I have suffered in silence for almost 20 years.
I will be silent no more.
If you are not my gastroenterologist, please stop giving me unsolicited medical advice.
I’m sure you mean well when you tell me I can cure myself if I just change my diet or start this new miracle drug or dance naked underneath the full moon.
But you’re not a gastroenterologist. Most of the time, you don’t even have Crohn’s or Colitis yourself. Rarely are you even a certified nutritionist.
“My mom’s best friend’s niece totally did this and cured herself!” you swear up and down. Yeah, and Ouija boards help people communicate with the dead.
“Have you thought about eliminating all carbs?” you ask the woman who became gluten- and dairy-free at the age of 13, years before gluten-free products were wildly available. The woman who can sometimes only eat cereal and chicken noodle soup for days on end, because everything else makes her throw up.
Even if you yourself are a certified nutritionist, AND a gastroenterologist, AND you cured yourself of Crohn’s Disease, your opinion is irrelevant. Unless you are my gastroenterolgist, you know nothing about my condition.
The funny thing about IBDs is how they affect patients in wildly different ways.
I might be underweight right now, but my Crohn’s is actually relatively mild. I’ve only been hospitalized once. I’ve never had surgery. The strongest drugs I’ve taken are Prednisone, Entocort, and 6-MP. Most of the time I just take Pentasa.
Carbs are my best friend. Other Crohnies do better on a gluten-free diet. Some dairy products make me very sick, but others are fine. Unless I’m actively flaring, I can eat most fruits and vegetables, but I know people with an IBD who have to avoid most fresh produce.
So while I appreciate your concern for me, I’m sick and tired of the unsolicited medical advice. I’ve had Crohn’s Disease for most of my life. I know my body pretty damn well at this point. And what my body does NOT need is snake oil peddled by friends and strangers alike.
