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Will this be my cure for Crohns RepairVite ClearVite?

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Crohn's Disease
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Posted 10/18/2015 12:44 AM (GMT 0)
So I was diagnosed with crohns in the Illeum a few months ago after a capsule endoscope revealed ulcers in my small intestines. My weight has dropped significantly over the past 2 years and I am down to 148.

My Worst symptoms have been extreme fatigue and feeling lethargic all the time. I assume it is my lack of proper nutrition and the fact that my small intestine can not do its job correctly to get me nutrition. I have been on Entocort, Prednisone and Pentassa with no improvement especially in my appetite.

At the advice of a friend I went to see a Chiropractor that also specializes in healing people with my said condition. He healed his daughter from Crohns. His direction is that I need to heal my Small Intestines first and took blood to do a food intolerance test $400 later. He has put me on a modified Paleo diet which I have heard helps people but is so hard to follow. He gave me live probiotics, ClearVite, RepairVite and another supplement to take with every meal to assist with digestion.

Has anyone else been on this type of plan I have for 4 days but heard it will take awhile for my body to heal. I am being optimistic about it but would love to hear anyone else's opinion on this alternate healing plan.

At the

Post Edited (Snarf1033) : 10/17/2015 7:04:55 PM (GMT-6)

Posted 10/18/2015 1:32 AM (GMT 0)
Welcome to HW. This is a great place for you to come for support and help.

Saying that, I don't want to sound negative. What you are seeking is not uncommon. When most are first diagnosed, they are not only scared by the disease, but of all the seemingly complicated medications that are used to control it.

Many try to find alternative treatment options, that usually come under the "natural" approach.

Some dietary modifications, and supplements do certainly have a place in treating this disease, but most alternative treatments usually prove to be a snake oil approach.

I've never heard of a Chiropractor being able to treat Crohn's. You have to remember that this guy is making money off of your misfortune. Be skeptical, very skeptical.

You really need a sound medical treatment plan. To get that, you first need to find a good Gastroenterologist that you have confidence in. The meds will sound scary at first, but they really aren't near as bad as they might seem. They've come a long way in terms of treatment for Crohn's. You will be able to get things under control and on the road to feeling better.
Posted 10/18/2015 2:07 AM (GMT 0)
Everything 73monte said, emphasized. There is NO cure for Crohn's. Diet, supplements, and alternative medicines can all help ease symptoms for some people, but they should NOT be the only way you treat. I've had acupuncture and chiropractors that I trust be able to help ease some symptoms, but they also strongly emphasized that I should not stop my Remicade and other treatments. That is the kind of doctor and alternative medicine doctor that you should look for. Anytime any doctor claims that they have a cure and nothing else is needed, get away as fast as you can.
Posted 10/18/2015 11:03 AM (GMT 0)
I have a GI and his next step with me was to have me get a CT Scan. $750 but I know most likely necessary. I have no issues with any pain thankfully but as said previously I can't go on day to day with the lack of energy and weight. GI wants to run this test to see what my next step would be (Humira) which scares the ever living crohns out of me. I feel that this approach I am taking will be my last resort prior to getting on a serious drug moving forward.

Has anyone had the food intolerance test so they know what foods to eliminate that are giving them issues? I'm eaitingnon my results.
Posted 10/18/2015 11:39 AM (GMT 0)
You haven't been on any effective meds for Crohn's so far. Entocort and Prednisone are steroids, thus useless beyond the short-term and Pentasa is pretty useless full stop. If anything helps you out of that lot, I would say it's most likely to be the modified Paleo diet - the rest is literally making your chiropractor richer and you poorer, and nothing else.

You don't want to rely on diet alone, though, especially if your disease isn't very mild or in remission. This disease can get worse without it being obvious (which is what happened to me during the first five years after diagnosis). Put it this way, the biologics aren't ideal but they're a lot safer than uncontrolled Crohn's disease. And unless you're unlucky (like me), they should work.
Posted 10/18/2015 8:18 PM (GMT 0)
I had a colonoscopy and swallowed the capsule endoscope which gave me the diagnosis of mild crohns in my Illeum. I told this to the chiropractor about my small intestine which is why he gave me this method. I do plan on getting the CT scan just not sure when. I appreciate all the comments.
Posted 10/18/2015 9:12 PM (GMT 0)
Why do you even have a chiropractor treating your Crohn's? They are trained in the musculoskeletal system, not digestive disorders.

www.nhs.uk/conditions/chiropractic/Pages/Introduction.aspx

The fact that you have a chiropractor happy to treat your Crohn's suggests to me you have a charlatan on your hands.
Posted 10/18/2015 10:04 PM (GMT 0)

NiceCupOfTea said...

