12 years of Crohn’s Remission without Medication

Long term IBD Remission is Possible

I want people to know long term remission is possible. You can achieve Crohn's & Colitis Remission without Medication. You might be reading this newly diagnosed, or experiencing a flare. Either way you’ve likely felt depressed and hopeless along your journey. One minute you're planning your life out, excited by what the future holds: career, business, relationship, family, fitness, or enjoying being young and adventurous. The next minute you're diagnosed with a degenerative disease and your dreams go down the toilet. 

The unfortunate part about our autoimmune diagnosis is we’re typically bombarded with fear. We're Informed our future will be filled with: surgeries, drugs, complications, and things we won’t be able to do. Then we go to google and find the lifelong “victims” and their stories scare us even more. The world seems very small when you’re sick and in pain. 

You Can Beat the Odds

I think you’re beating the odds if you're reading this post.  Never has there been a better time to be diagnosed with an autoimmune disease.  There are so many options with diets and supplements that can change your life. You may have to dig a little but you can find  testimonials of people that healed from Crohn’s Disease & Ulcerative Colitis. 

I started my journey before Youtube really became a thing. It was almost impossible to find inspirational stories. Consider yourself extremely lucky to have an autoimmune condition in such a hopeful time.   

Have I Lived a Normal Life?

Not even close! I’ve lived a Blessed life. 

I grew up in a poor single parent family in a violent area of my city. We ate the Standard American Diet filled with processed high carb garbage. I went through adolescent stress that led to me being diagnosed with multiple autoimmune conditions. Somewhere in the middle of the chaos I found solutions that changed my life. 

I decided to change my lifestyle and my symptoms disappeared. I went from being 130 lbs skin and bones to 175-180 lean and muscular. My confidence came back, I became a better version of my previous self.  With my new confidence I met the love of my life. I married her, we have a very comfortable lifestyle, and were blessed with 2 beautiful daughters. Having a family shaped me into a man I’m proud to be. 

I initially thought my autoimmune diseases were a curse, but I now realize they're a blessing. I was forced to change my lifestyle and through that process I found purpose in helping others. I hope one day you'll see your diagnosis as a blessing, and I look forward to hearing about it.    

How Long Have I Been in Remission 

I had to go back and look at a video when I had my last major flare. The video said it was 13 years ago which means I’ve been in remission between 12-13 years. I got back into remission 2-3 months after my flare in Hawaii. 

Do I Have Flare Ups?

Simple answer is NO. But I’ve fallen off the wagon with my diet & supplement program and felt pretty crappy. Usually this happens during the holidays when I binge on sweets or when we take all inclusive vacations and drink too much. When this happens I tend to get loose bowel movements, joint pain, and nausea. It’s corrected when I go back to my 5:2 routine. 

I’ve gained wisdom through making tons of mistakes. I’m an expert in knowing what NOT to do, but that doesn’t mean I always follow my own advice. All jokes aside, I know when I’ve overdone consuming garbage. I act quickly to get back on track. 

What Does Remission Feel Like?

It feels like FREEDOM ! Freedom to do the stuff you enjoy without worrying about your condition.

Before I achieved remission I had a laundry list of diagnoses and issues: 

• Crohn's Disease & Ulcerative Colitis 
• Anal Fistula
• Intestinal Narrowing 
• Rheumatoid Arthritis 
• Asthma
• Raynaud's
• Spondylolisthesis
• Eczema  
• ADHD
• Dyslexia  
• Depression & Anxiety 

These issues affected every aspect of my life. I’ve come to the opinion that these individual labels are all part of the same disease process. A process where the body’s cells are impaired, toxic, deficient, and leaky. When you heal the body through diet and lifestyle the majority of symptoms disappear. As I healed: my fistula closed up, eczema, joint pain, back issues, asthma, and intestinal narrowings all went away. 

Your progress might be slow and will require some tweaking. Once you achieve remission your body works on healing the older damage. As time goes by you stop worrying and stressing about your disease, and the months turn into years without issues. Soon enough stop talking about your IBD, considering it's something that once defined you. 

How Did I Get Into Remission

This is a loaded question, so I’ll give you the short version. 

I changed my diet and lifestyle by adopting a low carb diet (SCD Diet), and used various supplements. My condition improved but I didn’t get into remission. I continued to Tweak Forward by transitioning my diet a few times: Paleo, Keto, Carnivore (Zero Carb), and settling with a hybrid 5:2 program. It was a trial and error process, where I constantly went back and forth until I figured it out. For more info on what I did to achieve remission check out my free e-book at the bottom of this post. 

How Long Did it Take to Get into Remission?

