I just wanted to share some of my story with everyone. I have been reading some of the posts and can feel the fear and worry in some of the words people have posted. I thought perhaps my story would help you all feel more peace and calm. That is, at least, what I hope for you.

I am a 21 year old girl. I was healthy most of my childhood until I had a colonoscopy and was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis throughout my entire colon in the beginning of 2005. I was 18 years old and had to graduate high school early because I was too ill to attend. I also had to quit my job. My first flare began in December of 2004 and lasted about 6 months during which time I tried 3 different meds and ended up on Asacol.

My remission was great, I was finally able to go out again and I was regaining my strength, bowel movements were normal and I could sleep through the night. I eventually weaned off the Asacol because I do not believe it is healthy to stay on meds your entire life. I moved out on my own with my boyfriend, got a 2 new jobs, and began attending a Junior College. But, only a few months later, I began to have symptoms again. I ignored them at first, like a bad dream, hoping they would just go away eventually. Of course, they remained there and worsened. I continued working 2 jobs and attending school for 3 months and made another move. I failed to listen to my gut and ended up so ill I was forced to suddenly quit my jobs and drop out of college when I ended up hospitalized for my first time.

To make a long story short-er... This began a vigorous cycle where I was hospitalized every few months. At first I attempted to take some of the meds the doctors recommended but eventually I decided I wanted to actually heal and for that, I must rely on my own research and natural remedies. I have since then tried just about every natural treatment or diet that made sense to me including SCD, raw food diet, vegan, non-wheat, non-dairy, LTYG, IBD diet, acupuncture, energy healing, craniosacral, aura work, etc, etc... The only time I have taken Prednisone is when I knew I was on my death bed. I have been on it twice and both times I used it only as a crutch to get myself back to life and as soon as I felt my forces were strong enough I would begin to wean off as fast as my doctor would allow.

I am 5'7" and was originally 135 lbs... at my lowest point I dropped down to a mere 82 lbs!! My last hospitalization was May 2007. I was hospitalized for the entire month. Each time I was hospitalized I have had to receive at least 4 bags of blood, but because of the length of this last hospitalization I received close to 20 bags of blood because of the rate I was losing it. I also got severe edema and I swelled up so big that my skin was ripping open all over my body and bleeding. I think I still have damaged nerves in my hips from it. I was also put on TPN due to my severe malnourishment. I went on Prednisone for the 2nd time. The doctors were baffled I was even alive, not to mention conscious and for the most part in good spirits. They ran about every possible test on me including CT scans, ecograms, x-rays, bloodwork every day, stool samples, etc, etc... Eventually, they basically discharged me because the doctor was scared I would die under his care and put a bad mark next to his name because I was refusing most of the meds except Prednisone. Once I went home I was so frustrated with modern medicine that I decided I was done with it all.

I weaned off of my Prednisone and discontinued seeing my GI specialist and gradually began regaining strength and weight. It has been a year to date and I have not been hospitalized, gone to a doctor, or been on any medication (since July 4th) since last May!!!

I have had a constant and severe flare-up for over 2 1/2 years straight. No relief even when I was on Prednisone. I have about 20 urgent and painful BMs each day and go at least 5 times in the night. I rarely have blood anymore which is a huge improvement and I am finally no longer bed-ridden and have been gaining strength and adrenal strength every day. I just trust my body and know that it may be a very slow process but I believe it will heal itself if I am patient and allow it to do its thing. I am doing minimal therapies right now but I only do things that my gut instinct tells me is helpful. I always have trouble and bleeding when I eat any vegetables and cannot eat most fruits. Other than that, I eat just about anything as long as it is organic and healthy for the most part (i.e. not a lot of sugar, no caffeine, etc).

I know this posting is really long but I just wanted those of you who feel like you are never getting better to know that I have been struggling every day and night for the last 2 1/2 years and am slowly getting better with minimal assistance from anything. TRUST YOUR BODY! IT KNOWS WHAT TO DO AND WHAT YOU NEED! Open your ears, conquer your fears, and be happy you are alive! I hope this is in some way inspiring to at least one person. I would be happy to answer questions if anyone has them. Thanks for reading.

Hi, Addie.

Thank you for sharing your experience - I'm sure that it will be encouraging to others!

Take care,
Nicole