The Specific Carbohydrate Diet - testimonials [3] Date: Sat, 13 Jun 1998 18:58:47 -0500 From: "Montrel A. King" To: SCD-list@longisland.com Subject: success To all of the SCD subscribers: I am Jennifer King and I am a 3rd grade teacher in Missouri. I have Irritible Bowel Syndrome and have been diagnosed for 7 years. I found Elaine's diet by talking with a friend whose mother was on the diet. I used to spend all day in the bathroom as many of you have, but my job does not facilitate such an inconvenience. Every time I ran to the bathroom, I basically risked a lawsuit leaving my students alone! Anyway, July 1, 1998 will be my one year anniversary on the diet. I have followed it faithfully and my life has changed for the better. I am a nice jovial human being again! I vowed that I would not do anything to change my diet during the school year, but now that summer is here I have made a few changes and I have not felt the same since. I added bread back into my diet and at first it was great. It was sinfully great. But I have overdone it a bit and I need to get back to the basics. I am currently taking Elavil (anti-depressant to work as an anti-spasmotic), Paxil (anxiety), and Prilosec (for gas.) Does anyone out there take any of these medicines as well as follow the diet? If so, I would like to hear from you. I am having trouble getting motivated to go back to the diet in full force. It is hard once you have splurged a bit. I am so proud of myself for being 100% faithful for 10 months and if you have experienced what I am going through, I would love to hear from you as well. One more thing, I have been experiencing panic attacks for the past year and a half and I have read about the bowel-brain connection. I was wondering if anyone else could shed the light in this area. Thanks so much, Jennifer King
Date: Sat, 13 Jun 1998 23:49:25 -0600 From: aagvani@muse.sfusd.k12.ca.us (Steve Hooker/Annie Agvanian) To: SCD-list@longisland.com Subject: ONE YEAR! Well, we didn't write down the exact date or anything like that, but Matt has been on the diet for a year this month. Things are going really well. Even his respiratory problems, which started at the same time as all his other symptoms, have finally all but gone away. He has gained weight consistently during this year. He had lost a considerable amount of weight prior to going on the SCD, not a good thing for a twelve year old to be doing. At thirteen he is active, gaining weight, and doing all the things his friends do except that hanging out at McDonald's is pretty out of the questions. Luckily, his friends don't do a lot of that anyway. Thanks to everyone who has been of assistance.
Date: Sun, 14 Jun 1998 08:46:08 -0400 From: "Jim" Subject: Re: Added Bread Back into diet I have been on the diet faithfully since 12/24/96 and I never felt better, I have Crohn's by the way. I was diagnosed with Crohn's 7 years ago. I have started cheating I am not going to lie around 5 months now. I still feel the same great! My stool hasn't changed, my stomach doesn't hurt and no blood at all. The food that I am cheating with is bread. My weight on 12/24/96 was 125lb my weight now is 189lb WOW! Prior to my first Crohn's attack I did weigh 186lb (this is my normal weight). Well if anything changes for me I will keep you posted but, so far so good. Jim Prousalis President J-Pro Contracting Inc. For All Your Contracting Needs j-pro@mindspring.com Serving New York
Date: Fri, 03 Jul 1998 08:11:17 -0500 Cc: SCD-list@longisland.com Subject: Re: SCD diet Yorktown Estates wrote: > I am curious about how long it was until you noticed significant changes > in symptoms, how long it was until you were able to get off medication > (if you were in it), and if you plan to stay on the diet for the rest of > your life. I also would like to know what foods, if any, that were > deemed acceptable for the diet, might have caused problems for you. Did > you ever consider surgery? I started the diet 2 1/2 years ago. I have Colitis. I noticed changes in 2 weeks, which were significant. My swelling went down, my urgency to go went down. I still had some bleeding, which only fully went away for a few 2-3 week periods at a time. MY spirits went way up. It was quite a while after that before I "found myself" at a higer level of remission, it is a slow, slow process. I feel that it took "resigning myself" to being on the diet for psychophysiological changes to occur to offset the frustration and discouragement of being chronically ill. I stopped meds after about 6 months on the diet. I should be on asacol, as a day-to-day maintenence drug which is supposed to help you stay in remmision, but I think it increases my bleeding. So I find that I just stop taking it. I had achieved a level of remission in March of this year that led me to believe that I had "gotten all I was going to get" from the diet. All the mucus, swelling and accompanying urgency to move bowels had disappeared. I had occasinal sporadic showings of blood in my stool, but nothing like what I had experienced before going on the diet. I had long given up any medication. A happy camper, I was. I started "reintroducing foods." I figured corn (in the form of tortilla chips and my own custom corn bread recipe) and rice, and beer were good starting points. Much to my delight, I was able to handle them without any adverse symptoms - at first. I noticed a significant boost in energy, most likely from the carbohydrates, and put an extra maybe 7 pounds on, I