A sympathetic co-worker told me his mother was an acupuncturist and asked if I’d be willing to try it. My symptoms would improve but then quickly relapse, and I also had the side effects of mood swings, moon face, and a constant cold or infection. Over the course of two years I saw three gastroenterologists who told me that diet was not a factor and put me on high doses of steroids and other risk-laden immuno-suppressive drugs. In 1996, I was diagnosed with inflammatory bowel disease, more commonly known as ulcerative colitis and/or Crohn’s disease.