It took approximately 1-2 years to get into Remission from Crohn’s Disease & Ulcerative Colitis. It took so long because I had no idea what I was doing, there was no plan or template. I spent lots of time and money doing too many things hoping one thing would be an instaCURE. A horrible approach that always felt like I took 1 step forward then 3 backwards.  Another BIG mistake is I was always rushing healing by trying to add foods and eat garbage. My symptoms returned and I felt like I was back at square 1. 

You have the privilege of learning from my mistakes. Every time I regressed it was because of my own doing, and I own that 100%. I think most people can achieve remission in 6-12 months. Most of the surface healing happens very quickly. Your pain, urgency, blood in bowel movements, and your diarrhea will be gone in 30-60 days. Great news, because most of the discomfort comes from these symptoms.  The other symptoms may take longer to heal such as: anal fistula, intestinal narrowings, eyesight, ADHD, cognitive improvements, and others.   

Always remember you’re playing the long game, so take your time and focus on healing. Don’t worry you’ll get to enjoy some cheat foods and have a good time. When it comes to healing you will be rewarded for your discipline.

Do I visit the Doctor Regularly?

My last visit to a gut doctor was about a year after I got into remission. Even though I felt awesome I needed someone to validate my results so I scheduled a colonoscopy. The results came back clean, and the doctor was confused because I was on ZERO medications. He responded like most western doctors, keep doing whatever you’re doing and I’ll see you in 6 months.

I think we’ve been taught to be customers of the medical system. We doubt our bodies' natural ability to heal and cleanse themselves. Many IBD patients feel it’s necessary to have regular colonoscopies to check on their disease. I'm not in favor of frequent colonoscopies as they're unnecessary and dangerous (see my previous video). They increase your chances of flaring up afterwards as they wreak havoc on your gut flora. It’s very important to repopulate the gut with beneficial bacteria after a colonoscopy.

 I’ve lost faith in allopathic medicine as their results speak for themselves. They're great with acute situations but not so good at reversing disease, achieving health, or maintaining wellness. The majority of the system has turned into neverending sick care. I’ve been at medical appointments and watched the doctor Google things just like you and I. This isn’t reassuring for any patient who is coming to the doctor for answers. With that said there’s been great results and development in functional medicine. A system of medicine that addresses underlying causes of illness, and doesn't just prescribe medication to mask symptoms. 

Do I Struggle?

Of course, I’m human and my temptation for junk food is always there. The struggle is trying to enjoy cheats and not overindulge. I find seasonal holidays to be the most challenging as there are so many food distractions. Our family dinners are huge, 25+ people and the dessert options are insane. My carb addiction is desserts as I have a crazy sweet tooth. Over the years I’ve learned a few tricks to ensure I can enjoy the holidays and not feel like garbage.

Having discipline is one of the fundamentals pillars if you're looking to overcome your Autoimmune Disease.  Discipline will dictate your success. What you put in your mouth directly affects your condition.   

How Do I Stay in Remission Long term?

After I achieved sustained remission (6-12 months) I switched to a 5:2 Program. This means that 5 days a week I consume LCHF (Low Carb Higher Fat) diet and 2 days I enjoy a few cheat meals. On the LCHF days I usually keep my carbs under 50 grams and majority of my calories come from animal products. The LCHF approach I use for label purposes is Keto-Carnivore 

On the 2 days (usually weekends) I have a good size cheat meal and a delicious dessert. I usually fast for at least 12-14 hours per day on all 7 days and this is built into my lifestyle. If I snack on my cheat days I usually do it using LCHF foods no less than 2 hours before my cheat meal.   

This system keeps me on track 70% of the time and lets me enjoy some treats. Let's be real, nobody wants to be on a restrictive diet forever and that’s why my 5:2 system works. I’m only a few days away from enjoying my favorite meals. 

Without a doubt I feel my best during the 5 days of LCHF. My mind is sharper, I feel more lean, no joint pains, and my energy is better. But humans gravitate towards foods we’re not supposed to have which is why the 2 days keep me motivated. 

Conclusion

I’m an ordinary dude who had multiple severe autoimmune conditions and changed my life around. Early in my healing journey I doubted myself constantly. I Always thought my diagnosis was worse than others who overcame their conditions. Hindsight, this was just my ego trying to sabotage my healing. (Your ego might be doing this now)

By now I hope you believe IBD remission is completely possible. It’s not luck! If you do specific things you get a SPECIFIC outcome. You’re lucky because you have technology and platforms that share success stories, unlike any time in history. 

I don’t believe in luck in a traditional sense as I think luck is well within your control. If you get lucky and overcome your autoimmune condition it's because you put in the time, effort and discipline required to get there. Getting lucky will require you to improve and tweak forward even when you feel crappy. 

Let's say I’m full of it and you don’t achieve remission. I think the worst case scenario is that you exponentially improve your condition. It's truly a win-win situation!  

I have faith, you got this!