Let’s welcome this week’s warrior, Lolita!
Hi, I’m Lolita Leva. I live in Toronto, Canada. Being diagnosed with ulcerative colitis at the age of 24 was traumatizing for me, I was flatly told, “you have an incurable disease.” And my first thought was , “I’m going to die!”. Trauma and fear were immediately ingrained in me, with no talk of mental or emotional support, I was given meds to control it. I was diagnosed with proctitis, put on oral Asacol and suppositories but within months the condition traveled up to the rest of my colon. I was flare free every few months for only a few weeks, but never 100 percent well. The worst came after the birth of each child. I lost 15 pounds after each delivery and bled for months despite meds. I broke my tailbone during birth twice so sitting on a toilet was excruciating on top of the UC pain. Once my ulcerative colitis settled, it was a yo-yo effect for 30 years of flare-remission-flare-remission etc…… as well as living in constant fear of what to eat, fear of every gas pain that might indicate a potential flare up, aching spine from arthritis, fear of going to the washroom and seeing blood, fear of when and if I could travel, fear of concocting believable “white lies” of why I couldn’t attend an event or go to work that day. I was living with an invisible illness and kept it a secret from everyone except my family and closest friends. I lived with anger, fear, shame, resentment everyday. I’d try different modalities of healing but when the results were not quick enough for me, I’d quit and felt only meds were the answer. My mental and emotional health took a beating as much as my body did.
Three years ago, I started being more mindful, embracing gratitude practices (journaling, meditation, prayer, faith in each life’s trial as a lesson, breathwork). I began sharing about my illness and started this page @learnfrommygut. That’s when I felt I wasn’t alone, that there are millions suffering as well. I made a promise to my body and befriended it, began changing my food choices (mainly plant based and easy to digest foods), my living environment, my reading materials, embraced consistent patterns with holistic practices (reflexology, naturopathic medicine, acupuncture, diaphragmatic breathing, psychotherapy), removed all toxic products and began positive mindset practices. My life changed forever. It was an overall anti-inflammatory life change! This is when true healing began for me.
Today I see my journey with IBD as a gift. I learned patience, strength, tolerance, resiliency, acceptance, humility, forgiveness and love for who I am. I speak kindly to my body, I treat it like a temple with the healthiest nutrients, foods, thoughts. I learned our bodies can heal themselves with consistency and patience along with holistic practices, and that medications are necessary for quality of life in order to practice all the above and that eventually once healed cellularly, medications can be reduced and sometimes eliminated. I am now in DEEP REMISSION after 30 years of weight loss, pain, consistent flare ups, meaning “0” evidence on a cellular level through biopsies, that my UC ever existed! It is possible and I am grateful for all I have been through so I can help guide/support other IBD sufferers aim for a healthy remission.
As always, life never stopped for me despite my challenging journey. I have enormous love and gratitude to my family, friends and cheerleaders for always supporting me. I’ve been an educator in the elementary school panel for 30 years, run movement workshops for educators, teach dance, provide restorative reflexology sessions, love fitness, baking and cooking (delicious, healthy, nutrient dense meals), travel and fashion, and feeding villages/building homes as a missionary in the DR.
My biggest tip to this community is to commit to consistency daily in your healthy practices despite the yo-yo effect… trust that it will pay off and level off over time, embrace faith over fear and trust the process but most of all befriend and love your body, it’s your temple.
Thank you so much for sharing your IBD journey with us Lolita! Be sure to give her a follow in IG @learnfrommygut