Hi Andrea,
It has been awhile now, so I can't remember if I received any response. I do know that dilation can work well especially if there is no inflammation. I think if there is inflammation, the risk of perforation is greater and it will probably not last as long.
I can tell you what I have done. I have been on the Specific Carbohydrate Diet for almost 17 years which healed a peri-anal fistula/abscess and severe Crohn's when I was facing a colostomy and having my rectum removed. I don't take any medication. A couple of years ago I cheated and ate potato chips 3 days in a row and I suddenly became constipated. I think I caused inflammation at the old stricture sites. Plus, my stool had become unusually hard. I had Crohn's since I was little and had my ileum removed at age 15 in emergency surgery. I have a stricture in my rectum from 4 surgeries on abscesses. I know I have one a little further up in the colon, also. Before the SCD I would be in the bathroom for hours at a time trying to pass little bits of stool with severe cramping. It was awful. I was deathly ill, severely underweight, and in constant pain from the fistula/abscess.
I healed completely within 6 months on the SCD and the strictures didn't bother me until this time 2 years ago when I ate the dumb potato chips. So this is what I did:
Most importantly I prayed to Jesus to find answers for healing, which is what I did 17 years ago when I was deathly ill, and the diet which I had already found, and I didn't want to do, kept coming into my mind as I prayed.
So after I ate the potato chips, I went back on intro diet for SCD. For about
a year I struggled back and forth to feel better. Then, I found a miracle product, I think, called Hydro-c. It works like Miralax except without the toxic chemical and it works within an hour or two. It has vitamin C, calcium, magnesium and potassium. You take it first thing in the morning when you wake up. It draws water into the bowel and makes your stool loose. You might have to take it for a few days for it to start working, up to two teaspoons. The best thing is it doesn't cause cramping and has no side effects.
I also added bone broth to my diet, real sauerkraut (I like Real Pickles made in the North East). I always prefer food to supplements. In fact the Hydro-c is the only supplement I take other than Vitamin B-12 since I am missing my ileum. As far as the sauerkraut this brand is made the way you are supposed to make it and is loaded with good bacteria. I prefer food for probiotics over pills. I eat a lot of the SCD yogurt with ripe bananas. I drink ginger tea every day, made with fresh grated ginger.
One last thing I added was Olive Oil, just a few teaspoons a day with the sauerkraut, as I read taking with oil makes it more effective. I only take one bite of sauerkraut before lunch and before or after dinner as often as I remember to. In a parable Jesus talks about
treating a wound with Olive Oil, so that is when I started taking that and I really feel like it made a difference in softening my stool.
Also, my old colo-rectal surgeon dilated my anal stricture with his finger, which I believe helped. He said there is no inflammation. I avoided doctors after I healed on the SCD, until 2 years ago when I had this problem. Recently I went to a gastroenterologist as I was considering being dilated by colonoscopy. He did my blood work and was amazed to see my inflammation markers were low normal. My colo-rectal surgeon actually recommends the SCD to his patients (even though he is a surgeon) because he was amazed 17 years ago when he saw me heal and he said the diet made sense to him, as he used to be a research scientist.
I didn't want to get an MRI, as the contrast they have you swallow contains sorbitol which is not allowed on the SCD and could give me inflammation. Also the gadolinium they inject into you concerns me, because even though it is chelated, it is a toxic and a residual is left in your body. Furthermore, if your kidneys are not working well, it can cause fatal complications.
My gastro agreed to give me a colonoscopy and try to dilate the areas without me doing an MRI. Keep in mind I don't have any inflammation.
However, every procedure has a risk, and I feel fine now after I implemented the above, so I am not sure if I want to do it or not. I would like to stop taking the Hydro-C and maybe I could, but I am afraid to stop, because I feel so good now. My stool has turned soft and I pass it easily. Oh, I drink coffee too after the Hydro C.
That is all I can think of for now. I like to share information, because once you get well you tend to leave a board, and I feel the best way we can help each other is by sharing information. This is what worked for me.
If you have any questions feel free to email me at
[email protected] or you can reply here and I will answer if I get notified.
Good luck to your husband. It is a miserable disease. I am so grateful to be healthy again, and I no longer have the temptation to cheat on the diet. It is not worth it.
Katie