This is crazy...

[cheeky]

Long story short...

I went to see a herbalist/iridologist (who's also a reflexologist and nutrition specialist).... learned about 'leaky gut' and was advised to stay away from certain foods, as well as cleanse by way of several herbs...

in addition to this, i had Electro Dermal Testing done, for food intolerances... I had TONS of severe food intolerances, and had been eating a lot of these foods...also, the Australian dude who did my testing, reccommended that I alternate oil of oregano and olive leaf extract, every 7 days.

decided to eliminate these foods during the cleanse, also decided to discontinue Remicade... the specialty pharmacist said it would take 12 weeks for the Remicade to completely leave my system...

it has now been over 18 weeks since my last Remicade infusion... I feel completely fine, no Crohn's symptoms at all (even though I have cheated)... I've also gone to the gym regularly...

finally the excess weight I gained has been coming off, and I know it's not from 'crohn's' just good old fashioned exercise and diet changes that work, since my body was not properly metabolizing those foods that my body wasn't tolerating and it turned to fat.

funny thing is, while on Remicade, thought I was in remission, yet I would still experience some episodes of flare ups, some so severe that I was hospitalized.... yet now, when I'm completely Remicade free, I feel amazing...

I sleep well, not lethargic all the time... I wake up feeling great... Not even a hint of cramping or any other flare up/Crohn's symptoms...

it feels like this Crohn's diagnosis was a nightmare that suddenly went away.... I had Crohn's symptoms for many years... I won't fool myself into thinking that I can just go back to old habits and forget about it... but I have definitely been learning more and more about what my body responds to...and how much cleansing and diet does help to heal. apparently blood renews itself every 120 days, so you keep treating your body well and giving yourself the correct nutrients, cleanse and the body responds.

I decided to take a chance and stop Remicade when I read about the severe side effects and thought about how much the risks were outweighing the benefits (in my opinion)...

I have never been happier and I feel more positive than ever!!

Bit of a backstory - through my childhood, I was always suffering from severe allergies...

I am starting to believe that perhaps I had a build up of toxins, bacteria along with food sensitivies that were presenting as Crohn's symptoms... I dunno... all I do know for sure now, is I feel great and perhaps it's also my mindstate that is contributing to my well-being and overall improvement in my health.


I had always wanted to take the naturopathic route, but was discouraged by my first GI who said 'that won't work! you'll end up with a bag on your stomach'....

well... for me, my body is responding and I feel very blessed and thankful.


Wishing you all the best and I do thank you all for the support and info I received here at the forum, during my early stages of diagnosis and when I had some darker moments.


That is all... take care

 

[kiny]

...so call me maybe?

Nice that you're better. Remicade's half-life is 10 days, but the effects remicade has had on macrophages and lymphocytes will last much longer than a few weeks, lymphocytes take a while to rebalance. I went off it after a few months a long time ago, but I did have other medications ready if a flare happened.

What if you get a flare, do you have a plan on what you will do then?

 

[Susan2]

...and are you having regular tests done for iron, B12, vitamins, etc?

It is great to hear that you have found a way to improve your health to such a impressive degree. Sometimes we need to find the courage to try a different path when the one that we have been following has just led us downhill.

 

[cheeky]

@kiny - good info about Remicade, thank you.. I have been wondering if there may be more longer lasting effects from it.. However, like I mentioned, I was still getting mild to severe flare ups while I was still on Remicade, though overall there was major improvement in my condition, it's not as great as I feel now. For example, while on Remicade I still felt fatigue at times, had sore gums sometimes, as well as gas, bloat and was constipated (side effect of my strictures and perhaps past meds? I dunno, but diarrhea was not a problem - now on herbs, one of them helps so that I have 1-2 bowel movements everyday)

