Troy Parsons
Flared Up Fitness
Troy’s journey with Crohn’s involves all of the standard hurdles of IBD including: hospitalizations; surgery; biologics… but he also has a six-pack… (ha!) and a wealth of knowledge about IBD.
Troy started his blog Flared Up Fitness back in 2015 with a goal to bring hope. So much of what you read on social media or on blogs can be very depressing when you have IBD, but the truth is there are a lot of people out there having a world of success managing IBD - naturally and traditionally. Troy wanted to share his story in hopes that others would find it helpful in their journeys as well.
Troy was diagnosed with Crohn's disease in 2009. After having been hospitalized at least 14 times and multiple surgeries Troy has found success with biologics and by watching what he eats through an elimination diet.
Troy's journey started in 2009 when ulcers began to form in his esophagus followed by rapid weight loss. After six months and four different doctors, Troy was diagnosed with Crohn's disease. At 17, Troy was confused because he had always been the icon of good health. He ate better than most of his peers and was always athletic but a disease he had never heard of was challenging him to look at health from a different perspective.
Shortly after his diagnosis, Troy picked up a parasitic infection during a trip to Mexico and his health dramatically declined. He began going to the bathroom more than 30 times a day. His doctors were able to remove the infection with antibiotics but over the next four months Troy continued to get worse. His doctors tried him on a wide array of medications but he was hospitalized multiple times a year due to blockages and obstructions. Once Troy was put on Humira his symptoms improved dramatically but even on Humira he continued to have inflammation in his small intestine. In 2013, his doctors attempted a bowel resection surgery and quickly realized he had too much inflammation to operate. By 2017, Troy's inflammation had decreased enough that they were able to operate. Troy had 16 inches of his small intestine removed.
The bowel resection helped tremendously and Troy dove into an elimination diet to find relief from his remaining symptoms mainly through trial and error. During his elimination diet he found several ingredients that increased his symptoms which he pulled out of his diet. Because of his high risk of blockages (he only had one to two centimeters in diameter of passable space), Troy found the most success in ingredients that were easy to pass through an inflamed small intestine. Ingredients that have been good for him during times of inflammation include: blended or juiced meals, bone broth, fruit (excluding those with large edible seeds), vegetables after they have been peeled and well cooked, and nut butters. "Think baby food."
I say it all the time, I hear it all the time, but the most important lesson Troy learned from his journey is "Listen to your body!" Hands down, it's the most important thing you can do when fighting IBD. "Put your health first, nothing in life is more important. You can have all the money in the world but if you don't have health then what is it worth?" Love this!
Troy told me it's ok to be high maintenance with others - tell them exactly what you need from them. He also encourages us to make sacrifices - we can all only do so much with the time and energy we have and for Troy, managing his stress levels has been very important. He finds if he doesn't get enough sleep or pushes his body too hard that he can put himself in a really bad spot. But he always tries to do something active every day and when he feels he has the energy he pushes as hard as possible.
Troy, you have come so far. I am very impressed by your journey and I look forward to reading future posts from you soon!
Troy's disease has primarily been localized to his upper GI and small intestine. He has some good lessons learned related to small intestine inflammation that I have not personally experienced and am unable to speak to since most of my inflammation is in the large intestine. If you are worried about small intestinal blockages or have had a small bowel resection then his story could be very helpful for you. You can learn more from the links below.
Troy's website: https://flaredupfitness.com/
Troy's Instagram: https://instagram.com/flaredupfitness
Watch Troy's interview with The Chronic Warrior Show here
Listen to Troy's podcast with Crohn's Fitness & Food: details here
