GUT
PATIENT – CROHN
FOREWORD
My name is Tommi Sundqvist from Finland, 46 years today (2015). After loosing my health for decades and gaining it back with determination my mission is simple: Be healthy and share the knowledge. I write my story as an inspiration to you – to anyone – who wants to live healthier. I have a severe Crohn´s disease (inflammatory bowel disease, IBD, an autoimmune disease). Since the changes that started in my life at 2004 I have lived 100% better quality of life. It took 35 years for me to find better solutions for the rest of my life. I hope you don´t have to look them as hard as I did. If you find at least one good tip to improve your life from this story – it makes this worth writing.
Topics
- Why I chose my path
- Putting medicine on hold
- Autoimmune diseases
- My TOP-14 in getting better
Important
Disclaimer!
In
serious conditions like Crohn´s, please always seek medical advice
from your doctor. The choices I made, may not work for you cause we
are all individuals. If you do anything recommended, without the
supervision of a licensed medical doctor, you do so at your own risk.
This information is provided with the hope that it
may be helpful for those who choose to take a greater responsibility
for their own health.
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WHY I CHOSE MY PATH?
Small
choices we make every day have
a greater meaning in our life
than we may understand. The following choices have helped me
enormously. Even if
I can´t get rid of Crohn´s, the
goal is to live symptom free life.
I had to be 35 years before I really understood that it´s possible
for myself.
The decision what I made was not easy and
didn´t happen overnight. I
was steadfast on one thing:
No
matter what the change is going to be,
I will do it!
Doctors words were pretty much always this: You can treat Crohn´s with medicine and with surgery if it gets really bad. Food doesn´t have a big role in this disease. So, I had been taking medicine (Asacol, Prednison, Pentasa, Remicade etc.) for about 15 years (ages 19-35) without a solution. Same time I also ate like many young people do. Too much fast food, sugary sweets and grain (glutein). Now I realise that they were not good for me. Doctors who took care of me were not educated enough to tell about nutrition and how food can either destroy or heal your gut. My way of learning was the hard way and I most definitely don´t suggest that to anyone.BLESSING IN DISGUISE
I
thank the head
surgeon who made the 2nd operation to save my life. I also
now understand that all these happenings had a bigger meaning.
Crohn´s disease has been a
blessing to me in the long run, allthough I had to go through hell by
constant pain, diarrea, anemia, bowel
obstructions,
osteopenia,
surgery, temporary stoma etc.
Also the medicines I got didn´t help me enough.
To be honest, I was lost until the age of 35. I remember 2003
christmas when everyone else was eating in the table and I was trying
to zip blueberry drink in the sofa, legs up so that it wouldn´t hurt
so much. Things went terribly wrong in every scale in 2003, I
couldn´t eat anything without vomiting. I was put in a surgery ,
where part of my intestines were to be removed. Here are some major
happenings concerning the surgery that made me change my life.
1. January 5th 2004 first surgery, 1,2 m of small intestin was removed. After a week it was discovered that it has failed. Huge pain despite of pain pump use.
1. January 5th 2004 first surgery, 1,2 m of small intestin was removed. After a week it was discovered that it has failed. Huge pain despite of pain pump use.
2. 12th
of january 2004 Emergency operation, opened, fixed and sealed again,
this time a temporary stoma (3 months) was put in order to calm the
rest of intestines. The operation and stoma was a life-saver.
3. I got
MRSA from a fellow patient, who went crazy and took all his drips
/ cannulas away and landed
on my stomach which was just
operated. Outch! I
thought what else is going to happen? I was not the happiest guy in
the planet that time.
PUTTING MEDICINE ON HOLD
A removal programme from MRSA was planned. It consisted of 3 different antibiotics at the same time. My intestines were bombed with many antibiotics before the surgery and after, so that´s when I finally decided to open my eyes with medication. I felt like I had to try something else. I refused to eat those antibiotics (partially of a fear of clostridium difficile, antibiotic diarrea that can cause severe damage to your body´s overall resistance). Same time I decided to try and treat Crohn´s mainly with natural way, without medicin which started by changing my diet upside down. I´m still on that road and it´s been 11 years so far!
SLOW
RECOVERY AND BIG DECISIONS
So here
I was lying home, my weight at 49 kg/108 lbs and had no idea what
happens next. I had one thing clear, I desided to do everything I can
on my part to be healthy again. If I have to get rid of unhealthy
food, I will. It wasn´t easy. How to say No to chocolate when you
crave for it? So of course I tried, I took two bites of chocolate and
my intestins started leaking blood. It was that serious for me. If I
wanted to stay healthy, I had no other choice than quit sugary
sweets, burgers etc. for 1-2 years. Today when I´m in good shape, my
intestins can take little amounts of sweets, but I prefer raw cocoa
bar instead of a chocolate bar. The life-lasting gathering of
information started that time.
BACKGROUND ABOUT CROHN AND OTHER AUTOIMMUNITY DESEASES (AD)
Crohn’s
disease is a chronic inflammatory condition of the gastrointestinal
tract. Bear in mind that when reading about IBD-inflammatory bowel
diseases, it is important to know:
1. Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis are different types of IBD. The symptoms of these two illnesses are quite similar, but the areas affected in the gastrointestinal tract (GI tract) are different.
1. Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis are different types of IBD. The symptoms of these two illnesses are quite similar, but the areas affected in the gastrointestinal tract (GI tract) are different.
2.
Crohn’s most commonly affects the end of the small bowel (the
ileum) and the beginning of the colon, but it may affect any part of
the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, from the mouth to the anus.