felt more substantial. Once I started putting ketchup on burger patties, and allowed myself to go out to restaurants, the symptoms started creeping back until -- WHAM! I was having a relapse! Now, 3 weeks later, on 15 mg of prednisone and back on the diet "with fanatical adherance" I find that I'm coming around again. I think if I had tread more lightly, or waited another 6 months, I would have been less succeptiple to having this relapse. BUT - I've learned now that the diet definitely alleviates the most bothersome symptom for me, the constant urge to go. I'm doing rather well, I must say. I feel good. But, some of that new-found carbo-induced energy is gone (replaced by the racey steroid induced frenzical state that prednisone puts me in). I expect that I'll be able to taper off the prednisne in another couple of weeks, thanks to eating only foods legal to the diet. I'm also back to being sensitive to stuff like grape skins, which are irritating to my stomach, but I don't feel that I'm back to square one by a longshot. If you ar pondering whether or not to take the plunge and do the diet, you would be foolish not to give it a shot. It must be done with 100% commitment, from my experience. Treat it like a religion, and you are the high priest. Matthew Cirillo
Date: Tue, 7 Jul 1998 10:15:57 -0700 From: "paulah" Subject: Flare after 2 & 1/2 years Hi, I've been on the SCD for 2 &1/2 years and I'm experiencing a bad Crohn's flare. Several things brought it on. First I had my teeth cleaned - that has always given me some trouble, maybe swallowing the plaque that is scraped off sets off my immune system. Second during the few days after the teeth cleaning, I ate some fresh cherries - only about five or so, but even after 2 yrs. on SCD I still can't eat fruit. Then a few days later while still not feeling so great I ate dinner at a friends house. It was a BBQ, so there probably was a little sugar in the BBQ sauce, plus I ate about 1 Tbs. of baked beans -also probably had sugar in it. These are very small amounts especially for someone on the diet for over 2 years. Well I'm now in 40mg prednesone a day for the last 5 days. It has helped, but now I want to taper off as fast as possible. I'm wondering what some of you have experienced as far as tapering down and how quickly you have done it. of course I'm being very strict with diet - only cooked meat and vegetables - not fruit or dairy or honey. Thanks, Paula
Date: Wed, 8 Jul 1998 03:48:08 -0500 To: "'SCD-list@longisland.com'" Subject: RE: SCD Questions I have been on SCD for almost two years: (1) Acid reflux gone almost immediately. (2) Constipation and D gone after 8 - 9 weeks. (3) I have learned to listen closely to my body. Lately I have been cheating on the diet to see what would happen. So far, I can sense when the food is not agreeing with me (pizza) (chips)etc., and I immediately go back to the diet. It has been a year with no symptoms. But my body seems to say it is not ready yet. If it means that I will have to eat grilled salmon seasoned with Cajun spices, meatloaf made with a combo of turkey, pork and beef (lightened with V8), delicious nut muffins and smoothies for breakfast, pies made with almond flour crust, lasagna made with zucchini - I think I can enjoy it. In fact it seems like a very healthy life choice to me. Gerry
Date: Mon, 13 Jul 1998 22:22:08 +0200 From: ka_bart_cmt@juno.com (Karen A Bartlett) To: SCD-list@longisland.com Subject: Doctor update I went to my doctor today and he released me. He said I didn't need to come back unless I had a problem. He said I really hadn't had a real flare-up for over a year. I told him that is because I have been on this diet for that long. He still does not think that the diet is what has made me feel better. I am by no means completely cured. There are some days that my side hurts, but it is not bad and does not last. I was so glad to released from the doctor after 4 years. I am not on any medication, but plan on staying on scd for the rest of my life. I had to share this news with those people who understand how exciting this is . Karen
Date: Mon, 27 Jul 1998 09:34:28 -0700 From: "Linda To: SCD-list@longisland.com Subject: Is this the right diet for me? Dear HLachs@aol.com, (I didn't get your name). I had the same problem you do. I was usually constipated and sometimes felt as if I had a basketball in my gut, I was that bloated! Off and on this would reverse to D, which many times I welcomed as it gave me relief. Just before going on the SCD, Sept. 27, 1997, I also began bleeding. Another problem was extreme chest pain along with sharp pains around my heart, which fortunately ended up to be from my stomach, not my heart. My theory on that was that all the stuff sitting in my intestines, due to constipation, was causing gas to back up into my stomach. The SCD has helped me become 'regular', which equates to one good bm in the morning. I leave the house for work feeling light and good. I very rarely experience the chest pain or sharp stomach pains now. I still have to work at it though, because there are certain foods that are allowed on the SCD that give me an adverse reaction. If I have a bad day, I can usually track it back to a particular food, usually some type of fruit. I have also cheated on occasion and I can declare without a doubt that grains will bring back the constipation immediately and can last for 4-5 days. So breads, pasta, anything with flour in it is harmful. My doctor wanted me to