Who is This Chick

My name is Jo.  I’m a stubborn, PO’d 28 year old, ambitious working professional that’s tired of getting my ass kicked by Crohn’s disease.

I was first diagnosed with Crohn’s in April 2010 (age 27) after experiencing my first mega-flare.  I missed a few weeks of work trying to figure out what was going on.  Colonscopy / pathology came back: “Young lady, you have Crohn’s.”

My first doc put me on prednisone for 4 months.  I turned into a fatty (moon face, camel hump, and all that awesome stuff). Gained a sexy 15 lbs on the preds, and still had no improvement. Weight was now 135 (much of it puffiness and water) and it sucked.

Got a new GI because the last guy seemed to think that pumping me up full of more prednisone would stop the inflammation, after 4 months of no results.  At this point, I was going to the bathrooms about 9x a day and no relief- weight, 130lbs.

My new doc prescribed Humira, and I jumped on it like most do, eager to get back to work and get me back in remish. For a year, it worked and I was back to a good 125lbs- being mindful of what I ate, but still divulging into the breads, pizzas, and chocolate more than I needed to.  The docs told me to eat whatever I want, so I guess I did.

Then in July 2011, I developed antibodies to my Humira and saw my inflammation getting worse.  Was working through it- developed arthritis, joint pain, and extreme fever.  I ended up landing myself in the hospital by labor day weekend, and was there for a week.

I went to one of the top GIs in the midwest the day after I left the hospital.  He admitted me into his hospital stat for an overnight stay so I could try Remicade.

As I got prodded by 9 lab coats, the main doc told me to “eat whatever you want” after losing 15 lbs in two weeks.   They served me hospital food full of gravy… and I’m not even kidding, brought me a brownie.  This is for someone who’s had D for the past 2 months in a flare.  It doesn’t matter if I was 108 lbs- brownies really weren’t the thing to try to fatten me up, guys.

As they were starting to setup the Remicade, I said I didn’t want to take it.  I spent a week in the hospital researching Remicade, Humira, Imuran, and a natural approach: The Specific Carbohydrate Diet.  This is the approach I’m taking.

SCD doesn’t work for everyone.  But I owe it to myself to give it a goddamn try.  Because deep down inside I know that what I eat affects how I poop.  I started September 8, 2011 and I’m going to keep going at this. If it succeeds, I’ll let you know. If it fails, I’ll let you know.