Reaching for Answers to Crohn’s Disease

During the summer of 2002, our daughter Sarah, who was then 15, was diagnosed with anemia. “Probably just iron deficiency anemia,” the doctor said. But even with iron supplements month after month, she continued to drag through the day.

The following year became exhausting to us as we went from doctor to doctor trying to determine the cause of the anemia. I remember when we walked down the seemingly endless corridor that led to the pediatric hematologist’s office. The echoes of our footsteps bounced off the walls. Surreal thoughts filled my mind while we sat in the waiting room amid young bald- headed children while they received chemotherapy.

Through the days to come, our faith in God grew enormously as we endured the lengthy wait to find out answers. We clung to the hope that He would heal her of whatever illness gripped her body.

After numerous diseases were ruled out, doctors began to suspect a mal- absorption problem. Tests were done to rule out Crohn’s disease. As a nurse, I knew the seriousness of this disease, and I desperately did not want Sarah to be plagued with it. But in July of 2003, Sarah received the harsh diagnosis of Crohn’s. I asked the doctor if diet had anything to do with it. This doctor, along with the majority of the medical community, didn’t think that diet was a significant factor. Nonetheless, there was a driving force in me to explore that topic.

In my search, I came across the name Dr. J. Rainer Poley, a highly respected pediatric gastroenterologist who was educated at the Medical University of Innsbruck in Austria and the Mayo clinic in Minnesota. He had done research on sugars and intestinal diseases.

Originally, I found his work cited in the writings of the late Elaine Gottschall. However, Dr. Poley recommended a different approach to us. He instructed Sarah to follow a restricted sugar diet, specifically refined white sugar, also known as sucrose. He also instructed her to eat plain yogurt and take the probiotic called Culturelle which contains Lactobacillus GG. Culturelle is the most widely researched probiotic on the market.

It has been well documented that there is a bacterial overgrowth seen in people with Crohn’s disease. Scientists don’t know what triggers it, but they do know that excess bacteria are a big part of the problem. It is also a well established fact that sucrose is the major food source for the bacteria that are present in the GI tract. So the intent behind Dr. Poley’s treatment plan was to starve the harmful bacteria by taking away their food source. By eating yogurt and taking Culturelle every day, the good bacteria would be replenished. This sounded like a simple solution for such a complex disease like Crohn’s. But it made sense to us, and we left his office with renewed hope.

After about 2 weeks of following Dr. Poley’s suggestions, Sarah’s energy level began to increase. Three months later we returned to see Dr. Poley for a follow-up visit. Sarah felt well, and she had gained 6 pounds, which was significant since she had not gained any weight in over a year. And her lab work was all normal! We were elated!

At one of our visits with Dr. Poley, he looked at Sarah and said, “Enjoy life!” She has taken his advice. As a mother, I don’t know of many things in life that have touched me more than to see my daughter be well and truly able to enjoy life.

Her return to health has been an extraordinary journey -- one we could never have imagined. When I look at the butterflies that were painted on the walls of Sarah’s room when she was a teenager, I am reminded of the freedom she now possesses. The restraints that Crohn’s disease placed on her were once like a cocoon, but they have now disappeared. She continues to be well today, over 10 years later.

We hope our experience will benefit others who are battling this debilitating illness.