Darlene’s Story: Collagenous Colitis

My name is Darlene Terry and I’m 62 years old. I live in Tacoma, WA. I have a house cleaning business which keeps me very busy. I am also a family photographer but during the pandemic I was forced to put that on hold, which was actually a nice thing because it gave me a chance to revisit how I wanted to move forward. I have decided to learn family film-making, which requires a lot of physical stamina (and a healthy digestive system) but it also gives me a different avenue of creativity I never felt before with just photography.

For as long as I can remember my digestive system has been an active one. Having several bowel movements per day was normal for me. I knew something wasn't right when certain foods seemed to trigger looser BM's and more frequent trips to the bathroom. Foods like blueberries, sweet potatoes, carrots, onions and salad. I became frustrated because I was not attracted to junk food so why were these supposedly healthy foods causing me intestinal distress which also caused emotional stress?

When I started to have diarrhea, I read that I should eat white rice, dry toast, bananas, applesauce and stay away from fibrous foods. I followed this advice for awhile but I felt frustrated and starving, especially since it didn't stop the problem. I began to feel like no matter what I ate, good or bad, my condition persisted and even worsened. I became more stressed and more afraid to leave the house. Some days I was unable to go to work. Eventually I made an appointment to see a GI doctor. He ordered a colonoscopy which showed I had “Collagenous Colitis” which was diagnosed via a biopsy. I also had Diverticulosis.

A long-time friend of mine, who just happened to be a long-time friend of Russell's, told me I needed to contact him because "if anyone can help you through this Russell can." And so in late April 2021 I did just that. Before I contacted him, I went to his website and read as many testimonials as I could. After reading several, as well as Russell's own testimonial, I decided this was it.

I began the program the first week in May. I started to see improvement within a couple of weeks but then my symptoms came back with a vengeance. Yes, I became frustrated but I also knew that during the cleanse I was unleashing a lot of old stuff. With Russell's guidance we modified the cleanse and supplement program. I also decided to incorporate a medication that helped to stop the inflammatory process, which was on overload. Within a week, things settled down and I resumed the herbal cleanse and the other supplements. After a couple more weeks I began to incorporate small amounts of trigger foods to see how my body responded. All went well!

It has been three months now since I started the program and I feel better than I have ever felt. No more medication. No more diarrhea. No urgent or frequent trips to the bathroom. No more fear about going for a long walk or going to work or going anywhere. I have normal healthy bowel movements every day. I now eat a wide variety of foods, all natural and healthy because that is what I am attracted to. I lost about 15 pounds, which I am very happy about and I feel less sore and more flexible. The nutritional supplements I take seem to assimilate better now. I took them for about 20 years but then stopped for several years. I believe that proper daily hydration, better quality foods and supplements and the absence of bad bacteria, now replaced by a healthy probiotic environment, are the keys to my new-found health.

I do not believe I could have achieved this without the knowledge, guidance and unwavering support from Russell. Even when I wasn't sure this was working or that I was ever going to get better, he knew that I would. He kept reminding me that our bodies want to be in balance and that I was progressing forward. He was right and I cannot thank him enough!

Darlene Terry (age 62)

Whimsical Years Photography

Tacoma, Washington

August, 2021