also try a diet that would be right for my blood type. I have not completely implemented it because combined with the SCD, it restricts me even further. One thing that the blood type diet would allow is corn, which the SCD does not. So my doctor said to experiment, one food at a time if I want. Well, I tried corn (I love chips and salsa). I do not recall having an immediate gut reaction, i.e. constipation, but it did bring back my eczema, which some research has shown, the scaly condition of the skin is an outward sign of what is occurring in the intestines. I can summarize all of this by saying, I have tried the SCD, and I have tested it with somewhat controlled experiments, and my conclusion is, it works! And it doesn't pay to cheat. When I started the SCD I hoped it would be a temporary thing, maybe 2 or 3 years. But I have adopted the attitude that the SCD is the way for me to eat. Since it has made such a difference in my life, I don't look at it as temporary anymore, and I also don't see it as restrictive. I have read that when you continue to eat foods that you are allergic to you will gain weight. I had gained an unwanted 25 lbs. I would also notice, when I was experiencing bloating, I could gain 5 lbs in one day! I have lost that 25 lbs and am back to my ideal body weight. The daily weight fluctuations have diminished as well. Sorry for making this so long. I hope you try the SCD, and I hope you get the same relief that I have. You will want to be fanatic about it, especially for the first 4 weeks, to see if it is going to help you. Regards, Linda
Date: Wed, 29 Jul 1998 21:20:57 -0700 (PDT) To: scd-list@longisland.com Subject: Hello from Northern B.C. This is my first time on the chat site. I was diagnosed in April with Celiac. During my first month my Naturopath and I added pancreatic enzymes, plantzymes, Bile, HCL and Pepsin, Carbamide. I am already taking biotin and folic acid, calcium, magnesium etc. etc. Within the first month of gluten free and my new supplements, I felt alot better. Prior to being diagnosed I lost 20 pounds in 3 months. I now weigh 98 pounds and am 5'7". A little bit slim for my liking! As well, prior to April 5th, I was a vegetarian for 2 years as I thought that I was doing my body a favour cutting out the meat. I had problems digesting it but now as I think back it was probably what I ate with it that was causing the problem. For my entire life, I have been affected by digestive and constipation problems and just sort of learned to live with it as "this is me". My energy levels in March 1998 were so low that I was sleeping most of the day and had incredible headaches and stomach aches (especially after eating - in the gallbladder area). I am now a meat & veggie eating-aholic! and have never felt better! On May 25th I dug out my copy of "Food and Gut Reaction" by Elaine Gottschall that I had purchased about 5 years ago, read, put away and thought that I could never eat like that. As of that date I have been on the SCD. It was about a month after that and I really started to notice the increase in energy. Like wow! Up to May 25th I was feeling OK but new there was still something wrong. I like a few others (notes that I have read on the chat line) dove right in and was eating nuts etc and salads from day one as I didn't really read the instructions properly. Something else that I notices as I reread the book a few days ago was that seeds are not allowed. I've been eating tahini and sunflower seeds quite a bit. No more now though. I have a few questions that I was hoping for input if possible. I still am constipated. I went to see a different ND who told me that at one time in my life, I have had the Epstein Barr Virus (I cann't seem to remember having it) and that the symptoms will be low grade for the rest of my life. He said that this causes improper liver function, therefore poor elimination as well. I was unable to take the homeopathic tincture (barberry) as it made my feel fatigue and have a horrible headache. Have you heard of this and do you think that it could cause the constipation. I still also have an "Oily substance" that I see in the toilet water, when I go to the bathroom. What does this mean. Could it be from the seeds that I have been eating?? Not digesting the fat?? I have not gained any weight back yet and cannot wait to put it back on. I read some of the info about certain veggies (squash, pumpkin, turnip) that may do it and I will increase this in my diet asap. Any other recommendations? Would eating smaller meals 4 x a day be good? I was taking a colloidal mineral drink prior to being diagnosed called "Longlife Minerals". It has all 90 colloidal minerals and a few other added nutrients such as nopal cactus, 100% soluable fibre. It is in a base of crystalline fructose, potassium gluconate, magnesium gluconate, citric acid, malic acid, calcium gluconate, zinc gluconate, potassium benzonate, potassium sorbate, copper gluconate etc. etc. I think the colloids are good but the base is not allowed on the SCD. Therefore, can you recommend a product that would give me the collodial minerals. Do you think they are a good thing??? Is gray hair (I am 29) caused by my body being starved of nutrients? Will it turn brown again? What can you do for a prolapsed bowel?? I also have another bit of information that I would like to share. I have just recently read "Eat Right for your Blood Type", by Peter D'Adamo. It is really an interesting book. One thing that fascinated