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.
Bravo, Brita!
Jeremy has Colitis, so I feel like he has had to deal with a lot of the advice for his whole life. He’s not completely dairy free, but he does enjoy almond milk with his cereal. That kid can eat some cheese. Anyways, it is so interesting to me how different the condition can be for different people. We haven’t changed our diet either (although we did eat a good amount of vegan food and he said he felt great during that time), but I do know that if I cook more often and we don’t eat fast food all the time, he seems to have less flareups. It’s also crazy to me what triggers a flair up. It could be anything! Prednizone is his best friend during those times.
Yeah, I feel like unless you have an IBD yourself, or you’re very close to someone with an IBD, you can’t fully grasp how radically different it behaves in different people. I’ve been co-moderating a Crohn’s/Colitis blog for several years now, so I’ve been exposed to people of all ages and conditions.
Amen. I feel like this is true for most medical conditions… I know people mean well but unless you’re asked, don’t peddle!
Have you actually danced naked underneath the full moon? Then how do you know it won’t work for you? 🙂 Kidding, of course… but wouldn’t it be awesome if that could solve our life problems?
I’m sure this is so annoying. I agree that people need to keep their thoughts to themselves sometimes.
As someone you lives with a completely different incurable disease…. THANK YOU!
I feel your pain. I’m so sorry you have to deal with this! I know people that try to give advice mean well (and they speak from a position of privilege usually) but it is totally not okay and rude! I love how honest and upfront you are. While I don’t have anything like Crohns, I’ve noticed the WILD advice I’ve been getting just because I happen to be growing a human! One lady even told me my baby would be born deformed if I didn’t take a certain supplement. I was pretty upset with her and told her I was following everything my DOCTOR told me to do. Hugs girl.
I love this on so many levels. It doesn’t matter if someone is completely healthy or not these days, so many people want to give unsolicited advice to make them even better. ENOUGH already.
I know, right?! I wish people would just mind their own business!