My Story
Hi everyone! My name is Angie, and I’ve been following the Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD) for over 10 years. I can honestly say that the last 10 years of my life have been my healthiest, and I have SCD to thank for that!
My story begins when I was a little girl in the 1980s and 90s. I was plagued by “tummy aches” and missed a lot of school. My symptoms got worse as I got older, and my parents diligently took me to doctor after doctor trying to help me. Some doctors told me it was all in my head and I needed to relax; others told me to try medications, such as Zantac. Nothing helped and my symptoms persisted. I continued to lose weight and had no stamina. I was in constant pain and severely anemic. Finally, at the age of 21, I was diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease. I was put on a mega dose of Pentasa for years, but it didn’t help either. I felt resigned to the daily pain and discomfort of Crohn’s, and did my best to live a normal life.
In 2001 I got married to the love of my life, Paul. He was (and still is) my biggest supporter and cheerleader. Early on in our marriage, I missed a lot of special times during vacations and holidays because of my GI troubles and pain. After being married for about 5 years, we decided to try to have a baby. After 2 years of trying on our own, we knew it was time to seek out professional help. Our reproductive endocrinologist ran bloodwork and told me my results showed that I was incredibly malnourished. But, he maintained that Crohn’s could have nothing to do with my struggle to get pregnant. He did suggest I go on a low-carb diet, which started my journey to understanding the impact that food has on how you feel and your health in general. On the low-carb diet, my Crohn’s symptoms greatly decreased, but did not go away completely. Next, I tried a gluten free diet. This also helped, but after a few weeks my Crohn’s symptoms came back with a vengeance. I was running on empty and incredibly frustrated, dealing with GI issues on top of not being able to get pregnant.
At that point, our reproductive endocrinologist told us our only hope of ever having a baby was in-vitro. We were not ready to take that step, so I sought out a naturopath to explore more holistic options. I am forever grateful to her, as she is the one who introduced me to the Specific Carbohydrate Diet. However, my first reaction was “there is no way can I do this diet!” But my motivation was strong, and I decided to give it a try. After a month of fits and starts, including plenty of screw-ups, I was ready to begin with “fanatical adherence.” After about 5 days following the diet strictly, my Crohn’s pain went away, and I was a believer that food can heal.
After nine months of being on the SCD, and with the guidance of my naturopath, I stopped taking Pentasa and have been med-free since. It took about a year for my bloodwork to normalize, and another 6 months to become pregnant naturally. I had a wonderful pregnancy and maintained the SCD throughout. After my son was born in 2010, we welcomed another child in 2012 – all while following the SCD.
I am so thankful to Elaine Gottschall for creating this diet – it truly has been the miracle of my life, giving me my beautiful children and a quality of life I didn’t think I would ever have. I wish I would have known about this incredible diet long ago.
I’ve created my small business in order to share the SCD and help those who wish to follow it with coaching, menu planning, grocery shopping, and more! Healing for Life exists to help individuals understand, execute, and maintain the Specific Carbohydrate Diet to manage IBD, and to know that diet is a viable treatment option.
