"Have you ever tried meditation? A friend of mine has Crohn's and he meditates a lot"
As a person with a chronic illness in the Western world, I'm all for traditional medicine. Perscribe me an idea, write me a script and gimme those pills. My Crohn's disease. however, has been uncooperative and typically unresponsive to most treatment plans, much like a resistant toddler to the idea of toilet training. I do not know the number of medications and treatment plans I've been on, but it must be more than 30 (not all at once, just over the course of my time with Crohn's).
So naturally, a couple of alternative therapies have been recommended to me even by my traditional doctors. I've tried quite a few of them, all with mixed results, I think the key is to try and find the good in any treatment.
Below I've listed some of alternative therapies that I've tried:
- Probiotics
- Taken in capsule form, the idea is that these probiotics balance the bacteria in your gut, therefore reducing symptoms of your IBD. Truthfully, I didn't notice any difference in my symptoms, and the probiotics weren't covered by my insurance and were expensive. Not worth it.
2. Meditation- The idea of harnessing your inner healing power, to help control your disease is a little far fetched in my opinion. However, I do think the idea of taking time to clear your mind, free of stimulation, to reduce stress IS beneficial for your health. My problem is that I suck at clearing my mind. Like, REALLY suck. Maybe I just need to practice more.
3. Therapeutic Massage
- Therapeutic massage targets the muscles in the body, reducing the stress around them and can be effective in managing MANY types of pain. This happens to be my favourite alternative therapy that I have tried, I've been getting them for almost 5 years. Many insurance companies cover a finite number of massages per year and many salons do direct billing. I don't know how much of it is stress relief, how much of it is the reduction in my back pain from working on my muscles, and how much of it is just the wonderful feeling of getting pampered, but I have to say, I'm a fan.
4. Acupuncture
- This method of alternative medicine originating back to ancient China involves sticking teeny tiny needles into very precise spots on your body to stimulate your nerves and brain and neurological feedback responses to control pain. I tried it. I didn't like it. I'm not a fan of needles, so it wasn't my preferred method of *alternative* treatment. Not to mention it was generally ineffective for me. My pain comes in waves, very intense pain, but it doesn't last very long. Acupuncture isn't really designed to target that kind of pain, so it isn't surprising that I didn't experience life changing results.
Another thing that a lot of people with chronic illnesses use to ease their condition are herbal supplements. I personally haven't tried anything like that. No teas, no oils, nothing like that. Personally, I know how powerful some herbs can be, and I'm a little afraid to try them. I mean, what if they interacted with the meds that I'm already on and messed them up? My doctors have never recommended them (not that they would), but they did say if I was considering taking them to check with them first, which I think anyone should do.
My concern with the supplements directed by naturopaths and homeopaths is that it seems like a big cash grab. I've know people that were pouring absurd amounts of money into these herbs and didn't see a huge benefit. I'm talking like $60+ per container of capsules. Yikes.
My attitude towards treatment is always keep an open mind, but ALWAYS consult your doctor before starting any alternative therapy.
