Heidi Tankersley - Overcoming Colitis: Alternative Therapies for Crohns Disease, Ulcerative Colitis, and other Bowel Disorders

Overcoming Colitis:

Alternative Therapies for Crohns Disease, Ulcerative Colitis, & other Bowel Disorders

By Heidi Tankersley

Copyright 2017 by HET International, Inc.

Smashwords Edition

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

Cover Illustration Copyright 2016 by HET International, Inc.

Cover design by James at GoOnWrite.com

Book design and production by BB eBooks, bbebooksthailand.com

Chapter opening illustrations 2017 HET International, Inc.

Author photograph by Edwin Flores, webflodesignlab.com

You guys, this stuff is copyrighted. Please dont copy, paste, or post any part of itor the whole thingwithout written consent from its creator (thats me). Thank you in advance for respecting me, my written words, and my hard work.

Some names and identifying details have been changed to protect the privacy of individuals.

I have tried to recreate events, locales and conversations from my memories of them. In order to maintain their anonymity in some instances I have changed the names of individuals and places, I may have changed some identifying characteristics and details such as physical properties, occupations and places of residence.

Although the author and publisher have made every effort to ensure that the information in this book was correct at press time, the author and publisher do not assume and hereby disclaim any liability to any party for any loss, damage, or disruption caused by errors or omissions, whether such errors or omissions result from negligence, accident, or any other cause.

This book is not intended as a substitute for the medical advice of physicians. The reader should regularly consult a physician in matters relating to his/her health and particularly with respect to any symptoms that may require diagnosis or medical attention.

This book is in NO WAY (seriously, NO WAY) intended to be a replacement for medical advice. Im not a doctor. Period. Dont make me one.

Im just a girl.

Who likes to write.

Who also happened to have bloody poo.

If you, too, have bloody poo, you should go to a doctor and get medical advice from a certified professional. But also read this book, and be encouraged by the words inside.

For my momma.

I miss you in the deepest parts of me, and yet, somehow, youre still right here.

I love you, and thank you.

Bloody poo.

I dont know how else to say it. I was seventeen. And I had it.

Bloody.

Poo.

We went to the doctor about it.

Obviously, it wasnt the usual, you-have-acne, so-rub-this-on-your-face kind of doctor visit. But still

Epic fail. Seriously.

Worst. Doctors. Visit. Ever.

The doctor blinks, staring at me over thick, black-framed glasses. The symptoms lead me to believe you have what we call ulcerative colitis, perhaps even Crohns disease. And, gauging from the severity of your condition, combined with your increased risk of colon cancer, it is possible you will have a bag for a colon within ten years.

I glance helplessly over at Mom. Bag?Did he just say bag?For what? To hold my bloody poo?Attached to whata belt? A hot-pink fanny pack?

My mom clears her throat and motions for me to close my now hanging-open mouth, even as she struggles to shut her own.

The doctor rolls his chair over and sidles up next to me where I sit on the examining table. Im going to listen to your lungs now. Everythings going to be okay.

My eyes flicker from the stethoscope hanging around the doctors neck to the tongue depressors sitting in a glass jar on the counter in the corner. The rest of the world goes a bit fuzzy, but those tongue depressors stay in full focus. Did he just say bag?

The doctor unwraps the stethoscope from his neck. Dont worry, you can take a sticker on the way out. We just got some new stickers. Oh, and some steroids. Youll need steroids, of course. For less bloody poo.

END DOCTOR VISIT.

(Reader, the doctor didnt really say that part. About the stickers, I mean.)

As mom and I stepped out of the doctors office and into the sunshine of another normal day (for thousands of other teenagers), I thought about what the doctor said.

His final equation, as far as I could tell, went something like this:

Who wants to hear something like that? Not me. But, it didnt matter. I just had.

Fast forward to the year 2015. I turned 33.

I dont have a bag for a colon.

Let me repeat. My colon is not a fanny-pack. My colon is not a bag. My colon is my colon. And I dont have bloody poo anymore.

And here, in this book, is how I did it.

THE STORY:

After the worst news of my teenage life.

We drove home from that doctors visit.

It was a few weeks to Christmas.

The instructions: Stay on the steroid pill. No eating leafy vegetables, no high fiber foods, no seedy foods. Especially DO NOT eat these things in times of bad bloody poo. White flour had officially been deemed good, because it was supposedly easy for my poor little colon to process.

I followed the instructions.

Kind of. For a bit.

Until Christmas day, which went something like this:

My family of seven sits at the table, eating our traditional Christmas morning brunch. My older sister, Hannah, has returned from her first semester at college. My three younger brothers are chattering and making nonsensical noises.

Meanwhile, I stuff my face with another homemade cinnamon roll.

Mom, this is awesome. You make the best cinnamon rolls, I say. (But I know this isnt awesome, because stuffing myself with cinnamon rolls isnt solving anything. I can feel it. More bloody poo is undoubtedly on its way.)

Mom sets down her fork, glancing at Dad. I wonder if this is sustainable.

No, Dad says, this Christmas brunch is not sustainable, not if we keep having children.

Not the meal, John, Mom says, the tension in her voice alerting everyone at the table that shes serious. Im talking about eating white flour. It cant be healthy for her. It doesnt have any nutrients.

I pause, with another forkful of gooey cinnamon roll on its way to my mouth. Wait, are you referring to me? (I know shes referring to me.)

NOO-TRENTS? Daniel says. I cough on my bite, humored by Daniels one-year-old attempt at the word.

My Mom turns and makes eye contact with me. I think we need to give your body foods that are going to help it get better. Foods with lots of nutrients. And I think we should look into alternative treatments that could help you get well. Taking pills for years and then getting a bag for a colon just cant be the best solution. Weve got to figure out something else.