Crohn’s Disease Treatment Without Medication

Sally was a pretty blonde young woman from New Zealand who had been suffering with diarrhea, constipation, cramps, nausea, and blood in her stool for more than three years.  She had been to several doctors in Australia and the United States and was eventually diagnosed with Crohn’s disease.  In spite of trying every medication to stop it, it only got worse.  Eventually, she had developed all the worst complications, including abscesses and fistulas, and the surgeons had to remove several large portions of her bowel, leaving her with a colostomy bag.  She didn’t like the bag at all and was hoping for a way to re-connect her colon.

One day she was eating a pomegranate and noticed she didn’t have any pain that night.  The next day she ate another pomegranate, and, still no pain.  She decided to continue eating them.  As long as she ate one pomegranate per day, she had no symptoms of Crohn’s disease.  She was feeling normal, and was able to have her colon repaired and the bag removed.

One day, she went to the store and there were no pomegranates!  None of the other stores had any either.  She started getting her pain and diarrhea back.  It was miserable!  She tried the pomegranate juice in bottles, but it didn’t work at all.  She remains dependent on fresh pomegranates, when she can get them, to relieve the symptoms of her illness.

Crohn’s disease is one of the “Inflammatory Bowel Diseases” (IBD) which afflict about 1.4 million people in the United States, according to CDC estimates.  This is different from Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), though they have some similar symptoms.

• IBS is spastic and not inflammatory.
• Crohn’s disease, however, causes ulcerations in the lining of the bowel, bloody diarrhea, obstruction, abscesses, and fistulas.  The inflammation wreaks havoc on the intestines, preventing the absorption of nutrients.  Many get deficiency diseases and even protein malnutrition.

Does surgery help?

As you can see, Crohn’s is a serious illness leading to disability and death, if not cared-for properly.  It is very unfortunate when a person must have surgery for obstruction, abscess or fistulas because the illness itself may affect the surgical site and cause worse problems.  They also develop scar tissue and adhesions (where the intestines stick from scar tissue to the wall of the abdomen) causing pain and further risk of obstruction.  For this reason, surgery is a last resort to prevent immediate death from obstruction or infection.

Are there any medications to control the symptoms?

1. The medical treatments include anti-inflammatory medications (NSAID’s) related to aspirin that work in the bowel, but are not absorbed into the body.
2. Some are given steroids (like cortisone) to decrease the inflammation.
3. Also, there are chemotherapy agents such as methotrexate and azathioprine that poison the immune system so it can’t attack the bowel lining. Like all medications, they bring temporary relief of pain and bleeding, but do not treat the cause of the illness so the disease remains.
4. Relatively new treatments with injections of antibodies against TNF-alpha, an immune system stimulant, help to suppress the immune system to prevent it from destroying the intestine.  About 40% of people get relief of symptoms from these, at least temporarily. These injections (1) are very expensive, as much as $10,000 per treatment!
5. Antibiotics are also given, primarily to treat the complications such as fistulas, abscesses, and other infections.  These are rarely effective.

What causes Crohn’s Disease?

Like most syndromes, Crohn’s disease doesn’t have a single cause.  Many cases come from what seems to be an autoimmune disease, where the body starts making antibodies against its own bowels.  The immune system attacks the intestines as if it were a bad bacteria.  This may be stimulated by an actual infection, or other inflammation in the intestinal wall.

Dr. Judith Lipton, MD came down with a case of Crohn’s disease.  When she didn’t get any results from her colleagues, and she wanted to avoid surgery, she started looking for answers.  She finally found it in antibiotic treatment.  Her story is found HERE.

Partly because of her research, there is now a great deal of evidence that a portion, perhaps two- thirds of cases, are caused by a bacteria related to tuberculosis, known as MAP.  This mycobacterium comes from milk (even if it is pasteurized) and can infect the wall of the bowel anywhere from the mouth to the anus, causing ulcers, and all the symptoms of Crohn’s Disease.

