This is the day...

There is an old song that we used to sing in Sunday school “this is the day that the Lord has made, I will be glad and rejoice in it…”

Never did I know that some day it would be so hard. As a child you can’t even fathom what life is like as an adult. It’s probably good that we can’t understand that one day we will have to pay bills, eat our vegetables for our hearts, and do all those things that we dreaded doing around the house because now we are the only ones here to do them.

I guess I really wasn’t sick much as a kid. At least I don’t remember anything beyond your normal flu. And every time I was sick, there was something to go back to. The thought in the back of my mind was, “in a few days I will be better”. I could always count on the flu, or cold or whatever being miserable for days, but then magically it would get better. Why can’t all illness be like the flu??

Today I woke up determined that my day was going to be better than the last. I think it was worse. “Ok”, I thought, “step 1, determination is not enough to make myself better”.  Perhaps most people instinctively know this step, but somehow I continually forget it. Go ahead, laugh.

On to my next normal course of action. What can I do to help myself? My day usually starts with, “God, please let my Crohns heal…at least to where it’s manageable.”  My husband and I had a talk about God…the difference between trusting and doing and when to do each of them. I can trust God to make me better, and do nothing…and while that could help, for most people it doesn’t. I can do something about it! But if I do something about it, there is still no guarantee (especially with something like Crohns) that it will get better. I guess you need both.  Meds and diet and rest can help, but only God can heal.

What else is there to do?? Seems like I’ve tried it all! It seems to me that I need something that will get me over the “hump”, so to speak.  My body needs to heal. I tell my husband that when I eat my whole body gets angry with me. Makes it hard to muster down that dinner!

But, our bodies do have the amazing propensity to heal! Remember the flu, and how it got better “magically”? Perhaps that wasn’t a serious illness, but it shows we do have the ability to fight things, and to heal. What will be the thing that can help my body do that??

I am going to try a new vitamin. Crohns patients are notorious for being malnourished, and vitamins are more important for us than most. But getting a good vitamin can be more complicated that it seems. Most would go to the local drug store and buy one. After research though, I’ve found not all vitamins are created equal.  My doctor suggested Drucker Labs, since they do a liquid vitamin shown to be effective.  I will let you know what I think of it, when I finish the bottle. So far, I can say it’s the best tasting liquid vit that I’ve had.

Also, my husband found and article that showed a study they did, where Boswellia  extract was taken in place of mesalazine (see  http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11215357 ). Wow, that is great! This has been added to my regimine.

So, what’s next??  I think it’s time to do more research on food. There are tons of diets out there, but who knows what one to do! I’ll talk about that next time… Until then! Happy Thanksgiving.