Now that I got your attention…no I did not cure my Crohn’s. This is a quote from a writer/blogger that claims she cured her Crohn’s from practicing Buddhism.
As you can guess, I am about to go on a rant because this infuriates me. I have said it before, and will say it again. IBD is incurable. My last post was a repost from a friend who explains how even by removing the disease portion of your intestines with UC you are not cured. It helped open my eyes because I was one of those that used to say that if you remove UC, then you are cured. I know I was wrong in that thinking now. Now, we have this person that says if you just think your disease away you can cure yourself.
Before I go any further, please go read the article, which was put out by a news agency. https://open.abc.net.au/posts/my-freedom-from-bowel-disease-75ut3na
That’s right…a news agency. The same people who should be reporting facts are now reporting opinions.
Now, I don’t want to dismiss the whole mind/body connection. I do believe in it. For years I felt I controlled my disease by my thoughts. But I only controlled it. I would never say I cured myself, even though I had no symptoms and was off all meds. I was in remission. It is possible to use your mind to help control the body. I think her becoming a Buddhist helped her to clear and focus her mind. Meditation is good for the body. I won’t argue any of that. Also, I won’t argue that stress plays a big factor in our disease and by removing it you get better. Removing stress from the body at any time will help it heal against any disease.
“What became abundantly clear to me was that how we ‘think’ creates chemical reactions in the body. This in turn affects and can damage the cells within us. With no stress, the immune system works extremely well. By practicing acceptance, which prevents all stress, I got through breast cancer, skin cancer, and both my brothers dying of cancer. With each of these tests, the so-called incurable Crohn’s disease never returned.”
This was probably one of the few things I was able to agree with in the article. I am happy that this author was able to tackle Cancer and still remain in remission. I think it would take a very focused mind and it seems like she has one. I applaud her for that.
The one quote that worries me though was this.. “In my understanding I no longer have Crohn’s, this so-called incurable disease. Some doctors still find this hard to believe and often just say to me “So you are managing your Crohn’s disease well!” I manage nothing but my mind.” It worries me because she isn’t managing her Crohn’s. She is treating this like she is cured, and even the doctors don’t say she is. I think when she gets a flare she is going to spiral downwards real quick and probably suffer from some bad depression.
I sort of hope that Kit Campbell reads this and comes to the realization that she isn’t cured. I hope that she eventually sees what we all see, and that she needs to be treated. But I know reality and the truth is my job as an activists just got harder because of people like her telling stories that are best kept for the campfires.
A Guy With Crohn's 
I couldn’t agree more!
Reblogged this on The Daily Advocate By Painspeaks.
Completely agree. Can one think away the inflammation and scarring in the intestines? Can one think away the weight loss and malnutrition? It’s great that she’s in a great mental state, but if we could just think away this disease I think more people would have done it by now, myself included.
she’s in an amazing frame of mind, but I don’t believe a word of it is genuine. I agree with Andrew and yourself, if it was really as simple as thinking away IBD no one would have it, surely we would all just try and be as positive as possible and will it away.
Articles like this are dangerous, if not deadly. It makes people think they don’t have to take their meds or attend appointments to check on their condition, or even manage their condition at all.
So many people already think that IBD can be cured by us being less stressed or eating better, and I have come across many people who think most of my pain and symptoms are in my head. We do not need newsagencys spreading stories like this to solidify this ‘false promise’ and false idea of IBD as a condition in the minds of the general public…shame on them,,,and I say that as a hardened hack.
I can’t help but state that this reminds of this video: http://youtu.be/gwFvNYSCmhM
I completely agree I have had Crohn’s since I was 12 but I was not diagnosed till I was 20. They kept telling me that my symptoms were a result of my being overweight which I was but as both of the GI’s I’ve had said to me that weight has nothing to do with it. When I was finally diagnosed my bowels were so screwed up that it took me from the age of 20 till I was 27 and had surgery at 24 to have a bearable life.
I was in so much pain and I was bed ridden I could not walk because of the severe malnutrition and anemia I had to have 2 blood transfusions and be fed through IV countless times. I have probably been in the hospital for my Crohn’s about 50 or 60 times and half of those I was in for weeks. Finally I found a good doc and started good treatment. I was put on all the meds. I was on steroids for years and then I was put on Humira which help get rid of my Fistulas but did not work as much as I hoped it. I developed an partial bowel obstruction which was so painful that even Oxycodone would not kill the pain enough and I was on a lot and at times on the Fentanyl patch. I went to the University of Michigan but nothing would help it so that was when they did surgery and it took me 2 years to recover from that I was really sick and thought about dying more than once just to escape the pain. I was in a really bad time of my life but after surgery I was put on Remicaid and that really helped for a few years but I am once again in a flare.
I really feel that lady is being very irresponsible by telling people this. She is just in Remission and lucky her some of us are not so fortunate. She really should not talk about not using medication because some people may want to imitate her to get her results and by saying that she is cured she is telling everyone that it is possible by a type of religion which I am sorry is not possible. Now using stress techniques is great and I am sure they help to deal with it but people should know this disease is incurable and dangerous and no one is the same some people have mild Crohns’ and some People like me have severe. Some people only get sick once in a while, while some stay sick for most of their lives and some children can even be affected as well. My GI even told that as I get older I may not be affected as bad because when you get older your immune system starts to slow but I am not counting on it. I do my meds and all of my tests and I keep pushing but when I hear someone try to lead people into thinking that this can be cured I already had a hard time adjusting and getting people to understand why I was sick and what caused hell I did not even know what Crohn’s was when I was diagnosed. I had not even heard about it. Don’t get me wrong I am happy she is doing great but I just find that article irresponsible and I hope those who are affected by this take a little from each believing in a higher power or whatever makes you feel good emotionally is great and great for the disease. Happier people live longer and have better lives but if you are in a flare you need meds I went without meds for years because I did not have insurance and my body was severely broken and malnourished and I almost died. Medication is important and necessary when you are in a flare but yea if you are in remission you do not have to take any so I guess you should just listen to your doctor after all. He went to school forever and has the knowledge to treat you just be careful is all. I mean your health is not something to play with or test.
**Edited for grammer only** AGWC