The interview went very well. I generally interview well but this was a home run so hopefully I’ll have a new day-job shortly. It’s a 9-5 type gig which would be a nice change.
More significant than the interview is the fact that I woke up today and felt like a normal person. That is to say, someone without Crohn’s. I’d like to repeat that since it sounds vaguely significant. I felt totally normal this morning. That’s spectacular. It’s afternoon now and I still feel fine other than a bit of a stomach twinge here or there which I suspect is mostly my own paranoia rather than an actual symptom of anything. I even ate breakfast this morning, four fried eggs with some homemade ketchup (one of the reasons I dislike the Paleo autoimmune protocol is my love of ketchup), and still nothing. I’m more than a little pumped. If things keep going this well I’d be inclined to speed up the Prednisone tapering so I can get back on the LDN quicker (sorry for all the pharma-jargon).
So, as promised, here’s a complete list of herbal/natural supplements I am currently taking:
Colostrum: 4000 mg
L-Glutamine: 4800 mg
Glucosamine: 1000 mg
Acacia Senegal: 500 mg
Curcumin: 3200 mg
Quercitin: 1600 mg
Green Tea Extract: 600 mg
Rosemary: 200 mg
Holy Basil: 200 mg
Ginger: 200 mg
Barberry: 200 mg
Baikal Skullcap: 100 mg
Siberian Ginseng: 200 mg
Ashwagandha: 200 mg
Ginseng: 200 mg
Maca Root: 200 mg
Rhodiola: 200 mg
Phew. So those are the ingredients for the four main things I’ve been taking for a couple of weeks now. For simplicity’s sake I’ve stuck with a local Naturopath’s supplement line (except for the Colostrum) rather than try and take everything individually. The downside to this is it’s harder to isolate which ingredient is really helping and not being able to control the dose and the timing of the dose quite the way I would like. That said, this way I just throw down a bunch of pills in the morning and before dinner and I’m good to go for the day. If I had more control I’d probably get all neurotic about it and it wouldn’t do me any good.
It’s certainly the kitchen sink approach to supplements as pretty much anything that’s ever shown positive results in anyone is included but I do feel better in a variety of ways the last couple of weeks compared to last time I was in about the same position, minus the supplements. One of the more pleasant surprises is that the side-effects from the Pred are way, way easier to deal with. I haven’t had nearly as much trouble sleeping or as many attention or energy issues which is a pleasant change from being a red-eyed chipmunk on Meth the last couple go’s around.
Some of the items, like L-Glutamine, are more of a long-term plan to help heal and re-build the gut. Two weeks is a very short time to take anything and see a positive change so I’m quite happy with the results and I’ll continue to take everything for the foreseeable future. I may also add a different type of curcumin (BCM-95) extract that’s suppose to be more bio-available. I do also take a multi-vitamin, digestive enzymes, liquid vitamin D and a prebiotic and probiotic but I’ll deal with those in separate posts once I’ve got some more information gathered.
Part of the idea of this blog was always to play guinea pig and try and provide direct, experiential feedback so others could hopefully start off a little closer to the goal line than I have. So if anyone has any questions/comments about the supplements above or any others I am not currently taking I’m all ears.
If I make anything worth photographing for dinner I’ll post a recipe and photo.
Cheers.
FraserRiverForager 