my was that I am a Type "O" and the diet that he outlines for Type "O"'s is very close to the SCD. I am interested to know how many people there are out there that have Celiac etc. are Type "O" people???? The Type "O" is known as the "Meat Eater - Hunter Gatherer" and was the first known blood type for prehistoric man. There is a web site about the "Paleolithic Diet" if anyone is interested. On this diet the individual eats only what the Hunter Gatherer would have ate back then - meat, veggies, certain legumes, certain nuts, no dairy, no grains and no potatoes. The Type "A" came along later when mankind began growing food for agricultural purposes. They Type "A" is the vegetarian and can tolerate the grains and dairy but isn't very tolerable red meat etc. I apologize for dragging on so long, but I thought is was interesting and Food for Thought!!!! Hee Hee I feel really good, the best in years (have been losing weight for about 4 years now). I would like to sincerely thank Elaine Gottschall for writing both of her books and giving me a new life. I also enjoyed the new information about Celiac in "Breaking the Viscous Cycle". I can actually think straight again and have colour in my face! We have been trying for children for a few years now and can now hopefully see them in the future sometime. I look forward to helping anyone I can with this information. I look forward to any of your knowledge when you have a moment!!! Thank you again! Lisa Quigley Fort St. John, British Columbia
Date: Mon, 17 Aug 1998 09:48:24 -0400 From: paulasirois@juno.com (Paula Sirois) To: SCD-list@longisland.com Subject: Re: chat site Dear Niall, This diet has been the answer to our prayers of the last three-and-a-half years. My son was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis at 11. We tried alternative therapies ranging from acupuncture to hypnosis, as well as prednisone, Asacol, sulfasalazine and cortisone enemas. Nothing made much difference. Now, I can happily report that at fourteen, he is doing much much better, after only three months on the Specific Carbohydrate Diet. He has improved tremendously, and his response was startlingly obvious within only two days of starting the elimination of certain (most) carbohydrates. The book to get is Breaking the Vicious Cycle, by Elaine Gottschall, and it will answer all your specific questions. If you don't have it yet, be sure to order it from Barnes and Noble. It is a dream come true for us. My heart goes out to you and your family. You need not watch your son suffer like this, despite what the doctors say: there is help available. And is not difficult to integrate into your lifestyle, so you can now begin to relax into accepting that you have just stumbled across a miracle. Love, Paula
Date: Mon, 31 Aug 1998 19:52:11 -0400 From: "Jim Prousalis" Subject: Re: Update I have been on this wonderful diet since 12/24/96 I was at my worst, I was diagnosed with Crohn's 7 years ago. Never had surgery and was told that I should have due to my blood count and to my massive weight loss. I was on med's like prednisone, asacol, etc. up until 3/97 I was told that I would need to stay on asacol or 6mp for the rest of my life. I guess I had to prove them wrong. Off all med's eating bread and potatoes, so far so good. Good luck to all and GOD bless Diane. Jim Prousalis President J-Pro Contracting Inc. For All Your Contracting Needs
Date: Thu, 3 Sep 1998 04:31:20 -0400 From: "Steven A. Melnick" To: SCD-list@longisland.com Subject: Re: Smoking I have been on the diet for 2 years with tremendous (perhaps miraculous!) results. I do occassionally enjoy a cigar (every few days) and have done so for years. It was not until I went on this diet that remission occurred. In fact, I was on a serious downward spiral until I started the SCD. The diet works. Stick with it. Steven
Date: Mon, 3 Aug 1998 21:12:31 -0400 From: paulasirois@juno.com (Paula Sirois) To: SCD-list@longisland.com Subject: The FUN Factor Hi Rachel, When my son was going to the bathroom twelve to fourteen times a day, he never had to break from the roller hockey ring during a game or practice. I always figured it was the sheer exhilaration he was experiencing when he played. And it never failed to bring me to a state of tearful joy to watch him in the rink, zooming around at top speed. For a while, I hoped we could move beyond this illness by focusing on the emotional realm. We tried to do it through hypnosis, acupuncture, biofeedback, three and a half years of homeopathy....not much happened. If we could've kept him surrounded by friends, on roller blades...twenty four hours a day...perhaps, but that wasn't all together feasible. We are so grateful for Elaine's dedication and SCD. It has turned Daniel's life around. Right now, he is out for a bike ride on a summer evening...away from the bathroom, just being a teenager. Life is good. With Love, P
