May sound strange to say it, but now that I've come through and beaten this horrible disease I'm actually glad it happened to me. Firstly, it showed me that modern medicine does not have all the answers. My UK doctor told me that the cause was unknown, but it definitely wasn't dietary! I was put on steroids and immune suppressants, horrible drugs, and when they stopped working after a while the dosage was upped. At one meeting with my GP he actually advised my to consider smoking! I kid you not. Now, I had read this on Wikipedia, that smoking somehow alleviates colitis symptoms, most likely because the body is too busy fighting off the toxins from cigarettes to worry about what's going on in the bowel. This reminded me of my brother who had been told by an NHS dentist to consider snacking on crisps instead of fruit, because fruit acid could damage teeth - unbelievable!
I wonder why we spend more and more on health care each year?
I've no doubt that I would have ended up having part of my colon surgically removed. Interestingly this is what Manchester United footballer Darren Fletcher is currently having done to try to save his football career. If only he knew what I know.
Anyway, I see colitis as a blessing most of all because it has made me change my diet and lifestyle to one that is conducive to long term good health. If I hadn't had colitis in my late 20s it may have been cancer in my 50s, or heart disease, or arthritis, or depression or any number of non viral or non bacterial, lifestyle diseases. I feel lucky everyday.
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