Regional enteritis

Editor:

My name is Karen Henman. I was 28 years old when I first consulted with Colet Lahoz at the East West Clinic. I heard her speak at the regional conference sponsored by the Crohn's and Colitis foundation in St. Paul, Minnesota. I have been trying to find help with Crohn's disease that I've suffered since I was in my teens. The illness is also referred to as ileitis or regional enteritis and is characterized by chronic inflammation of the intestines. I had persistent diarrhea, fatigue, abdominal cramps, joint pain and skin lesions. I was extremely thin and often depressed. I did not respond to cortisone drugs prescribed by my gastroenterologist so in 1995, the surgeon performed a partial colectomy. In spite of more drugs and the surgery my symptoms persisted and worse -- I had blood in my stools. My doctor wanted to correct that with another operation, an ileostomy, where he would remove a major portion of my intestine and route my elimination through the abdominal wall, a very distasteful colostomy. At that poi nt I got very discouraged; I was 28 years old, single and what were my chances at ever having a romantic relationship with this contraption on my body? When Colet Lahoz mentioned she could help with situations like mine, I grabbed the opportunity.

At the clinic she evaluated me for possible Candida (yeast) overgrowth using the in-depth clinical symptom questionnaire found in her book Conquering Yeast Infections, The Non-Drug Solution. I scored extremely high confirming her contention that 80% of people with my illness were linked to Candida overgrowth in the gut. The Western medical professionals were not looking for yeast as the predisposing factor in my illness, but Colet was able to relate my history of having had recurrent tonsillitis and a tonsillectomy at age 4 with heavy use of antibiotics, resulting in massive yeast overgrowth in my intestines. This explains why I was very sickly as a child, with constant complaints of stomach aches, allergies, skin rashes, etc.

Colet explained that Candida albicans is the specific name for a strain of fungus or yeast that naturally exist in the digestive tract. In healthy individuals they co-exist with other microbes causing no problems. In situations where antibiotics are used recurrently as in my case at age 4, the bacterial component is eradicated, leaving room for the fungus to overgrow.

In my case this overgrowth was unrecognized as the cause of my many symptoms because the doctors were not looking for it as the culprit. Instead they used drugs and surgery, which of course did not solve my problems. It took me till the age of 28 to find someone who finally diagnosed my illness and gave me the appropriate therapy.

What cured me was the combination of 5 regimens of natural antifungals, probiotics, strict diet at first (no sugar, yeast or alcohol) and weekly acupuncture treatments. The acupuncture gave me the quickest, most lasting relief from the diarrhea, bleeding, cravings for sugary foods and the rectal strictures. Within three months I was symptom-free. I continued my treatments, the diet and the antifungal regimen for six months; at that time I was totally drug-free, I was able to discontinue Purithenol and Anosul, drugs that I had taken for many years. I got a total of 25 acupuncture treatments.

At this writing I am symptom-free, it has been 5 years since I saw Colet, I have gained weight, got married two years ago and now I am pregnant with our first child. All this would not have been possible had I not resorted to seeking help from an alternative practitioner like Colet Lahoz.

Karen Henman

Eagan, Minnesota

S. Colet Lahoz

East West Clinic

5770 W. Bald Eagle Blvd. White Bear Lk., Minnesota 55110 USA

651-429-9595

eastwest@mm.com

www.eastwest-mn.com

COPYRIGHT 2003 The Townsend Letter Group
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