Date: Wed, 26 Aug 1998 09:47:28 EDT To: SCD-list@longisland.com Subject: Re: Off to college My daughter Chanelle is off to college this Saturday. It is a miracle when you consider that last Oct. she was in the hospital receiving three blood transfusions along with massive doses of antibiotics and cortisone. It was touch and go for a week if she would need emergency surgery for toxic mega colon. She started the SCD diet in Dec. and has followed it with fannatical adherance ever since.She has been good about it, never once complaining "why me?" She did suffer two bad flare ups at the three and six month marks.Both of these flare up occured when she got down to low doses of prednisone(once at 7 mg and once at 0) Each time she needed to go baack to 40mg. to put the fire out.We have never had the courage to try to get through a flare up without drugs because of how fast and hard it hit her the first time. Anyway she has been on 8 mg. all summer and holding while we slowly switched her from Asacol to Sulfasaline (because of the lactose filler in Asacol). She looks great (no gross side effects of prednisone) feels great, and is so joyfilled about going to college. I have been cooking for weeks and freezing so I can send her whatever she needs to supplement the food plan. She will have a small ref.-freezer right in her room and a full kitchen on her floor she can use. The food director is a doll and said he will do anything he can to help her. If there is a will there is a way. We are determined not to let UC run her life and make her decisions for her. She was an honor student in HIgh School and played varsity lacrose dispite her UC. We are so grateful to Elaine and the SCD and to all of you for not having to feel alone and for all the great info. you all share with us. Love Jill
Date: Wed, 9 Sep 1998 20:59:40, -0500 From: DCournoyer@prodigy.com (MR DAVE COURNOYER) To: scd-list@longisland.com Subject: Our Story -- [ From: David Cournoyer * EMC.Ver #2.5.3 ] -- We thought we should give our story since we know about lots of you. Ten years ago, we were active professionals. First Shannon mysteriously got sick followed a few months later by Dave. He was eventually diagnosed as UC. Shannon was never diagnosed - the symptoms were too mysterious (nauseous, weak, nervous, parasites). Believe me, not knowing is worse than knowing. And for both of us to be sick at the same time with similar symptoms was very strange. Dave had diarhhea and Shannon didn't usually. Dave has seen 15 doctors in 4 states with no relief. Several batches of flagyl for parasites, followed by another parasite drug, the symptoms persisted. They put Dave on prednisone and sulfasalazine but it just made him worse. Doctors didn't help Shannon so she stopped going and tried natural approaches. This summer, we realized what it was: Lyme Disease we had gotten 12 years ago on a trip to New England. We read all of our symptoms on lymenet.org. We both went to the doctor because we didn't feel well shortly after the vacation and Shannon had the classic arthritis for several months. We had Dave tested (he has medical coverage) and it was positive. The only treatment for the late disseminated disease (meaning you've had it forever and it's fully entrenched) is months of I.V. antibiotics. Shannon's always been allergic to them. We've been searching for another answer. Dave's current doctor, a naturopath, put him on the blood type diet and Shannon joined him. It was a terrible experience where we both lost lots of weight we couldn't afford to lose but it led us to the web site where someone recommended the scd book. We discovered by elimination that grains were hurting us, one by one taking them away until we were almost on the scd diet anyway. Being on two separate diets was terrible (Dave's an O and Shannon's an A) With Dave's UC, we knew he should try the scd. Shannon went along because of the problem she was having with grains. The diet also kills bacteria, etc., so we knew it should work for Lyme Disease. Only three weeks later, we're both feeling somewhat better. We can see the rainbow on the other side. Over the course of this illness, we've lost everything. Neither of us can work. Dave is on disability. His symptoms were specific enough that he could be approved. We've gone bankrupt. Both of Shannon's parents died and she wasn't well enough to go to see them or their funerals (Shannon's family sees her as heartless ). This diet is truly a Godsend. Sorry we got so longwinded. Dave and Shannon Idaho
Date: Fri, 11 Sep 1998 08:40:41 -0400 To: SCD-list@longisland.com Subject: a UC moment >Luckily, she let me take a shower, wash my clothes >and borrow some of her clothes. It was a nightmare. I cried at the time - >but now I think its funny. Dear Cathy, I so admire your being able to look back at your incident and smile. I wish I could recall even one of mine without shuddering. Its been 3 & 1/2 years since I began remission on this diet. Your story brought back to mind my blackest moment, definately not an Oprah story. About 10 years ago, freinds bought tickets for our anneversary to see Elton John at madison square garden. I had to meet them & my husband at penn station, so I left work, going to the bathroom first of course. I walked the 2 blocks to the train station and as I walked up the stairs, IT hit me. I had to go SO bad. As the train approached, I seriously considered throwing myself in front of it to finally put an end to my miserable existance. I can actually feel myself standing there swooning, with the train whistle screaming its approach. I always carried underwear with me. I got on the train crying, and went into the 2 foot smelly bathroom. The floor was filthy and sticky with G-d knows what. I had to remove my shoes, trying to do one at a time, to take off my pants. It was just blood and mucous I'd released, but even so, it was so disgusting. By the time I met them, all I could think about was going home. It was the most miserable night of my life. I couldn't shake the horror of what I'd almost done. I kept saying nothing was wrong, until the train ride home when I burst into tears and told my husband what had happened, leaving out the suicide thoughts. In fact, I only told him of that recently. I'm grateful every day for Elaine, the diet and the wonderful life I almost threw away. Rachel
