My Experience With Clear Passage – Part 1

In my previous blog post I talked about why I went to a Clear Passage clinic for my Crohn’s disease.  In this post and the next I thought I’d talk about my experience of dealing with the clinic, the therapy itself and how I’ve been getting on post therapy.  It’s pretty long which is why I’ve decided to do it in two parts.

PRE-THERAPY

After sending on an initial email requesting more information a representative in their head office in Florida rang me and we chatted for about 45 minutes.  She gave me an overview of the therapy, the locations it could be done, the cost etc.  She was a pleasure to talk to so I got a good first impression.  She knew I had more questions especially relating to my personal situation with Crohn’s scarring etc. so she said that all potential patients have a consultation with their Doctor and also with one of the founders Belinda Wurn.

She then scheduled a call for their doctor to ring me to go into my health in more detail.  Before this call I had to get bloods done and send over the results (along with the last couple of bloods I got done) and any MRI reports I had from the last few years.

My fiancée was a little sceptical about the treatment (especially given the cost) so I said to him to sit in on the call and we would see if they were the real deal.  The call lasted about an hour and they went through everything.  She was great at describing things that the MRI scan showed that my own consultant never told me.  Based on my bloods she also told me I needed to really up my protein to help bring up my albumin and help with gut repair.  She recommended I take b12 drops to help with my fatigue, to drink LOTS of water and to take a multi-vitamin.  She gave me the helpful tip of taking liquid or children’s chewable supplements to increase the chances of absorption.  She went into the details of how Clear Passage therapy could help with my internal scarring and answered any question myself and my fiancée had about the treatment.  By the end of the call I was more confident in the therapy and my fiancée was totally on board.

The next phone call was with Belinda Wurn who told us about her experience and the history of Clear Passage.  She also answered any questions we had.  Again the call lasted about an hour and we never felt rushed or that any question was too insignificant.  I came away from the call feeling like she really wanted to help people.

Never one to make decisions quickly, I chatted with my Crohn’s consultant who wasn’t convinced (she thought it was an ‘expensive experiment’) but said she’d prescribe the necessary antibiotics I’d have to take.  I also discussed the therapy with a Nutritional Therapist I know who had surgery for Crohn’s and a family friend who is a GP and has had Crohn’s for many years.  Both thought if the therapy could help me avoid surgery then it was worth trying.

I then felt I had nothing to lose (other than some money).  If I did the therapy and it worked well that would be absolutely amazing.  And if it didn’t work, well then I could go into surgery knowing that I had tried the alternatives.

Booking the treatment was the next step.  I decided on the Canterbury location as it was a short flight from Dublin and I was told it was a lovely part of the UK.  I paid a deposit to secure the treatment and then paid the outstanding balance a week before the treatment started.  I had to send in bloods again a week ahead of the treatment starting and three days before the treatment I had to start a course of Rifaximin antibiotics.  I believe this was to help with counteracting SIBO during the treatment.

Once I reached Canterbury I knew I had made the right decision on location.  It was the quintessential English countryside.  Lots of little villages with Tudor-style houses, thatch cottages and English pubs and little coffee shops.

The location of the therapist was about a 15-20 minute drive outside Canterbury.  We rented a little cottage less than a five minute drive from the clinic.  The clinic itself was on a farm and was surrounded by fields and you had to drive up a very narrow road to get to it.  It was so peaceful you would be hard pushed not to relax but I was a little nervous about what the week held for me.

Read Part 2.