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Subject:
re: SCD critical success factors
Date: Sun, 24 Sep 2000
From: Mike Simons
To: Nancy Emerson , *SCD Listserve
Abstract:
Regarding your post about the SCD "hurting people",
and the challenge the parent of your teenage student faces
[in getting their child to try the SCD], I agree with [listmember]
Brian in that I would have had a hard time with the SCD in
high school (1982). In my opinion, getting the SCD to work
requires an open attitude, personal motivation (vested interest),
a supporting family or structure, and reduction of stress.
This mix of critical success factors is not easy to accomplish.
In reality, to get the drugs to *really* work in place of
the SCD, the same is necessary. And while the doctors won't
tell anyone about the SCD, they rarely discuss these other
critical success factors, either.
Detail:
I was diagnosed as a sophomore in high school. It was a very
stressful time for me and I am quite certain that stress was
the major trigger--there were others, including a slightly-remote
family history of CD, having always internalized my emotions
as a kid, and environmental factors -- there were 2 other
kids not 1 mile from my home that were diagnosed with CD or
UC the same year as I was. Perhaps it was something in the
water? Was it the proverbial "Jewish mother syndrome" (mine
is Catholic)? Was there some mysterious ingredient in the
spray they used to kill the Gypsy Moth caterpillars that year,
ala Erin
Brockovitch?? Was it all of this together? Yup.
Anyway,
I did hear about a "change in diet" while I was in college,
around 1984. At the time I was in a pain-free time, drug free
state, and pretty much ate what I wanted and dealt with it
- with plenty of diarrhea (D). Then in 1994 and 1995 I frequented
the alt.support.crohns-colitis
newsgroup, but I do not recall anything about diet. I do recall
plenty of fish oil and omega 3 discussion, which I ignored
because the Asacol and 6-MP were keeping me in a pain-free
state (again, with plenty of D). [Point: I was never able
to get rid of the D until I started the SCD!!!] In 1996
my girlfriend Laura (now wife) introduced me to a woman named
Louise Anderson (upper west side, NYC). I visited Louise 4
or 5 times for "body and mind work". Whatever criticism anyone
has about chakras and auras and craniosacral massage and the
like--she can dispell all of that and make a believer of anyone--at
least she made me a believer. Her key questions for me during
all of our sessions were: "OK, so you got Crohn's back in
1982. You've had it since then. Why won't you let it go? Why
are you allowing it to control you? And most importantly,
What would your life be like without it?" Ohhh, how I resisted
answering those questions. I just couldn't. Or so I thought.
My folks
had taken the whole family to someone back in 1983, several
sessions' worth of psychobabble stuff. These sessions were
just a big finger-pointing gripefest. I was not able to extricate
myself enough to learn what was going on until I met Louise.
Then in 1996 Laura and I came to Tucson on a vacation, to
see if I would move here with her (versus my staying in NYC
and her moving here for her Ph.D. studies without me). I fell
in love with Tucson--the wonderful food, the hiking, the perpetual
blue skies, the relaxed atmosphere, and more. Anyway, we were
hiking one afternoon and I got a bad case of D. What had started
as a wonderful day quickly turned sour. I lagged way behind.
I squirmed and twisted to try to hold it back. It was horrible.
Finally I explained that there was no way I could make it
back to the trailhead and bathrooms. I needed to go. So, like
so many others on this list, I found the most private place
I could on the hard, rocky, cactus-ridden trail and made a
big stinky mess. I had to use leaves to clean myself. It was
so damned humiliating! And that was it--that was the last
straw.
I got
back to NYC, saw Louise one more time, and got the name of
Elaine's book (Louise was well aware of it and had asked:
Why I wouldn't try it?). Laura and I moved to Tucson, but
it took me 2 months to purchase the book, four months to muster
up the guts (pun intended) to try it. I found out that a new
friend's son (10 years old) was on the SCD and was doing great.
They told me how they cooked enough food for 2-3 days, put
everything in glass or tupperware, and sent him to school,
friends' homes for sleepovers, etc. When I started the SCD
on 1/1/97, I told my wife that I was going to do it for 30
days. Then another 30. Then another 30. And I've never looked
back.
The success
I enjoy with the SCD is so liberating. It used to be that
when I dined out I'd eat and then have to go to the bathroom.