I thought about the risk flare up thing pre-transition, and I thought to myself - considering I had Crohn's for about 10 yrs before getting any treatment (pre-diagnosis), and somehow I survived the symptoms then, I can cope if they come up again.. and if it happens, i'll probably just cleanse/fast. However, I'm wouldn't ignore more severe symptoms.. I've learned to recognize the range of symptoms in my body, I know when I can tough it out/wait it out and know when I have to go to emerg (obstruction symptoms)...
But most of all, since making the changes, I think very positively (i believe that i am better - no doubting allowed) and that is the most powerful remedy. I don't fear a flare up or think of it too much, because I believe in the mental having an impact on the physical

@ Susan - I will be going to a Naturopathic doctor eventually and stay connected with my family doctor for blood work and other physical exams. I plan to get blood work done in the near future (my B12 was never too low because of where the disease was in my intestines and my iron was low when I was at my worst but my bloodwork had been looking good for a while) my GI had not done a colonoscopy on me in a long time and when I last saw him I asked about it and he said he didn't want to do a colonoscopy and trigger anything.. He also said since I seemed to be doing generally better I would only have to see him once a year.

 

[crushingcrohns]

That is awesome!!! I wish I had the funds to get full treatment from my integrated medicine doctor who also has an acupuncturist there. Not sure where you live, but here in the US, most insurance doesn't cover naturopathic medicine which is complete BS if you ask me. The US isn't interested in curing anymore, they manage & that's it.
I'm really happy you got your health back. eastern medicine is so right on point and much more successful than western medicine as it treats the body as a whole and gets to the root of the problem. Western medicine has failed us and will continue to do so.
Oh... leaky gut... i had that and following the GAPS diet and got muuuuch better.
Happy that you found a solution. :highfive:

Long story short...

I went to see a herbalist/iridologist (who's also a reflexologist and nutrition specialist).... learned about 'leaky gut' and was advised to stay away from certain foods, as well as cleanse by way of several herbs...

in addition to this, i had Electro Dermal Testing done, for food intolerances... I had TONS of severe food intolerances, and had been eating a lot of these foods...also, the Australian dude who did my testing, reccommended that I alternate oil of oregano and olive leaf extract, every 7 days.

decided to eliminate these foods during the cleanse, also decided to discontinue Remicade... the specialty pharmacist said it would take 12 weeks for the Remicade to completely leave my system...

it has now been over 18 weeks since my last Remicade infusion... I feel completely fine, no Crohn's symptoms at all (even though I have cheated)... I've also gone to the gym regularly...

finally the excess weight I gained has been coming off, and I know it's not from 'crohn's' just good old fashioned exercise and diet changes that work, since my body was not properly metabolizing those foods that my body wasn't tolerating and it turned to fat.

funny thing is, while on Remicade, thought I was in remission, yet I would still experience some episodes of flare ups, some so severe that I was hospitalized.... yet now, when I'm completely Remicade free, I feel amazing...

I sleep well, not lethargic all the time... I wake up feeling great... Not even a hint of cramping or any other flare up/Crohn's symptoms...

it feels like this Crohn's diagnosis was a nightmare that suddenly went away.... I had Crohn's symptoms for many years... I won't fool myself into thinking that I can just go back to old habits and forget about it... but I have definitely been learning more and more about what my body responds to...and how much cleansing and diet does help to heal. apparently blood renews itself every 120 days, so you keep treating your body well and giving yourself the correct nutrients, cleanse and the body responds.

I decided to take a chance and stop Remicade when I read about the severe side effects and thought about how much the risks were outweighing the benefits (in my opinion)...

I have never been happier and I feel more positive than ever!!

Bit of a backstory - through my childhood, I was always suffering from severe allergies...

I am starting to believe that perhaps I had a build up of toxins, bacteria along with food sensitivies that were presenting as Crohn's symptoms... I dunno... all I do know for sure now, is I feel great and perhaps it's also my mindstate that is contributing to my well-being and overall improvement in my health.


I had always wanted to take the naturopathic route, but was discouraged by my first GI who said 'that won't work! you'll end up with a bag on your stomach'....

well... for me, my body is responding and I feel very blessed and thankful.


Wishing you all the best and I do thank you all for the support and info I received here at the forum, during my early stages of diagnosis and when I had some darker moments.


That is all... take care

 

[rollinstone]

Hope you remain stayin well!