Date: Thu, 24 Sep 1998 13:46:04 -0500 From: porter@sprint.ca Subject: Ken is back--spread the SCD word! Last summer my husband, Ken (29 years old) was diagnosed with Crohn's Disease. He was 6'5", 210 lbs, and went down to 165 pounds in a VERY short time. Really, I thought we would lose him; we had no idea what was wrong and it seems our doctors didn't either. He was so sick that he had to go on disability for three months. During that time he learned about Breaking the Vicious Cycle. A man at work had a relative's young son who was "cured" by this diet. He was impressed with the fact that this woman was on television with Dini Petty! (I presume he meant Elaine.) He gave me the phone number and from there I went to the library and devoured the book. It made sense. Ken read it and agreed. He went on the diet and began to feel GREAT! He did not need to introduce new foods slowly, it was almost an instant remission. He gained back all his weight. Anyway because he felt so good, he decided he could go back to his old way of eating. I told the SCD list that I would lurk until Ken decided to return to the diet. I had to see him get crampy (D) and sick again, although not to the same extreme. We both knew that if he kept up eating this way, he could very well end up with colon cancer. So, a month ago, Ken went back on the diet. And once again, he is feeling great, as though he is not plagued with the disease at all! Being clergy in a stressful ministry, it is important that my husband remain healthy and strong. We are the Senior Chaplain Couple at a Rescue Mission, working with street men and women, and running a substance abuse recovery program for men. These are the outcasts of society and very hard to the core. Working at a Rescue Mission means dodging all types of traditional goodies on a daily basis: donuts, brownies, cakes, pies, breads of all kinds. Ken ate these every day! I'm surprised his relapse wasn't faster. It was actually so slow and gradual we barely noticed he was getting sick again. When I had told the SCD list what was happening, I recieved wonderful support from Rachel, Dan, and Val. You said that it would have to be his decision, but in the end he would have to come back to the diet as his remission would fail going back to a standard American diet. I am so appreciative of all of you on the list. I am grateful that Ken made the decision to go back on the diet, completely free from my nagging or hinting. Most of all I must give the thanks to G-d. Michelle PS. I hope this wasn't too long for you all. There is actually a moral to this story. Spread the word of this fantastic diet to everyone you know. Don't be ashamed and don't be shy. Word of mouth is a wonderful tool and if it were not for a man who knew very little about it except that it had helped a distant relative... where would my husband be today? Perhaps with the Lord. Who knows. PS. Rachel, is it possible to forward this letter to Elaine? I think she would be encouraged by it. Does she have email? Let me know please.
Date: Wed, 11 Nov 1998 20:44:00 -0600 (CST) From: Paul Fleming <pfleming@computerpro.com> To: SCD-list@longisland.com Subject: Re: Ryan's Story Hello All, I know this will be long, but I feel Ryan and I should tell his story now that he has made the 1 year mark. My son, Ryan, was diagnosed Jan. 1st, 1996 with Crohn's. He was in 8th grade at the time. His pediatrician had no idea of what his problem was, and told us to take Ryan to a GI specialist. The GI had Ryan undergo a CAT scan and upper GI. By the results of these two tests he was able to determine Ryan had Crohn's. We had never heard of this disease. He suggested prednisone for starters. By Feb. he was much worse. The GI suggested resectioning surgery. A colonoscopy detected that surgery could kill him, because the lining of his intestines was all but gone. The doctors had no answers, they suggested we take Ryan to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. While there Ryan was given extensive drug therapy. We took him home 3 weeks later, with 6 different prescriptions. Ryan did well on the drugs. As summer came he was doing very well. He was tapering off the drugs. As fall approached, Ryan began to flare. He was again put back on all the drugs. By Feb. of 1997 Ryan was back at the Mayo again. This time a resectioning was done; however, 3 weeks later Ryan was in pain, the symptoms were returning. The doctors at the Mayo did another colonoscopy and discovered the colon was now infected. By Oct. 1997, the doctors were advising more surgery. It was at this point that a doctor in the ER told us of his brother. He said his brother had Crohn's and after 5 years started a diet that helped him more than drugs. He gave us the name of Elaine's book and said, "you didn't hear this from me." It took a lot of phone calls and searching but finally found a local bookstore that could order the book for us. November 9, 1997 Ryan began the diet, within 4 days he started to feel relief. By the end of the first week, Ryan no longer had the bloody stools, the cramps, or the D. By the second week, Ryan was getting more energenic. He did experience the 2nd month flare, but it only lasted for 4 days. While on the