Are you miserable with Crohn's Disease or IBS (irritable bowel syndrome)?  Or perhaps you know someone stricken with Crohn's or another debilitating illness categorized under IBS, such as diverticulitis.  In case you aren't familiar with Crohn's, it is a chronic inflammatory condition of the gastrointestinal tract.  It cannot be cured.

Been there!

This is my testimony about how the usual ravages of this horrible disease don't affect me much anymore.  Though I will never be cured of Crohn'[s, my life has really taken off as a result of using food in place of medicine.

The first time I ever became aware of Crohn's disease was when I was diagnosed over 40 years ago, in 1970.  At that time, I was hospitalized because of recurring high fevers, diarrhea, pain in the abdomen, and weight loss.  Also, my eyes were very bloodshot.  My current friends confessed to me later that they thought I had a drinking problem as they were always red.  Later I suffered from iritis, a painful inflammation of the eye that can be a side effect of Crohn's.  I probably had Crohn's during high school and college as I was very thin and had pains in my stomach during that time.

Crohn's is a difficult disease to diagnose.  During that hospitalization, doctors first thought I had spinal meningitis, then lupus.  Finally, after many tests, it was determined that I had Crohn's and treatment began with diet changes and Prednisone.

In 1975, I learned how serious this disease can be.  Only seven months after getting married, I had to have emergency surgery when my small intestine perforated.  My surgeon informed me that he removed 42 centimeters of small intestine, including the ileal secal valve, and a temporary ileostomy was performed because of peritonitis--and to save my life.  If I hadn't already been a patient in the hospital, I may not have survived.  In fact, surgery was performed about four months later to "resect" the small intestine from the ileostomy.

My next surgery--in a total of six surgeries because of Crohn's--was to remove kidney stones, which developed due to the shortened intestine.  I then experienced the pain of fistulas and abscesses and had to have two emergency surgeries to correct this.  If you have experienced this, you know it is incredibly painful--and I thought kidney stones were bad!  My final surgery (for Crohn's) removed about another 12 inches of intestine.  Needless to say, I was miserable at times.

Done that!

Even though I was blessed with excellent medical care in Chicao and Toledo, I experienced many prescriptions and their damaging side effects.  These included Prednisone, which was prescribed for 27 years.  A side effect of this drug was cataracts; they have since been removed.  Among many other medications that I used, my doctor prescribed Flagyl for quite a long period of time as well as Purenithol, a chemotherapy-type drug that requires blood testing every two months as it kills both the "good" and the "bad".

No more!

About six years ago, I heard about a real, time-tested natural supplement--mangosteen juice--in a radio ad.  This is made from a delicious fruit grown mainly in Southeast Asia.  Parts of the fruit have been used for hundreds of years for wellness purposes.  This fruit contains unusual "phytochemicals" (naturally occurring chemicals) known as "xanthones" (and others too), which are antioxidants.  The xanthones are found in greater abundance in the mangosteen fruit than in almost any other known fruit in the world.

Because of the documented wellness effects of this fruit, especially in its native regions, there are many detailed lab studies (mainly from Asia) that indicate its usefulness in various wellness situations.  American researchers have become more active during the last few years as the fruit and its juice have gained popularity in our country.  You can find many research studies dating back for years at www.pubmed.org (key in the words "xanthone" and "mangosteen").

I heard that the mangosteen had anti-inflammatory effects, so I thought it might help me.  And since the mangosteen is a fruit and has no side effects, I decided to give it a try.  As God had always taken such good care of me in the past, I reasoned, "This is a fruit created by God and bottled by man."  I was especially interested in the "energy" benefits that I heard about in the radio ad.

When I started drinking mangosteen juice in 2007, I was experiencing much discomfort after my last Crohn's surgery in 2006.  At my doctors' suggestions many things had been tried to alleviate this discomfort, including pancreatic enzymes, but nothing had worked.  After two weeks of drinking only about an ounce of mangosteen juice each day, I experienced an increase in energy and friends thought I looked so much better.  I also no longer had migraine headaches, which I often had a couple times a week.  I then increased the amount of juice to an ounce in the morning and an ounce in the evening.  After about three to four months, I realized that the side effects from that surgery were gone.  No discomfort whatever.  I continued taking the mangosteen juice with its wonderful benefits of more energy, no migraines and no pain or discomfort from Crohn's.

Then, about three years ago, I started experiencing damaging side effects to my liver and kidneys due to the prescription drugs I had been taking for years.  I realized I had better get off these prescription drugs but was fearful of stopping them.  I sure didn't want a flare up of the disease.

Under the guidance of two excellent medical doctors, a gastroenterologist and a world-renowned colorectal surgeon, I was able, with periodic blood monitoring, to get off all my prescription medications for Crohn's while substituting the natural alternative treatment of mangosteen juice.  With their guidance, I increased my mangosteen juice to six ounces twice a day for a month, then reduced it to four ounces twice a day for a month.  During this time, I was gradually quitting the prescription drugs.  Now I maintain on just two ounces in the morning and evening.  My cholesterol and blood pressure are all in the normal to desirable ranges.

When I started drinking mangosteen juice, I had been taking Purenithol, Triclor (for high triglycerides), and Hydrochlorathiazide (a diuretic to reduce the possibility of kidney stones).  I am now off all those medications!

I slowly learned that not all mangosteen juices are the same.  Some are diluted.  Some only use part of the mangosteen fruit.  To get better results more quickly, the most effective mangosteen juice uses the whole mangosteen fruit, which includes the pericarp(the rind).  Some people who are used to drinking bad-tasting juice or medicine to help them wonder how a juice that tastes so good can actually help you.

There is no magic in what I did.  Mangosteen juice is based on science, not hope.  I have learned that many others have had the same results while fighting their own Crohn's and IBS illnesses.  I am convinced that many people can get relief from this wonderful juice and am sharing this message to get the word out.

I have always been active, even while fighting the illness before discovering mangosteen juice.  After having Crohn's for 20 years, I took up horseback riding, played polo for five years, and rode horseback across the mountains in Vermont on a five-day trip.  I've done a 100-miles-in-a-day bicycle ride and completed a very strenuous six-day outward-bound-type program in the mountains of northern California.  I wouldn't let Crohn's stop me.

I also was a model/actress and spokesperson in commercials and movies in Chicago.  I remember getting the part in a fitness/treadmill commercial because "I looked so healthy and had so much energy."  While filming that commercial, I remember being so miserable with abdominal pain.  Now I not only look healthy, but feel healthy.

With this wonderful juice, I am even more active and comfortable now.  At age 66, I am pain free, feel great and have energy.  I do water aerobics three times a week as well as Zumba.  I run and also bike 15-20 miles a day several times a week in the summer.  And, my colonoscopy is now scheduled for every five years instead of every six to 12 months!

Throughout the history of my disease, I have spoken before several groups, including the Minnesota Chapter of the National Foundation for Ileitis & Colitis.  Crohn's doesn't have to limit us or cramp our style.

"No matter how you feel, get up, dress up, and fight for your dreams."

Don't get me wrong.  This disease is too powerful to not follow your physician's care.  However, there may come a time when an alternative treatment may be helpful.  Fighting drug side effects or not, you may eventually want to find a way to wean yourself from some of your drugs as I did.To find out more click here.