27 Week Update

This my 27 week update of using helminthic therapy for Crohn’s disease and total food intolerance.

 

How I Have Been Feeling the Last 6 Weeks

Since week 21 my symptoms have been gradually improving.

By week 24 the first changes I started to notice were that I was having less bowel movements per day.  Typically I would have 5 + BMs per day, sometimes A LOT more depending on how I am feeling that particular day. 

Since week 24 I have not had more than 3 BMs per day.  I still do not have hard stools, but they are definitely more formed than before.

Previously with each bowel movement I would also experience 20-30 minutes of intense pain and nausea before and afterwards.

Since week 24 that painful time period has been getting less and less.  To the point now where the pain after the BM is almost non-existent.  I just feel normal after going to the bathroom.  

I have only thrown up once in the last 3 weeks.  This is a huge improvement from me as before I was vomiting most days.  This has been a huge relief as the unbearable nausea is probably my least favourite IBD symptom.

And my diet!!  Although all of these symptom improvements have been monumental, being able to eat food again has been life changing.  

I spent the last 5 years becoming more and more intolerant to a wider range of foods.  I started just being dairy free.  Then dairy and gluten free.  Then it got worse from there to the point where I could only really tolerate chicken breast, beets, and carrot.  And even then I would still have symptoms.

It got so bad that for the last 3 years I got most of my calories from meal replacement shakes.  Yuck.   Not to mention expensive, unenjoyable, and socially awkward.  Drinking these shakes made me feel and look like a sick person.  

But now I am eating almost all foods!!  I am still super cautious, and still eat dairy and gluten free 100%. And only whole, healthy foods.  But I am able to eat soooooo many foods that I could not eat before.  Grapes, capsicum, sweet potatoes.  All those foods would send me running to the toilet before.  But now I seem to be able to enjoy them freely.

I still seem to be intolerant to white potatoes, tomatoes, and eggs.  But I honestly don’t even care.  The food variety I have now is better than anything I have experienced in 3+ years.  Plus I am assuming/hoping it will only continue to get better from here.

Medication Update

I am still taking prednisolone.  Simply because I had such severe withdrawal symptoms in the past that I am tapering so slowly.  I have been decreasing my dose by 1-2mg every 10-14 days.  

I did experience worse withdrawal symptoms before week 24 with each tapering dose.  But since week 24 my tapering has been going so much better.   I just went from 5mg to 4mg and did not even notice a change.

Which is amazing because I just want to get off of this horrible drug for good.

I am still taking nighttime lopermide (Imodium).  I have stopped the daytime dose.  But I have to admit I am only still taking the night time dose becuase for the first time in years I am enjoying being able to sleep for 6+ hours at a time. I even got a 9 hour night last week!!  Previously I would have to wake up every 2-3 hours for a painful BM in the night time.

So I have continued taking the lopermide simply because I am just loving the sleeps I have been getting.  But I do plan to stop that soon as well.  I also do not want to make too many changes at once.

 

How I am Feeling Now

Although I am currently feeling amazing.  I know some of that is still just by comparison to how horrible I have constantly felt for the last 3 years.  

I am still experiencing symptoms daily.  Loose stools.  The first BM often around 4am.  Some pain and nausea with some BMs.

So relatively speaking, I am doing AMAZING!  But compared to ideal health, I still have a ways to go.  Which is understandable  I am trying to heal from a chronic, incurable disease that I have had for the past 13 years.

Another thing I am still struggling with is food trauma.  I do not realy enjoy eating.  Especially meals ( I LOVE fruit).  I feel hungry, begin to eat.  Then it’s almost as if I loose interest in the food.  I do not want to eat it any more.  I am experiecing strong food aversion that will probably take some time to get over.

I am sure that this is some sort of IBD related eating disorder that I have developed from all of the traumatic experiences I’ve had revolving around food (including 2 near death experiences).

I am sure that I will eventually start to enjoy eating again.  But for now I am just going to focus on nutrition.  And gaining some weight as I am still only 49 kgs at 5’7” which is pretty thin.

 

Overall I am beyond happy with my results and progress so far.  I am overjoyed that I have found helminthic therapy.  And that the Wiki has been created so that so many of us can benefit from these amazing worms.

I am so excited to see where helminthic therapy takes me.