3. Ulcerative colitis is limited to the colon, called the large intestine.
4. Symptoms include: low abdominal pains, diarrea, bloody diarrea, fewer, losing weight, anemia
5. It is treated with medication and surgery
3. Ulcerative colitis is limited to the colon, called the large intestine.
4. Symptoms include: low abdominal pains, diarrea, bloody diarrea, fewer, losing weight, anemia
5. It is treated with medication and surgery
AUTOIMMUNE
DISEASES ARE GROWING
To name
few AD´s there are diagnoses like Rheumatoid artritis, Multiple
sclerosis
(MS),
Psoriasis, Crohn, Ulcerative colitis, Scleroderma, Lupus, Type
1-diabetes, Thyroid disease etc. Autoimmunity contributes to more
than 100 serious cronic (and growing) illnesses that involve almost
every organ system in the body. It
is estimated that even 10% of the western world people has at least
one AD. Women are more likely
to have AD,
some statistics say 75% are women. It is believed that women´s
immune system is ”softer” to the autoimmunity response.
AD is
an illness that occurs when the
body tissues are attacked by its own immune system. Imagine
you´re playing football and suddenly your teammates are attacking
your own goal. You would be
more than amazed. What the fans
would say about
that? So you need a great
coach. Today researchers are trying an age-old trick to teach the
immune system that the body's cells and proteins are not the enemy.
Science
progresses every day, but so far there is no cure or a simple,
universally effective treatment for AD. Some patients get some relief
from medicine like I did from Remicade infusion. Its downsides are
the costs (2500 € / 400 ml / every two months) and side-effects as
in many medicines that forced me to stop taking it.
In allergy problems the immune system learns to tolerate larger and larger doses of the problem substance — scientists also hope that would work for AD. Unable to get the idea to work in practice, doctors have turned to silencing the patient’s entire immune response with medications. If you tell your defensive linemen that it´s ok to let the bad guys to pass what is the endresult? (*2)
The CD4
T cell is thought to play a vital role in the immune response
resulting in inflammation within the central nervous system (CNS).
When scientist find how to control CD4 T cell we may have a good
solution to all autoimmune diseases. (*3)
AD IS NOT CONTAGIOUS
You
cannot catch an autoimmune disease from another person like you a
virus or bacteria. Autoimmune diseases are not contagious by sex or
by blood. The only known transfer of autoimmunity occurs between
mother and fetus during pregnancy, and even that is still rare even
in affected mothers.
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1. Good
relationship and family support from your loved one´s are keys on
path to recovery just like in my case, that´s why I thank my spouse
for being my support.
2.
Reducing the following items.
- commercial sweets
- commercial sweets
- bread
and other glutein-products
- sugary
drinks, cider´s and other alcohol-products
-
smoking and drinking has never been a big part of my life
Lowering carbohydrates with SCD-diet was crucial in 2004-2006. It has changed after that, but still the golden idea comes from SCD.
Lowering carbohydrates with SCD-diet was crucial in 2004-2006. It has changed after that, but still the golden idea comes from SCD.
3.
Home-made yogurt 2004-2006 was a big part of my recovery (SCD)
4.
Smoothies, great way to get nutrition in your body.
5.
Vitamin-D, minimum
of 100 µg / daily. Tests
indicate a potential role of
vitamin D in the prevention of autoimmunity deseases, allthough more
tests are still needed. (*4)
6. Vegetarian food. When intestines have recovered after 2006 I have added more vegetarian and raw food in to my diet, meat is occasionally in allthough I can feel myself better without it.
6. Vegetarian food. When intestines have recovered after 2006 I have added more vegetarian and raw food in to my diet, meat is occasionally in allthough I can feel myself better without it.
7.
Chocolate and sweets. I have changed it 95% to a ”homemade”
version without white sugar and other sweeteners and additives
8.
Stress. This subject is one of the toughest one to beat and is
ongoing.
9.
Aikido and yoga relax my body. I´m very active in sports, also
ice-hockey, gym, cross-fit belong to my favorites.
10.
Being in nature and travelling are our getaways
11. A
will to be healthy was enormous and I was willing to make the changes
needed.
12. An
allergytest made me aware what food I should eat less or have a total
break
13. I allowed me to be sick and to recover. One of the biggest obstacles in allowing you to be what you are is your ego. That is an ongoing prosess :)
13. I allowed me to be sick and to recover. One of the biggest obstacles in allowing you to be what you are is your ego. That is an ongoing prosess :)
14. HESE
– A SPECIAL DOG
Dog can
be part of the cure. One of the miracles happened when my spouse,
Heli got information at 2004 that we will have a 3 yeard old labrador
in our house who needed home. He came the same day I came from the
hospital. Isn´t that amazing timing!
His
name was Hese, funny coincidence, but he was named after a fastfood
chain in Finland. I remember when he had been with us a short time –
we went to lake nearby and there were ice partially still in the
water. Hese saw a ball on ice and I immediately realised that he will
have problems after falling in the ice. So I jumped in the water with
my stoma and pulled him out with all my (weak) strenght I had. That
bonded him even more to me and to our family. He was most definitely
an angel and blessing to my recovery. Did you know that interacting
and petting animals creates a hormonal response in humans that can
help fight depression. Hese helped me to live in this moment and
enjoy it fully. We noticed the change in Hese´s health if we gave
him lower quality dry-food vs raw food. His fur was so much better
and eyes were clear when he got raw food. Also omega-3 was good for
him. That motivated me also to make healthier choices. Hese lived a
healthy and a happy life till the age of 13 (2014). He will be
remembered forever.
Sources:
1. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16531187
2. http://www.healthline.com/health-news/off-switch-for-autoimmune-diseases-090514
3. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18207698
4. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22776787
I will reveal more in the near future.
I wish you all the best in your life!
Tommi Sundqvist
tommisun(at)gmail.com
