and Mark Sisson “The Promal Blueprint”. I have read both books cover to cover several times.
Now I train most of my free time, I run, and I really like it. I realized that Crohn’s disease is mainly caused by poor diet, despite the fact that experts do not agree with this. I also realized that the proton pump inhibitor inhibited the body’s ability to force acid to digest food. The fact is that the acid in the stomach must be strong enough to digest food and not cause digestive stress. However, for a long time, I was simply prescribed a “safe” drug, with which I could continue to eat whatever I liked. And the side effects of the inhibitor were headaches, nausea, diarrhea, abdominal pain, fatigue, and dizziness, which only worsened Crohn’s symptoms.
Within two years I was completely free from the disease without the help of medicines. Not so long ago was my 50th birthday, which I met in health, full of strength and tone, which I did not even have at 25. Now my waist is the same size as it was at 19. My energy knows no bounds, and my sleep is strong. People notice that in the photographs I look very sad when I was sick, when now I always smile and am in a good mood.
What is the moral of all this? Don’t trust everything they say. Do not believe that pain and limitations are a normal part of aging. Explore, seek and don’t give up. Believe in yourself!”