The fact that you have a chiropractor happy to treat your Crohn's suggests to me you have a charlatan on your hands.

Lots of chiropractors are just that - charlatans.
Posted 10/18/2015 11:14 PM (GMT 0)
Hi, and welcome to the forum,

Let me first say that my criticism of a chiropractor such as yours is in no way a criticism of you. I'm sorry that you've gotten the diagnosis of Crohn's.

You may want to ask this chiropractor what type of training he has in the gastro-intestinal department. The historical tenet of Chiropractic is that all disease is caused by misalignment of the spine, which may have been believable in the 19th century, but modern science has long ago proven otherwise. I don't know if that is still in their training, but I've always been too skeptical to go to one, even for my back, and I have 2 family members who are chiropractors with their own practice.

At this point, there is no cure for Crohn's and (as the old saying goes) if anyone tells you there is, they are probably trying to sell you something. What I don't understand is why, at least here in the US, they're allowed to treat disease that is obviously outside their "field of expertise". To me, it would be like having a butcher do arthroscopic surgery. Just because he regularly cuts muscle and bone and knows what part is what doesn't mean he knows how to fix a bum knee.
Posted 10/18/2015 11:42 PM (GMT 0)
I wouldn't leave medication for the "last resort". Trust me it's better to get a hold of it early on, not wait till it's really bad. That will just lead to the drugs not working as well, and possibly needing surgery. I played around with just being on steroids for too long and my disease went from mild to severe without my really even knowing. I've had a hard time finding drugs to work now, and I regret not going on the biologics right away. It's a disease. That's why you are tired and having trouble with weight. With inflamed guts you won't absorb your nutrients, no matter how healthy the food is.

Personally I don't believe in most of the natural treatments people do. But if you are going to try it at least do it in combination to medical treatment. It's not really a disease people should take lightly, that you can just take some supplements and a change in diet and your good. There is real damage going on inside, I would take your doctors advice.
Posted 10/19/2015 12:09 AM (GMT 0)
Yes my GI told me I have mild crohns in the Illeum with some ulcers. I have never had pain only soreness to the touch when I push hard or massage the area. It is usually sore after I eat something wrong. I'm not even sure what a flare would feel like since I've been in a constant state of fatigue and weight loss. Everything I read is symptoms due to malnutrition in the body but I would love to hear other possible causes.

The chiropractor said he helped his daughter I may of misspoke as far as cure and I actually think he said she had UC. He did a food panel test on her and they cut all the bad foods out of her diet. I haven't told my GI of this. The Paleo diet is difficult but I will tell you since I have began a few days ago I find myself getting hungry. I haven't had hunger in quite a long time. I am worried about some more weight loss but feel that I should stick this out for a bit and see what happens.

I appreciate the feedback.
Posted 10/19/2015 1:04 AM (GMT 0)
Malnutrition is part of it. I have to take B12 shots because I don't absorb it at all in diet. I have very little vit D stores in my body. My doctor has me taking oral vitamins, but again I don't really absorb them very well. Even when I eat a healthy diet, that just doesn't seem to change much. Diet can be very different for all of us. I don't tolerate raw fruits or veggies, so I avoid them. I also try and stay away from foods that are high in fiber. A lot of the foods I tolerate well probably aren't considered extremely healthy (my body does well on carbs). Depending on how sick I am, water can be hard to tolerate. But then again this is where I am now. I started off as mild. I was on Asacol and steroids for a while. I was afraid of the bigger drugs and had my family doctor giving me steroids every 6 months when I'd flare. It was just masking the disease while the inflammation and ulcers did a lot of damage. Eventually an ulcer got really bad in my terminal ileum and I almost bled to death. So yes, I wish I would have started the bigger medications sooner.

Besides nutrition, the inflammation is very exhausting on the body. But like I said it's a disease, that effects the whole body. Even in remission a lot of people struggle with fatigue. Do some reading on auto-immune diseases, that's a common problem for all of them.

Good luck with your diet, I personally think the Paleo diet is a bit of a fad. Hopefully you are eating enough, and that you aren't feeling more hungry because you are deprived. That certainly won't help your weight or your fatigue.
Posted 10/19/2015 1:40 PM (GMT 0)
I'm a cynic where these are concerned. But putting even my cynicism aside, if IBD increases the risk of blood clots (known fact) and blood clots cause strokes (fact again) then IBDers must fall into a stroke risk category (my assumption). Anyone with a predisposition to stokes is not advised to use a Chiropracter (unless of course they don't ever manipulate your neck in your treatment? - and I thought whole body treatment was fundamental to the tale they spin). Can't hide my bias I'm afraid!
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