Abigail's Story: Overcoming Ulcerative Colitis Through Diet

Diagnosis After an Accident

Abigail VanHoose was diagnosed with moderate/severe left-sided Ulcerative Colitis in 2014. The diagnosis came shortly after a bad car accident where she was pulled from the car with terrible pain on her left side. Originally, they thought her spleen had exploded on impact, but after some tests at the hospital, she was discharged with nothing more than a twisted ankle. 

About two weeks later, she experienced severe abdominal pain and blood in her stool. Her PCP referred her to a gastroenterologist, and a colonoscopy confirmed her ulcerative colitis diagnosis. 

During flare-ups, IBD can impact everything from sleeping to eating to being able to do regular activities like work and taking care of herself. In remission, she struggles with fatigue and joint pain but is otherwise much better.

Using her Chef's Skills to Improve SCD Recipes

Abigail went through a lot of trial and error to find a diet that worked the best for her, finding SCD in 2020. After being disappointed with most SCD recipes she tried, she utilized her Culinary Arts degree to create her blog Abigail Marie the Chef with IBD to create and share better SCD recipes.  

Nutritional therapy has given Abigail the freedom in understanding what to eat and what her body did well with. For Abigail, this was a huge win: "By taking my medication and choosing foods that were actually good for me and I tolerated well, I was able to regain quality of life tremendously."

Dining out? Write Down Your Dietary Requirements

She struggled particularly with figuring out how to dine out, finding it difficult to know if meals were actually SCD safe. But working in the culinary industry had given her an idea. She had noticed that people would have a small business card made that could be given to the kitchen for allergies, removing the chance for miscommunication and making sure they could receive safe food. Once she had those made, she felt she could go anywhere, except for fast food, and know that she'd get a meal that was safe for her. Now she had the confidence to dine out more, not missing out on opportunities to share a meal with friends or family. 

Throughout the years, she also tried several medications with some success that turned into failures, until she switched to her current medication.

Abigail has found that a multifaceted approach to her UC has been the best management. This approach includes diet, stress management, movement, medication, and finding her community. She has found her community both through her blog, as well as through our organization as our event coordinator.