A company from Australia is currently doing studies on an antibiotic combination normally reserved for bad Tuberculosis infections of Hansen’s disease (Leprosy).  In some studies have shown a 60% response, and the disease doesn’t return! (2)

There is another antibiotic that seems to help, Xifaxan is at least as beneficial as the other antibiotic combination, and it is more readily available in the United States, except that it’s quite expensive.  Insurance sometime covers the cost. (3)

Xifaxan, like the other antibiotics, needs to be prescribed by a physician.  Some insist on testing first, however the tests are not very accurate.  I would treat anyone with Crohn’s Disease for the good possibility of a permanent remission.

Other causes may include immune dysfunction due to stress.  Dr. Mark Hyman’s blog reports a woman who changed her lifestyle and cured her Crohn’s disease, or at least put it into remission.

She used no antibiotics or medications to achieve this, and even had to go off of her medications because of side-effects.  Her treatment included diet, but primarily involved stress-reduction.  She quit her high-stress job and started taking meditation classes.  She also began exercising regularly.  This worked, as she has been symptom-free for over eight months.

Dietary changes are often essential to healing.  In the case of Sally, above, she only ate what made her feel good, and had no benefit for many years.  In fact, she lived with constant pain and diarrhea.  The medications would sometimes help, but rarely worked for long.  It wasn’t until she stumbled on the pomegranate and really changed her diet that she began having success.  The diet needs to be anti-inflammatory, which means to avoid sugar, starch, and fats like vegetable oils, and eat lots of fresh, organic vegetables of every color, and grass-fed, organic meat, fish and poultry.  Sometimes, this alone is enough to put Crohn’s disease into remission.

Part of your dietary changes may include fasting.  John had suffered with Crohn’s for years, and had been on steroids for most of that time.  He had gained a lot of weight.  He heard about a clinic in Northern California where they are able to fast for long periods.  He went to the clinic and drank only water for thirty days.  He told me that around day twenty his Crohn’s disease symptoms went away, he stopped all his medications and has been free of the illness now for over three years.  He continues to fast periodically, and eats an anti-inflammatory diet.

There are few treatments in the world that can boast the cure rate of fasting.  This is probably why we were told in medical school not to recommend it.  I find doctors still trying to scare people away from fasting, but it is the one thing that has been proven to prevent and cure disease, as well as prolong life.

Natural (and unnatural) ways to treat Crohn’s

• Lower omega-6 oils – Avoid corn, soy, canola, and safflower oils (vegetable oils)
• Take New Zealand green-lipped mussel oil (PCSO-524) or krill oil (Schiff Mega Red) one per day.
• Eat no processed foods – Avoid restaurants or anything that is prepared or packaged.
• Eat anti-inflammatory foods:
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    Pomegranate, blueberries, and other berries
  • Oregano
  • Turmeric
  • Ginger
  • Cinnamon
  • Cruciferous vegetables (Kale, broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, etc.)
  • Colored vegetables (red/orange, yellow, green, blue)
  • Grass-fed beef, organic wild fish, and organic poultry
• Remove the following foods from your diet:
  • Gluten
  • Dairy
  • Sugar and artificial sweeteners
  • Soy
• Take probiotics — About 200 billion per day on an empty stomach.
• Use glutamine, about 5 grams per day – this repairs the lining of the stomach.
• Licorice root, aloe vera, artichoke, and other herbs can help to calm inflammation.
• Consider a fast for 14 days with water only, or modify it with broth – you may need help to modify this as needed.  It is safe to fast for as many days as you have excess pounds.  If your ideal body weight is 140 and you weigh 160 then you can safely fast for 20 days.
• Ask your doctor about antibiotics: I think the best is Xifaxan 200mg 4x per day for 20 days.  Do this along with the above changes.
• Decrease stress in your life:
  • Exercise regularly
  • Practice daily meditation and prayer.
  • Stop over-scheduling yourself.

Remember, Crohn’s disease is not a single disease, it is a syndrome with many different causes.  I believe the key to good treatment is to find the cause of any illness. However, in this case, it is very difficult because of the limitations of our current testing methods.  Often, you must try different treatments until you find what works.  You’re the only one who knows how you feel so only you can know what works.  Keep trying, and don’t ever give up!!!!

 

 

(1)  https://www.remicade.com/hcp/crohns-disease/efficacy
(2)  http://www.crohns.org/treatment/index.htm
(3)  http://www.gastrojournal.org/article/S0016-5085(11)01628-3/abstract