Now that things are in control, and I know what to eat (and
what not to) my life is - well, pure bliss!!! My wife and
I both love to cook, so the added fun of translating our old,
favorite recipes to SCD is just fine. We both benefit from
the SCD (coincidentally, my wife has finally realized that
she had suffered from IBS for almost 40 years. Eating the
same food has done wonders for her, too).
As you
can see, maintaining the right "mix" keeps me in remission.
It'll be four years this January 1st. I am so happy that I
finally heeded all of Elaine's work and Louise's suggestions.
It has made a world of difference. And that is why I dedicate
so much time to maintaining the scdiet.org site, as well as
my personal SCD food
log and other internet locations. So many will benefit
from this regimen for remission! And has soooooo many have
said, thank God for Elaine!!!!
Successful
SCD-ers have an open attitude, personal motivation, a loving
support structure, and a way to control stress (for me, weight
training at the gym twice a week and yoga twice a week).
Again,
all of this is my own opinion. :-)
-Mike
Simons Tucson, AZ
http://www.glassbird.com/mike
http://www.glassbird.com/scd
and if that ain't enough there's the mother lode @ http://www.scdiet.org
 More of Mike's Success Story
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Subject:
re: SCD critical success factors
Date: Tues, 26 Sep 2000
From: Rachel Turet
And if
one compiled a database (that surely would be mocked as non-scientific)
from the tons of histories we have, of those that have enjoyed
the fruits of SCD, all you'd have to do is substitute dates,
names, locations (your most memorable nightmare was in the
desert, mine was on a comuter train), and you'd have a story
that repeats itself over and over.
- A)
Diagnosis of a hopeless disease (a few variations)
- B)
Discovery of a possible solution
- C)
Ambivalance about commitment (based on false medical data)
- D)
Decision to commit (founded on a "what have I got to lose"
attitude)
- E)
Success, success, success!
- F)
A burning desire to "spread the word"
- G)
Frustration at finding C) at every turn
For a
lot of us, this ends one chapter in our lives and begins the
happy, productive, symptom-free ones. My one regret is that
it seems that while some of us use this experience to "take
up the cause" and fight to abolish the medical ignorance that
keeps so many in the dark, it seems that an equal number,
just take their gift and run, choosing to forget that this
is a fight that needs every success story as amunition. I've
had emails that say, in affect, "thanks so much for everything.
I'm now well and don't have time for all this mail. I have
my life back and am much too busy living it. Good luck and
so long."
(sigh)
Rachel
More of Rachel's Success Story
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Date:
Thu, 26 Oct 2000
From: Colleen Mcdonald ckmcdonald@earthlink.net
To everyone,
especially those folks who feel that they can't live without
"regular" food:
This morning
I was thinking about how difficult it can be sometimes when
all you want is one little croissant, one little bag of potato
chips, something CHOCOLATE, for God's sake, and the analogy
suddenly hit me, of repeatedly being drawn to the instant
gratification of that hit, in spite of the devastating, chronic
effects - just like alcoholism or addiction! I've never had
an addictive bone in my body, but I think I'm getting a sense
now of what it must be like to be alcoholic and confronted
at every turn by social drinking, having to say, "No, thanks
- can't touch the stuff," no matter how strong the desire.
It's very
simple - we sacrifice the short-term fix for the long-term
benefit of health recovery. So to those who feel that they
could "never" give up this or that or they couldn't possibly
follow the diet without cheating, I would say this, along
the lines of Rational Recovery, the system developed by Jack
Trimpey for self-recovery from addiction: You are ruled by
the neo-cortex (adult) portion of your brain, and you are
allowing yourself instead to be pushed around by the primitive
portion, that little child who wants his/her French fries
*now*, the portion which keeps telling you that you cannot
possibly adhere fanatically to so strict a diet - and you
allow this to happen because it excuses you from pigging out
on Cheetos. You are an adult. You have a responsibility to
yourself to do whatever it takes to heal your body, and if
you are not willing to face this fact, then you will reap
the consequences.
I love
potato chips, chocolate and Cheetos as much as the next guy.
But those things which I love have been destroying me, and
so, just like an addict, I have to leave them behind, even
if it's painful. Period.
We all
make our own choices in life. Just thought I'd share this.
Love, Colleen-CD
It takes determination
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SCD Critical Success Factors