diet, we started tapering Ryan's drugs. Ryan has now been drug free for 7 months. He does take vitamins, magnesium, potassium, and calcium. Most of these were suggested by members of the list, over the last year. Ryan and I have learned so much by reading through everyone's postings. Every time we had a question for the list, BINGO, someone else asked before we could. So, we just sat back and waited to read the posts. During August, we called Elaine to tell her of Ryan's success. She asked us to help spread the word. Well, we had already done that. We've told several people in our area. We even spoke to the Crohn's Support group in our area. I offer to help others get started if they want to commit to the diet. Our next plan is to buy enough copies of the book, to have them put in all branches of our public library. Good health. Marilyn (Ryan's mother) and Ryan (Duluth, MN) :-)
Date: Tue, 15 Dec 1998 13:59:51 -0000 From: "Neil Heyes" <n_heyes@thelab.force9.co.uk> To: "scd" <SCD-list@longisland.com> Subject: Colonoscopy Hi, I had to share this with the group: I have been on the diet for 3 months, and most of my symptoms have disappeared already, and yesterday I had a colonoscopy and they found no inflamation in the gut and no ulceration. I am so pleased, I had been on steroids for nearly 9 years in September, and now I am on no medication. This diet has really changed my life! Neil
Date: Wed, 23 Dec 1998 10:48:08 -0400 Sheri,
The quickie version: I was diagnosed at 17 with Crohn's Disease. I've
had one resection (6.5 years ago). I'm now 27 and teaching high school
math. A few weeks ago it would have been more accurate to say I was
trying to teach high school math, as I had no energy and was in very
frequent pain/discomfort which I just couldn't stand anymore. I know
where every public restroom is in many areas of NH, and I know the walls
of my bathroom at home more intimately than any other room! I was, even
more, just trying to survive. I knew the diet would help, as I had started it most of the way (some
cheating) over the summer and it helped significantly. I
couldn't/didn't maintain it completely once school started, and I had
gotten to the point 3 weeks ago where I was almost as sick as I had been
last June. I restarted at square one, and after 3 weeks I feel GREAT!! This is the
third day in a row I've had no discomfort to speak of. The trips to the
bathroom have decreased from at least 6-10 a day to between 2-4,
frequently (though not yet always) formed. These things really excite
me these days. It feels SO good. Last summer I had certain things I just couldn't resist, and I didn't
improve nearly as quickly as I have this time. Following the diet
strictly is definitely important. It helps even when you cheat, but it
won't have the chance to fully work it's magic. AND, once you start to feel better, it starts to be easier to maintain.
Now when I look at even my favorite forbidden foods, I connect them with
how sick I was not long ago. It was awful, and I NEVER want to be back
there. The more I associate certain foods with that pain, the less
appealing they seem. It helps a lot. So yes, the diet works. The last thing is, I too had the idea that I would be
sacrificing/investing a couple of years of difficultly in order to be
"over it" after that and never have to worry about it again. One thing
that has helped in the last 3 weeks, as compared to my summer attempt,
is that I realize that the diet itself is no sacrifice at all compared
to the sacrifice of not being able to live any kind of enjoyable life
when I was so sick. It starts to seem like a gift. Yes, I would like
to eat garlic bread again in a few years, but if I don't it's still
okay. I wasn't convinced of that until recently, but now I need no more
convincing. Good luck and keep us posted!! Nancy
Date: Thu, 24 Dec 1998 09:29:37 -0500 From: "Jim" <j-pro@mindspring.com> To: "SCD LONG ISLAND" <SCD-list@longisland.com> Subject: 2 YEARS ON DIET Today I have been on this wonderful diet for 2 years!
Date: Wed, 30 Dec 1998 19:36:02 -0700 From: "Mike Simons" <msimons@rtd.com> To: "*SCD List" <SCD-list@longisland.com> Subject: 2 Successful Years on the SCD Tomorrow marks the completion of my 2nd year on the SCD, and all is well. Many thanks to all of you for your support and guidance, and to Elaine for her groundbreaking work. Slowly but surely the "rest of the world" will realize that one can take significant steps on one's own to cure oneself. For those of you who have contributed to or wish to see my little diatribe, it's here: http://www.rtd.com/~msimons/healthy.htm Happy New Year to all of you! -Mike Simons Tucson AZ
Date: Mon, 14 Dec 1998 19:02:09, -0500 From: DCournoyer@prodigy.com (MR DAVE COURNOYER) To: SCD-list@longisland.com Subject: Elaine's Address Elaine said on the web site in a fax that she has 200 or so letters saying how the diet helped them. Wouldn't it be nice if for Christmas/Holidays she got a card from each person on here? That would be 200 more. Her address is: 396 Grills Road, R.R. #2, Baltimore, Ontario, Canada K0K 1C0 Shannon (UC and Lyme Disease) Idaho
