Recently, on Goodreads, a reader wrote a very thorough review . . . It makes me think I should just do a book of all of “Dede’s Grey Boxes” from the Crohn’s book! What do you all think? A “how-to” from a patient who has kicked Crohn’s disease? A “saying no” to major medical institutions (like the Mayo Clinic) who advised me to start medication (Remicade/Humira, etc.) immediately and I didn’t and I beat the disease by following a naturopathic/holistic health plan that was outlined in our book . . . (just to be clear: Allopathic medicine saved my life by a combination of prednisone and bowel surgery of my small and large intestine (about 2 feet) to keep me alive…)
Check out the review & Happy Spring! Maybe I will work on this new book if it will help people!
~Dede
Living with Crohn’s & Colitis: A Comprehensive Naturopathic Guide for Complete Digestive Wellness
by Rebecca
Recommended for: People with Crohn’s, Colitis, IBD and their loved ones
Having just had a bad flare up of my Crohn’s, and a long and scary stay at the hospital, I’m now on a mission to read up more on current healing and overall wellness for people in my situation. This book was the only one amongst a sea of books that I had any interest in reading as a jumping off point. The combination of medical and personal account in this book is incredibly helpful. Hearing accounts of those who have “been there, done that, got better!” really is a spirit lifter for someone coming out of a bad flare and wanting to get on the right path.
The clinical information in this book is spot on and seems highly up to date. The biggest part of which is the proliferation of the idea that diet does matter to this disease. I was utterly dumbfounded during my hospital stay when I was given a menu of items I was allowed to eat (after being off food nearly a week) and it included so much junk. Though I didn’t thoroughly question my multiple doctors on their stance of diet in relation to Crohn’s, I got the impression most of them are operating under the “it doesn’t really matter what you eat” mentality. This blind spot in medicine, and not just related to Crohn’s, is a huge failing of our current system, and getting doctors to work with you on natural healing can be a challenge. Thankfully, books like this one are out there to help people start to see the interconnectedness of things like food, stress, supplements, along with pharmaceutical drugs and “modern” medicine. I have to give this book 5 stars for being detailed but understandable, informative, up to date accurate, and personally relate-able. The tips and tricks through the book are easy to understand and begin to incorporate in a healing plan for yourself. I recommend keeping paper and pen nearby to write down the names of various healing methods to try (like acupuncture and massage), as a reminder to look up that sort of thing in your area, and write down the names of supplements, foods and meals to try, etc.
My only complaint about this book is that Dede’s story and a lot of the helpful information is incredibly scattered throughout the book. We get chunks of things here and there between the related medical information. It was fine when reading through the first time, but I think the book would benefit from a few sections at the end that sort of combine the snippets scattered throughout into a more cohesive “summary” type section at the end for easier access when you want to use this as a reference instead. This is truly minor though, and since I can easily search the book on my Kindle it isn’t a huge deal to go back to re-read.
This book is a most excellent jumping off point for anyone wanting to get more information about Crohn’s and Colitis and a path to begin healing the whole body, not just covering up symptoms.
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Living With Crohn's & Colitis 