What a Vegan Learned While Navigating the Health Care System
Question conventional medicine more and keep an open mind regarding alternatives — it could save you unnecessary pain and thousands of dollars.
Recently, I took a journey through the health care system that I never expected.
You see, I was proactive about my health. Having been a vegan for twenty-four and a half years, I strongly felt that I had reduced my risk of depending on the health care system. However, I learned that we all may have to navigate that system at some point.
I learned several lessons on my journey. I want to pass my hard-won experience along so you can avoid the pitfalls I encountered.
In 2018, I began experiencing pain in my intestinal region. Two tests revealed blood in my stool. At that time, I chose not to have a colonoscopy.
The clinic diagnosed my problem as a painful hemorrhoid. I was given a prescription topical steroid for 30 days, but it didn’t help.
Later, when I attempted to schedule an appointment with a gastrointestinal (G.I.) doctor, the specialist’s clinic told me I would have to wait months for an appointment.
So, I agreed to the colonoscopy, hoping to get an appointment with a G.I. doctor sooner.
After the colonoscopy, I was told I had moderate to severe Crohn’s disease but no hemorrhoid. Crohn’s is considered an incurable, chronic inflammatory condition of the intestines. However, the pain I’d experienced was actually from a perianal fistula.[1] A fistula is an abnormal connection (like a duct) between two hollow organs or between a cavity and a hollow organ (such as my colon).
The doctor strongly recommended that I take a “biologic” medicine, Remicade,[2], [3] for the rest of my life. To me, that fistula “solution” seemed too drastic, expensive, and potentially harmful.
· Lesson 1: Just because a doctor says there are no other options, doesn’t necessarily mean it’s true.
Instead of taking the prescription drug, I chose to first work with a naturopath.
In the last 120 years, we have become accustomed to allopathic doctors. This is the predominant medical system we have in the U.S. Allopathic doctors “oppose,” or fight “against,” disease (usually with chemical drugs, radiation, and surgery). They are taught medical warfare: they must combat the foe (the illness or disease) with heroic, extraordinary measures.
Naturopaths, on the other hand, are practitioners trained in working “with” nature. They employ natural, noninvasive, and nontoxic methods to help the body overcome the imbalance (or symptoms) that we call “disease.” They are taught that when the body has all the elements it needs in body, mind, and spirit (because, after all, we are “whole” ecosystems), the body can heal.
After much research on my own, and with the guidance of my experienced naturopath, I adopted the Specific Carbohydrate Diet[4] (SCD), which is healthier for me than a vegan diet. These changes quickly brought my Crohn’s disease symptoms under control.
My G.I. surgeon, however, was not impressed. Regardless of my improved Crohn’s symptoms, he said my fistula was worse, and most likely my Crohn’s was no better. He said without a lifetime of taking Remicade and surgery, maybe even a series of surgeries, I would surely wind up in the emergency room. In other words, nothing else but his solutions would work.
· Lesson 2: Allopathic doctors are well trained in drugs and surgery. They are often completely ignorant about how natural healing works. They may have never witnessed it. They are taught that chronic conditions never improve, so that’s what they believe.
Still, because my G.I. doctor told me my fistula was getting worse, I believed him. I scheduled a surgery. After the surgery, he told me that he couldn’t perform a fistulotomy[5] (which cuts through through the fistula, thus eliminating the duct) because mine was in a location that was too difficult to operate on. Instead, as a temporary measure, he inserted two Seton stitches[6] through the fistula duct. Seton stiches, used since the time of Hippocrates, keep the fistula open, allowing drainage. My doctor didn’t consider it important enough to tell me what he had done during the surgery. Much later, I learned about the Seton stitches he’d put in.
· Lesson 3: Patient communication is sadly lacking in the health care system. It’s up to you to learn all the details of your case.
Meanwhile, my naturopath researched my fistula and suggested that I research homeopathic silica (Silicea terra). Homeopathy[7] is a specific type of natural medicine that has been used safely and successfully worldwide for more than 200 years. I began taking that (very inexpensive) homeopathic remedy.
Later, my G.I. surgeon said my fistula was getting worse. I was too frightened to question his verdict. I scheduled my second G.I. surgery. However, once the surgery began, my astonished surgeon discovered that my fistula had healed “from the inside out,” as he put it. I was elated.
It healed without my having to take an expensive and potentially dangerous prescription drug for the rest of my life. Even if I had taken the “biologic” drug, there would have been 50 percent chance of the fistula returning. A “successful” fistulotomy would have reduced that to a 5 percent chance of recurrence.
Yet without the drug, and even before the surgery, my fistula had healed, 100 percent, using only my new diet, a $15 homeopathic remedy, and guidance from my naturopath. And at a miniscule fraction of the cost.
My symptoms of Crohn’s disease are completely under control with my SCD diet, and I believe it will not be a problem in the future.
· Lesson 4: Attitude affects everything. After my conventional doctors’ appointments, I was depressed and fearful. After working with my naturopath, I was joyful and uplifted.
Restoring health is not as simple as fixing a mechanical thing. We are biological, living, self-healing organisms. What happens is not always predictable. If doctors are unfamiliar with natural methods, how can they say categorically that they won’t work? They don’t know that. They just believe it, because that’s what they’ve been told.
Everyone is unique. A healing diet for me may not necessarily be healing for you. But it makes sense to me to optimize my body’s ability to heal itself by giving it everything it needs to do so. In my case, a vegan diet was not helping my body, even though I believe it helps the planet.
I hope my story helps people open their minds to how many health options exist, beyond what the medical doctors and hospitals are taught. Sadly, what is taught in medical school is heavily influenced by drug industry funding. The drug industry depends on a steady stream of income from expensive prescriptions to fuel its business. Naturally, they warn against natural methods.
I urge everyone to push back the fear that rises up with a doctor’s dire warnings. Take a deep breath, calm yourself, and do your own research. Alternatives exist.
May you find what works best for you.
[1] https://www.fascrs.org/patients/disease-condition/abscess-and-fistula-expanded-information
[2] https://www.webmd.com/drugs/2/drug-16554/remicade-intravenous/details
[3] https://www.medicinenet.com/biologics_biologic_drug_class/article.htm#what_is_a_biologic_drug_(biologics)
[4] https://med.stanford.edu/content/dam/sm/gastroenterology/documents/IBD/CarbDiet%20PDF%20final.pdf
[5] https://www.healthline.com/health/fistulotomy#talk-to-your-doctor
