Whos got the Shits?...(and no, I dont mean from reading one of the worst pieces of journalism I have come across about the paleo diet in todays West Australian Newspaper.) I mean literally, do you have the runs or problems with your digestion, well you might like to read and share this story! Today we have Lana Vernon sharing her amazing story about Crohns and digestive health. I have to say her story resonates with me a lot as I have suffered digestive issues in the past and have found my problems are non existant when eating the paleo way. Please comment if you yourself have had success with your digestive issues from removing dairy and or grains from your diet as I am sure a lot of people would like to hear YOUR stories on here too. Oh I have that bone marrow dish I promised coming tomorrow for you too on here...so yummy!!! Over to you Lana and thank you for sharing..... Hi, I’m Lana and I’m a Digestive Health & Empowerment Coach, on a mission to empower women who are struggling with ongoing digestive symptoms, to take control of their health and live life on their own terms. Why focus on digestion? Well here’s my story… For years, I experienced bloating, gas, urgency and diarrohea, abdominal pain ... the typical list of digestive symptoms. I mentioned it to a doctor a few times, but I was always just told it was probably IBS and it was left at that. I was never even told what I could do about it! I just had to endure the anxiety of quiet lecture theatres or meeting rooms, the embarrassment of a gurgling stomach (or worse!), and the massive impact it had on my confidence - on my ability to walk into a room with my head held high, to know that I had something to offer the world, to be comfortable in my own body. The biggest barrier for me was that I HAD NO IDEA WHAT WAS NORMAL! I didnt feel like I could TALK to anybody about what was going on for me, the doctors didnt really give it much consideration, and so I was stuck trying to figure out whether this was something everybody experienced, or whether I was the only freak out there. Either way, it wasnt exactly something I was going to bring up over our next flat dinner! So I suffered in silence for a long time. My confidence dropped lower and lower. I did everything I could to avoid quiet rooms and intimate situations. I became a smaller version of me. Eventually, my symptoms got a lot worse. I started passing blood, which was my cue to go back to the doctor. This time they referred me for an investigation, and I was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease. My disease wasn’t severe at the time and I thought that, just like many other illnesses, if I took my medications it would eventually go away. Unfortunately, it didn’t quite work out that way! I continued to pass blood, experienced severe wind and bloating, and I knew the location of every public toilet in South and East Auckland (I was a sales rep at the time). I was constantly tired, and the quality of my food intake deteriorated as I turned to chocolate and energy drinks to get me through a day of work (and attempt to satisfy the insatiable hunger brought on by steroid enemas). After about 3 months of very little change in my symptoms, I suddenly became critically ill. I could barely eat, I was in the bathroom more often than I was out of it, I was losing a lot of blood, and I was in an incredible amount of pain. At its worst, I was actually crawling between my bed and the bathroom. Unsurprisingly, I ended up in hospital. The disease had become so severe that my bowel had nearly perforated. I narrowly avoided emergency surgery, but after 3 or 4 weeks in hospital, it was clear that medical treatments werent working. I ended up having surgery to remove my large bowel and create an ileostomy – which means that my small bowel comes out onto my abdomen and I wear a bag over it to collect the waste that flows through. As my younger brother aptly described it, essentially they ‘remodelled my indoor/outdoor flow’! Now, this was 11 years ago. I was 23 years old, and it pretty much turned my world upside down – I went from not really knowing anything about my condition – or even that you could live without your large bowel - to having to deal with major surgery and permanently wearing a bag on my stomach to collect waste. I’m not going to lie, it was a pretty tough time. But what I did have in the 5 or so weeks I was in hospital, was a lot of time to think! I realised that many of the lifestyle choices I’d been making prior to getting sick were not choices that supported my health, or even showed that I valued myself. Right then and there, I chose to change. Admittedly this change didn’t happen overnight, but at least I started off in the right direction! I literally began with a walk up the driveway, then a walk to the top of the street, and then I built from there. It hasn’t always been easy though. For years, fatigue was my nemesis. Then towards the end of 2010, I embraced a new way of eating and a new way of thinking about health. I started eating a whole-food diet, and I gradually started to see that health and fitness was a lot more than just what I weighed or how much exercise I did. I also began to look more closely at other aspects of my life – self-care, the products I used on my body and in my home, stress, sleep, and so on. Although I’ve made many positive changes over the years, my first truly effective step in rebuilding my health was to change the way I ate. My ‘real food’ journey began when I started CrossFit in 2010. I learnt about the paleo diet and the whys behind it, and it made sense to me. I committed to trying it for a month, and at the end of it, I got rid of everything in my kitchen that didn’t fit within that way of eating. Any remaining digestive symptoms were gone, my body composition was better, and my skin was better. But the biggest change was that I had so much more energy! That was enough to convince me that this was the right path for me, and I’ve been eating that way since. Rebuilding my health and regaining my life has been…and still is…a process of learning, researching, experimenting and discovering what works for me. I never thought I would, or could, have the life I do now. I’ve worked, studied, and travelled. I’ve played music and I’ve played sports. I have amazing friends and family. I have a husband who I adore, and a beautiful, precious daughter. I can honestly say I’m happier and healthier now than I was at 23…and I haven’t had to pop a pill for my Crohn’s in over 4 years! Lana Vernon MSc (Hons), Pn1 Digestive health & empowerment coach +64 21 775 424 [email protected] lanavernon.co.nz The information on this page is general information and should not be used to diagnose or treat a health problem or disease. Do not use the information found on this page as a substitute for professional health care advice. Any information you find on this page or on external sites which are linked to on this page should be verified with your professional health care provider. Pete Evans does not make any representation or warranty (express or implied) as to the accuracy or completeness of the information set out on this page, and shall not have any liability for any misrepresentation (express or implied) contained in, or for any omissions from, the information on this page. This disclaimer of liability applies to any damages or injury whether based upon consumer law, negligence or any other cause of action.
Posted on: Wed, 15 Oct 2014 06:00:37 +0000
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