Dr. McDougall- Joan Grealis here-Sky's Mom and friend of Cathy Fisher and a follower of your program for years. I got very ill last fall with extreme watery diarrhea while following your plan. I had gotten down to about 130 lbs when I got sick and started to drop weight faster. But I got so dehydrated I was admitted to the hospital 3 times and every test known to man for the GI tract was given me with no particular results. They came to feel it was my ileal-jejunal by pass I had over 30 years ago that was causing me problems but they couldn't do surgery because I was so weak so I had TPN through a pic line and many bags of assorted liquids and electrolytes. After a week of this my diarrhea stopped and with their advice that I should not be on such a restricted diet due to my bypass- I began to eat the SAD diet again. My BMs have returned to formed and regular and stay that way.
I also was found to have an extremely low hemoglobin (6.5 in the hospital) and they gave me a transfusion "for the road". Follow up and a bone marrow biopsy has revealed that I have manageable MDS and am receiving shots of Procrit.
All doctors have insisted I not return to the vegan diet as I have been ok on it and my weight which went up quickly with the TPN has hovered around 140 for 8 months now. So......my dilemma is knowing what I do about the SAD and worried that I am harming my health and wondering if their concern is valid and my bypass needs me to eat animal proteins, etc. I have always trusted your knowledge and opinion-what should I be doing?? By the way, I have moved out to the Bay area now to be near Sky and would love to see you as a doctor but I know your program inside out-I've gone to Costa Rica and the True North Ctr., etc. Would you consider allowing me to see you as my doctor?
Kindly, Joan Grealis