Kathy’s Story: Colonic Inertia, Extreme Constipation

It would be no exaggeration to say that Russell Mariani saved my life because I was ready to "toss in the towel" when it looked like my future was tied to a colostomy bag.

What I suffered from wasn't constipation, with hard, dry stool; my bowel movements just came less and less frequently. In 2010, my doctor ordered a stool test. The results were not that unusual, but he diagnosed me with "gut dysbiosis" that was causing "adynamic ileus" meaning my bowels were reluctant to move. Because I was full of un-eliminated bowel toxins, my belly swelled until I looked very pregnant and my skin looked like an adolescent's on a junk food diet. I wore tunic shirts a lot.

My doctor advised me to eat primarily meat and vegetables and to take "TONS" of probiotics. So, I reformed my diet and spent wads of cash on probiotics and things improved somewhat. But I was still relying on occasional enemas, my diet was highly restrictive and massive doses of probiotics didn't seem to be making a big difference.

I went to another naturopathic doctor when my doctor retired but his treatments were no better. He did replace the diagnosis "adynamic ileus" with "colonic inertia.” Meanwhile, I watched video seminars on Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth (SIBO) but nothing they recommended made a difference for me. My doctors didn't think any obstructions were involved because the thing that seemed to work best was a highly restrictive diet and if I strayed from that, things got worse.

Initially, herbal laxatives had helped. Until they stopped working. Then I broke out the enema kit, which I used a few times a week. Eventually, I needed it every day. Then, it too, stopped working. I knew that conventional medicine would prescribe colorectal surgery and a colostomy bag. I could not accept that idea.

I saved myself temporarily, by remembering something called a “colema board” I'd seen advertised in health magazines. I looked it up and ordered one. It's essentially a cross between a home colonic and giant enema and it was my savior for several years. It employs a 5-gallon bucket with a long tube and you lie in on a board that empties into the toilet. At first, I used 5 gallons of water, then I needed more and more water until my husband pitched in to help and I was having 2-hour sessions twice a week. It wasn't unpleasant. We would listen to audiobooks and shows on my laptop.

But my feeling of desperation was building because I knew I couldn't live like this indefinitely. There was a two-week period in which my husband was recovering from an accident and couldn't attend to me and that was a miserable time indeed! I couldn't bear the humiliation of asking anyone, or hiring anyone, to help and I couldn't afford to have it done professionally. I dreaded the possibility of my husband being out of commission again. I sometimes joked to him that my grim little secret was that I was "full of s**t.”

I read about people who had resorted to colostomies. One woman had herself photographed before the procedure, smiling bravely and giving the camera a thumb's up. I, on the other hand, secretly intended to "end it all" if things got so bad that I was facing having a large section of my colon cut out and a bag strapped to my body. I prayed more and more with less and less hope. Meanwhile, I went through the motions of looking at products that might help.

I don't recall the product I was looking at when a customer reviewing it, said she had colonic inertia but was successfully treated by a healer named Russell Mariani. She gave the title of his (original, unrevised) book, "Healing Digestive Illness: Root Causes and Solutions.” So I read the reviews of Russell's book, all enthusiastic, including the one titled, "saved me from having my colon removed!" and ordered a used copy from eBay. A couple of days later I looked for Russell's website and found, to my delighted surprise, his offer of a free half-hour “First Step Conversation.” I signed up for that and began to look through his program and ordered his updated eBook.

The day I spoke with Russell was the beginning of the treatment plan that saved my life. I have been under Russell's care for 5 months and, as best I can, following his protocol faithfully. I have lately added heavy metal detoxification, because my general health declined, initially, after having a deep dental filling replaced that was full of mercury. I'm finding that the detoxification is definitely speeding my recovery with Russell's program.

I can say that God has finally answered my prayers. I'm having regular, daily, normal, healthy bowel movements. I've lost 10 pounds, my stomach is flattening, my skin is clearing, my energy is rising and so is my mood. I firmly believe the toxic world we're living in is challenging our gut and our gut is critical to being well. Russell Mariani knows how to meet this challenge because he did all the research and practical application through which he healed himself. I think it's no coincidence that Russell was once called to the ministry but after healing himself, made healing the sick his calling. I'm extremely grateful to Russell for his devotion to saving us gut-sick desperadoes.

Kathy Roberts, age 66
Sebastopol, California
January 2021