Finding Relief from Crohn's Disease with Supplements

Crohn's Disease is a chronic, inflammatory condition of the gastrointestinal tract. The entire wall of the involved bowel may be affected along with skip lesions, or areas with normal lining between the inflamed portions. Symptoms may vary widely among individuals but most commonly include pain in the abdomen along with diarrhea or constipation.

My mother experienced her first symptoms of Crohn's Disease in 1995 while we were vacationing in Puerto Rico. She was originally misdiagnosed with gall bladder issues resulting in the removal of her gall bladder.

After her surgery, her pain and discomfort continued. We quickly assessed the location of restrooms wherever we went in case she experienced a flare up while we were away from home. Finally, a highly stressful family situation landed her in the most pain she had experienced.

Later, a colonoscopy and blood tests would reveal she had Crohn's Disease. Doctors' visits resulted in the prescribing of steroid medications and a sulfur drug which didn't seem to offer much relief. Her only success in preventing episodes of pain and inflammation came from a very strict diet she determined through a long process of trial and error.

Fatty foods such as meat and dairy products had to be almost completely eliminated. She did eat cereals with milk. Many vegetables like broccoli were very likely to cause irritation, and anything spicy was to be avoided at all costs. She ate a lot of salads and baked potatoes.

But even with her foods being very limited, stress would still bring on an attack just as readily as if she had eaten a plate full of the "danger foods." Working as a bank teller, stress can be high on her daily agenda. Flare ups were still a regular, painful part of her life.

A large part of her time spent at home was either in bed or in the bathroom. Medications did not make a significant difference and even with the food irritations being limited, the stress at work kept her in agony.

Finally, after years of suffering, I came upon a Certified Natural Health Professional that I was doing graphic design for at the time. This meeting would change my life and my mother's as it spawned my interest and belief in natural remedies and gave my mother new hope for relief.

I talked with the CNHP about my mother's condition. At first, my mother was somewhat hesitant to try anything other than what a doctor recommended but after much contemplation of her situation, she decided to take a chance.

The CNHP directed us to a brand of supplements called Nature's Sunshine Products, or NSP. NSP produces a supplement called Intestinal Soothe & Build. This product has been key in my mother's life ever since. It is a combination of slippery elm bark, chamomile flowers, marshmallow root and other herbs that help soothe an irritated and toxic bowel.

And while this keeps her flare ups to a minimum, even with the stress factor still in place, every now and again she does experience an episode. Part of her remedy for this is digestive enzymes. They help to break down the food in the intestine so that it causes less irritation and inflammation of the intestinal lining. She also takes Coral Calcium to get a proper amount of calcium and magnesium, as deficiencies of both are common in Crohn's patients.

With the use of natural supplements, she is no longer on prescription medications for her Crohn's Disease. Fortunately for her, she never had to undergo the surgery that a lot of Crohn's patients do indeed suffer through.

While all supplements work differently for each person, it is definitely an option to explore. Her recommendation is to find a trusted health professional that can lead you in the right direction and monitor your progress with any nutritional therapy program.