That’s the first thing I heard my wife tell me as I awoke from surgery the morning of November 1st, 1996. I had never heard of Crohn’s and had NO IDEA how much my life was going to change over the next few years. How I wish I knew then what I learned later; that much of the suffering, horrible drug side effects, and life-threatening symptoms I would go through could have been avoided if I had made a few simple dietary and lifestyle changes . . . but I didn’t know, and no one told me.
The previous night I had gone to the emergency room with a strange swelling in the lower right side of my abdomen. The best diagnosis they could give me was a ruptured appendix requiring immediate surgery. I later read that appendicitis is a common misdiagnosis of Crohn’s Disease. I don’t blame the doctors; they were trying to save my life the best way they knew how. I hadn’t been feeling well for a few months and had seen a variety of doctors but no one could figure out what was wrong with me. None of their treatments made me feel better. But I wasn’t REALLY sick . . . yet.
In my first visit to the doctor after my surgery I asked him “what can I do to cure Crohn’s Disease or at least be better? Will changing my diet help?” He was a highly respected doctor in his field with a beautiful office. He just smiled, shook his head and said “No, diet has nothing to do with Crohn’s Disease so just eat whatever you can eat and we’ll try and dial in the right medications for you. If the affected part of your intestine gets too...
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