Ulcerative Colitis - A doctor's experience

“I did my MD from Mumbai and went to US for my further studies. With long hours of work and limited sleep hours during my residency and felowship,the stress on my physical body started to show. Early in Jan 2007 I started having bouts of bloody diarrhoea with mucus, low grade temperature and severe fatigue. Further investigations including a colonoscopy and capsule endoscopy revealed that I had ulcerative colitis, a disease which causes inflammation of the large intestine leading to ulcers and subsequent loose stools mixed with blood and pus.

Although the exact etiology of the disease still remains a mystery, environmental and genetic factors have been implicated. For me the stress of long hours of work, the cold environment and my family history of ulcerative colitis might have played an important role. The frequent bowel movements, local discomfort in the rectum, the exhaustion and fatigue were impairing my ability to work. In spite of these physical aliments, I was able to function and carry on my duties thanks to strength I received by practicing Vipassana meditation.

I was blessed to come in contact with Vipassana, the ancient technique of meditation taught by Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha. Through this technique one learns to observe the mind – body interactions in an equanimous manner and in doing so slowly but surely purifies his or mind and gets rid of defilements which are a root cause of our misery and many physical and mental diseases. If practiced properly one is sure to reap its benefits.

Due to my hectic schedule I was not able to devote time for the meditation regularly, hence although the technique helped me to deal with my disease I would still suffer from relapses.

After completion of my training, I visited India. Through a common friend I had the opportunity to meet Dr. Sanghvi a very noble soul who was a Naturopathy doctor and also taught Vipassana.

He gently pursued me to give a try to the naturopathy therapy and invited me to come to Ananddham Nature Cure Centre in Kutch, Gujarat. As I was suffering from a relapse of my disease and was desperate for help, I decided to visit Ananddham with my parents.

Under the supervision of Dr. Sanghvi and other Ayurvedic physicians my treatment started. The philosophy of the treatment was - let Mother Nature do its job in healing the mind and the body. They used abdominal mudpacks, Neem water sitz bath, cold abdominal pack, acupressure, and delicious nutritious foods to heal the body. Apart from the above treatment I was started on a mixture of Ayurvedic medications which was prescribed under Dr. Sanghvi’s supervision. With total trust and faith in the Nature cure my body sated to respond.

Within a few days my bowel frequency and the consistency became normal. After just eight days I could sleep whole night without any disturbing pain. I was so happy. The Doctors, the paramedic staff and the rest of the kitchen staff made every effort to accommodate us and make our stay comfortable and memorable.

The place was very peaceful and had Ashram like calmness. It has rooms to accommodate everyone’s budget. The campus spread over 18 acres is pretty much like a green oasis in desert. At Ananddham, doctors are qualified and experienced. Even most of the therapists are qualified Naturopaths and well trained. Food served is customized to individual’s need. It is pure vegetarian, healthy, nutritive, and ‘satvik’.

I just stayed there for two weeks but my health condition made a marked recovery. Thanks to the Nature cure my disease has been in remission for a long time and I was able to get back my energy level to be able to work and continue to serve my patients and give them the care which had been so generously showered on to me by Anandham’s doctors.

Based on my personal experience I would strongly recommend this therapy to people who are suffering from this condition, it is worth a try and I am confident that just as I benefited from this wonderful treatment, so will others benefit from our Mother Nature.

Be Happy

Adil