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Alternative Medicine Magazine,
September 2005
By
Debbie Sarfati
Aug. 8, 1996: I remember the date of
my first colonoscopy clearly. On that
day the cause of my five years of
mysterious pain and suffering finally
was revealed—in images of my intestinal
walls broadcast on a small TV
screen. At 18, I was now officially diagnosed
with Crohn’s disease—a chronic
condition of unknown origin that causes
ulceration and inflammation of the large
and small intestines.
The diagnosis, while certainly not
good news, was actually a relief. Now
that my disease had a name, I thought
I could finally be cured. After a half decade
of suffering, I clearly was ready
for that one magic pill that would “fix”
me. The tearing pains in my abdomen
would soon be gone, I would be able
to eat without fear and eventually feel
strong, energetic and healthy again.
I was convinced I was on the road to
recovery. And I was. But it was a very
different path than I originally imagined.
The conventional route
As is common with Crohn’s disease,
the conventional treatment my doctors
initially prescribed after my diagnosis
included a combination of
anti-inflammatories, muscle relaxants
and steroids. I was told that my 85-pound body required 28 pharmaceutical pills a day to heal its intestinal
wounds and relax my fitful insides.
However, instead of improving once
I began these medications, my condition
seemed to worsen. I couldn’t eat
without getting sick. I couldn’t get
through a day without pain. I was
exhausted. My colon often hurt so much and was so cramped that I
couldn’t stand up straight. I felt like my
body was toxic, which I now know
it probably was.
For the next two years, I continued
to see doctors, often complaining about
how awful I felt from the medications.
But I still was willing to do and try
anything they prescribed. What they
offered was more medicine.
First, they told me to increase the
dosages of my current medications.
(Wasn’t nearly 200 pills a week
enough?) Next, when higher doses provided
no relief, I was given different
medications to try. I was even enrolled
in medical trials using drugs that were not yet approved by the Food and Drug
Administration because I had exhausted
all the approved drug options that were
available to me at the time. In short, I
was trying everything that modern
medicine had to offer me, and my pain
persisted. My intestine was so weak
that I developed a fissure (a tear in
my colon) and had to have surgery to
remove the diseased area.
When I returned to one of my
doctors, desperately searching for another solution, he reviewed the results
of my most recent colonoscopy and congratulated
me for being “in remission”
since there were no active ulcerations
present in my colon at the time. In
tears, I asked him why I was still having
constant diarrhea and why my body
always felt shaky. His solution? A
prescription for the antidepressant
Prozac. Although I dutifully filled the
prescription and took one pill, I quickly
rebelled. I wasn’t depressed—I was sick!
There had to be a better way to wellness.
I continued to be at a loss as to why
I was not well when I was listening to
and following directions so closely—until
I finally realized that I was listening to
the wrong
people. My
doctors were
drowning out
the voice inside
me that
kept suggesting
I may not
be on a path
to wellness.
The
Nutrition
Solution
I often say
that changing
my diet was
my last-ditch
effort to save
my life. I had
repeatedly
asked my
doctors about nutrition and was told it
was not important. They said my symptoms
were due to “the poor state of my
digestive system” and that food had no
effect on that.
So, I researched nutrition myself.
I had to do something, and clearly what
I had been doing wasn’t working. In my
research, I turned to the one book
I could find on Crohn’s disease, Breaking
The Vicious Cycle: Intestinal Health
Through Diet, by Elaine Gottschall (Kirkton Press, 1994). Although her
diet didn’t “cure” me, it gave me energy
and a sense of wellness that I hadn’t had
for years. It also helped me realize I
hadn’t been eating healthy foods—so
much of my diet had been processed
and refined up to that point.
I began to listen to my body. I monitored
which foods made me feel better
and which made me feel worse. I began
to nourish my body with healthy
organic foods, trusting that what my
body absorbed would help me heal. I
incorporated whole foods into my diet.
I ate an abundance of cooked, fresh vegetables
that were easy to digest. I made
tonic soups of carrots, yams, parsnips,
yucca, ginger and miso. I began eating
lots of leafy green vegetables. For lunch
I sautéed kale, collards, bok choy or
spinach. I even ate whole grains, which
I always thought were too abrasive for
my system. Oats, millet, buckwheat and
brown rice became staples in my diet,
replacing the white toast, bagels and
pasta I originally thought were easy on
my body. I became a tea guru. I drank
peppermint, chamomile, ginger, fennel
and licorice teas to soothe my intestinal
tract. I also drank pau de arco, dandelion
root, rooibos and green teas to provide
my body with antioxidants and
help cleanse my liver of all the residue
from the medications I was still taking.
I made fresh juices of carrots, ginger, cucumber,
apple, aloe and chlorella. I limited
my intake of meats, dairy and sugars
and started taking flax oil and a probiotic
supplement to replenish the good
bacteria that prolonged medication use depletes. Within months, I began to feel
stronger. I gained weight and had energy.
My digestion began to improve.
I went back to my doctor with the
story of my success. I couldn’t wait to
tell him that I was ready to stop my
medicines. I still remember how he
looked me in the face and explained
how I needed to be on the drugs for
the rest of my life. I argued with him,
telling him I wanted to slowly wean
myself off them. Taking my hands in
his, he assured me that without the
medications I would be in the hospital
having another piece of my intestines
removed within three months.
This time, I didn’t listen. I knew I had
to do it my way. I devised my own plan
and gradually weaned myself off of every
drug I was taking. As I discontinued each
of them, I felt an increased sense of independence
along with a sense of power.
I no longer had to rely on anything external to keep me well. I now possessed
the tools to heal my own body.
Life without drugs
Today, a decade after my diagnosis, I’m
happy to say I’ve been managing my
health without prescription drugs for close to seven years. I look and feel
healthy. I have faith in my body’s
ability to heal itself. Although my
digestive system remains my body’s
“barometer”—if I’m getting a cold or
working too hard, I feel it in my gut first—I really don’t have symptoms as
long as I pay attention to those signals
and take care of myself. I have confidence
that with proper nourishment
my digestive problems will eventually
be gone for good.
As much as I’ve suffered, my
experiences have led me to a greater
wisdom about and appreciation for life
and health. In fact, in 2000 I went to
graduate school for nutrition, and I am
now a certified holistic health counselor
with my own nutritional consulting
business. I consult with clients and teach
natural foods cooking classes. I’ve found
that I love working with others and seeing
their lives and health improve. Good
nutrition is really so simple. Plus, it’s a lot
tastier than 28 pills a day.
Debbie Sarfati is a certified holistic health
counselor and owner of Whole Nourishment in
Boulder, Colo.
Read Debbie's Critical Autobiography
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