Reposted from Wheat Belly Blog
http://www.wheatbellyblog.com/2013/03/ulcerative-colitis-tamed/Traci posted this wonderful story of her dramatic relief from years of ulcerative colitis:
Dr. Davis,
For 24+ years I have suffered from Ulcerative Colitis (UC). This past Christmas, my stepmother recommend that I read your Wheat Belly book. I did because I had decided to remove carbs from my diet at the beginning of the year. She said your book would be a great supplement to my carb reduction. I had no idea that by reading your book my symptoms of UC would disappear!!!
Normally, I am treated with a medicine called Remicade which is administered via IV. Usually I receive this medicine every 2 months. Guess what??? It’s been 4 months since my last treatment, and I see NO signs of needing it yet!!! I truly believe now that my colitis has a direct connection to wheat!! My digestion has NEVER been BETTER!!! My gastroenterologist was impressed by my progress too. He said he would pick up the book and read it. I can’t wait to see where I am in 6 months, which is when I return to my gastroenterologist for a checkup. The way I feel now, I don’t believe I will have any need for Remicade within this span of time.
Anyway, just wanted to pass along that I’m checking every item I eat for wheat–-not for weight loss purposes, but for staving off the pain and symptoms of my inflammatory bowel disease. So far, apparently wheat sets off my colitis. I am thrilled to be controlling a disease that I’ve suffered with for 24+ years with a change in my diet!! If you check the price of Remicade, I am not only saving my colon but also the exorbitant price of treating it just by removing wheat from my diet.
Thank you for publishing your thoughts, research, and analysis of today’s wheat. It has saved my colon!!
Let’s talk Remicade. Remicade is one among several new Tumor Necrosis Factor (TNF) inhibitors, in this case a monoclonal antibody produced in large quantity, a protein that blocks a step in the inflammatory pathways. Side-effects: unmasking or causing infections, such as fungal infections (e.g., those from common fungi harbored in skin, doorknobs, or dirt), bacteria (especially latent tuberculosis), and viruses. Cancers have been associated with Remicade’s use, especially dangerous intestinal lymphomas, as well as liver damage and liver failure.
Cost? A single dose is around $900 if purchased directly, with twice that to cover the costs of intravenous administration. That’s per dose. This kind of pricing has created something like a $25 BILLION annual market.
Ulcerative colitis was the condition that prompted me to finally sit down and write Wheat Belly, the turning point that solidified my commitment to broadcasting this message far and wide. This experience involved a 38-year old schoolteacher who had struggled with ulcerative colitis for 12 years, taking 3 drugs including IV Remicade, but left with unremitting around-the-clock cramps, diarrhea, and hemorrhage–hemorrhage!!–that obliged transfusions several times per year. She was scheduled for colectomy (colon removal) with creation of an ileostomy, an orifice on the surface of the abdomen to capture the liquid stool rerouted to the surface, collected in a bag.
I met this young woman because of a minor heart issue, one that proved of no consequence. When she described her impending colon removal and ileostomy, I asked, “Have you tried wheat elimination?” She gave me a bewildered, “Are you nuts?” look, informing me that she had undergone two small intestinal biopsies and blood work that failed to demonstrate evidence for celiac disease.
“Yes, I understand. But many conditions caused by wheat are not revealed by such testing,” I told her.
She did it. Three months later, she returned to my office, 38 pounds lighter, with a bright and memorable smile on her face: The cramps, diarrhea, and bleeding of her ulcerative colitis had disappeared. She was free of 1, 2, then 3 of the drugs, including the Remicade–CURED. That’s when I decided to go on this quest of wheat liberation.
As I often say, is there any way to overstate the case against modern wheat? What other dietary strategy holds such powerful potential for the transformations of health, even from the bring of colon removal?
