Colitis & Me: A Story of Recovery [Paperback]

Raman Prasad (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 2003

Narrative of an individual's successful recovery from inflammatory bowel disease.

Editorial Reviews

From the Author

Fourteen years ago, at age 17, a gastroenterologist diagnosed me with ulcerative colitis. Over seven years my health steadily deteriorated resulting in hospital stays, a bloodied intestine, heavy steroids, poor spirits, and probable surgery. Fortunately, I came across Elaine Gottschall's book Breaking the Vicious Cycle which painstakingly describes a Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD), and the science behind it, for putting inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), celiac disease, and diverticulitis in remission.

After a year of following the diet described in the book I was able to taper off of medications and found my strength returning. The SCD became habit and, although I still subscribed to an e-mail list for others using the diet, ulcerative colitis steadily fell from the forefront of my life. In the second year on the diet I went back to school at night, finished a graduate degree, and plunged forward. and didn't look back. Similar to many people who joined the e-mail list, my initial period of excitement, marked by e-mailing many questions and telling my doctor about the diet, was followed by simply living my life and occasionally reading the e-mail to answer questions asked by others. I wanted to forget most of my experiences during ages 17 through 24.

Today, facing the options of forgetting or doing something positive, I started writing a two page narrative of my experience with ulcerative colitis. Those two pages turned into this book. Luckily, my recovery is not unique, it has been experienced by hundreds of others, of all ages and stages of IBD. However, the recovery should be shared with the hundreds of thousands whose lives continue to revolve around their personal struggles with IBD.

I put my story forward as a small step in assistance of others.

About the Author

The author currently lives in a house with an orange porch in New Haven, Connecticut. This is his first (and last) book about his intestines. He regained his health from critical investigations in libraries, bookstores, and the internet. He also maintains the SCDRecipe.com website which contains a compilation of recipes from the SCD community e-mail lists.

The author grew up in North Haven, Connecticut. He received his B.S. from Cornell University in 1994, and M.Sc. from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1999.

Product Details

• Paperback: 168 pages
• Publisher: SCD Recipe, LLC (March 2003)
• ISBN-10: 0972706100
• ISBN-13: 978-0972706100
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #259,328 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #21 in Books > Health, Fitness & Dieting > Disorders & Diseases > Irritable Bowel Syndrome
  • #94 in Books > Health, Fitness & Dieting > Disorders & Diseases > Abdominal

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A swift and moving narrative!, September 5, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Colitis & Me: A Story of Recovery (Paperback)

This book has all the elements of a great non-fiction narrative - multiple scenes spanning different times, personal stories, triumph and victory over various forces, and beautiful graphics to match! This book is not only precious becuase of it's moving account of Prasad's recovery from sickness, but also becuase of the detailed design from one page to the next that complements the story and makes you want to move forward. I recommend this not only as a book to read but a book to "see" visually.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars valuable contribution to IBD sufferers, August 21, 2003

By 

Deb Williams (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Colitis & Me: A Story of Recovery (Paperback)

Whew! This book brought back many memories. I was also diagnosed with inflammatory bowel disease (Crohn's) in my late teenage years. Being sick has led me down many paths (alternative medicine, bad docs, etc) and caused years of mental anguish.

Medication and diet changes have kept me fairly even the last few years. But hearing someone else's experience in detail has helped me let go of some bad memories. I also spent an entire day reading it cover to cover and walked away feeling hopeful . . .

thank you

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars great book!, August 21, 2003

By 

"ben_pelosi" (Evanston, IL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Colitis & Me: A Story of Recovery (Paperback)

I'm not much for personal stories but this was a page turner. In addition, the veil is drawn back a bit further regarding the state of medicine in this country. The facts at the end were quite good--pulling from many sources to discuss the method the author used to get better--a method discussed in a Nov 11, 2002 Wall Street Journal health article.

I'm re-working my fridge this weekend and getting my health back.

Cheers!