Date: Tue, 19 Jan 1999 17:30:59 -0700 From: Partridge <raparch@planet.eon.net> To: <SCD-list@longisland.com> Subject: Re: HELP Dear Steve, I don't usually correspond, I'm more of a silent member of the group, but after reading your message I feel compelled to respond. I'll tell you a little bit about myself and my history with Crohn's Disease. I was diagnosed at the age of fifteen (I'm now 21) and much to my surprise because I didn't feel I was "dealing" with anything by any stretch of the imagination. I thought it was "normal" to be slightly fatigued and have boughts of diarreah which were few and far between. A colonoscopy soon showed I actually had extensive Crohn's all the way through the digestive tract and was anemic (which was causing the fatigue as a result of malabsorption and chronic bleeding - sometimes the blood loss can be so small over such a long period of time that we don't notice it.) Anyways, I more or less grumbled along without taking the drugs for about a year and then resorted to the horrible stuff - worst of all the prednisone. During all of this the SCD had always been surfacing, but I never really took it seriously, fooling myself with the reasoning "I'm just not sick enough". What I'm about to tell you next, makes me wish I had taken the SCD sooner and embraced it as the foundation to intestinal health that it is. In my last year of high school, I had a SEVERE exacerbation of my disease. I ended up in the hospital for a total of six weeks on TPN (kind-of like an intravenous feeding to give the intestine rest), MAJOR doses of prednisone, and the horror of surgery hanging over my head. My GI at the time felt that a complete colectomy (meaning having a pouch) was the only solution - without it I would deteriorate more and put my life in jeapordy is what he thought. I had never been so scared, but you can understand, as a young person, I was determined to leave no stone unturned in order to avoid "the knife". I talked my GI into letting me go home and and do nasogastric feeding (every night I would insert a tube through my nose, down my throat, and into my stomach to feed myself with liquid stuff much like Boost or Ensure), this in itself was horrible but still better to me than surgery and the pouch. This feeding sort of masked the symptoms of CD and then when I started to try to eat normally (still not smart enough to try the SCD, because there was no arguing that now I categorically was sick enough!) I was TERRIBLY ILL, couldn't leave the house as I needed a bathroom literally 24 hrs/day and now I was extremely underweight. Words cannot express how miserable I was. FINALLY, with the help of my parents I started the SCD. It's been 2 1/2 years since I made the commitment and I haven't looked back, I consider it my lifeline. It truly has given me my life back. My days are happy and fulfilled and best of all I'm physically entact. I'm not scared anymore of surgery because I have the best prevention of that in the SCD. I know I've been rather long-winded and I don't want to scare you I simply think you should see a professional, find out what is going on and if your official diagnoses is IBD, then I cannot more highly recommend the SCD. It's non-invasive and works - I'm living proof. All the best! Martine The Partridge Family (Edmonton)
Date: Sat, 30 Jan 1999 15:11:01 EST From: IRENKEN@aol.com To: SCD-list@longisland.com Subject: Re: Crohn's disease My husband has Crohn's disease - about 8 years now. He has been through alot. Nine months ago he went on this food plan. We found Elaine's book through a co-worker of mine. He is soooo much better. His last colonoscopy was excellent. There is hope.
Date: Thu, 04 Feb 1999 07:42:44 -0500 From: Nancy Emerson <nemerson@newfound.k12.nh.us> To: SCD-list@longisland.com Subject: Weight gain!! This is simply a triumphant success note!! I started really gaining some weight, slowly but surely, a few weeks ago, but this week it's really taken off! I had lost 25 lbs being sick and another 4 when I first started the diet. I have now gained back a total of 15 lbs! Another 10-15 and I'll be back to normal!! Yahoo!!!! I really I am going to have the rest of myself back again soon! Thank you so much to everyone who has given advice and suggestions and to those who have just read my messages. Writing to this list sometimes is just what I need to feel like someone out there is listening. THANK YOU EVERYONE!! Nancy
Date: Thu, 11 Feb 1999 13:31:33 PST I have been on the diet for just over a year and it has been a great
remedy for me. I have just recently discovered this list and it has
helped me a lot, and helped me stick with it. It is so good to hear
other peoples stories. I am from Kansas and wanted to know if there was
anybody else around here that was on the diet. I have been reading this
list for a while and just decided to get on and say something. I was
diagnosed with Crohn's when I had horrible gut pains. It was the night
before I was to go into the Darrien Jungle in Panama on a missions trip.
I has been a wild ride since then, but the diet has been a great help. Matt
Date: Thu, 25 Feb 1999 19:49:52 -0500 Well I have been on this wonderful diet for over 2 years now and I feel
"Thank God" cured! I am eating things that I really shouldn't be eating
with no adverse reaction. I stuck with the diet 110% for over a year.
After that I started to introduce foods real slow and nothing. I was
125 LB. on 12/24/96 and now I am 186 LB. I don't run to the bathroom 12
times a day, I don't feel any pain in my gut, and no bleeding. I am
currently eating on a regular basis bread, pasta, rice, milk, potatoes
and sugar type foods. I did not just throw all these foods down my
throat. First I introduced pasta for a few weeks, then bread, for a
couple of moths, etc. Good health and God bless,
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