The United Colon Vlog

I just recently finished the short, autobiographical, self-published book, Check Your Pride at the Door. While this book was published back in late 2006 the story it tells remains timely.

It’s written by Dr. Darryl Helems, a Crohn’s disease sufferer of over 20 years. Dr. Helems was diagnosed with Crohn’s as a teenager and has had many ups and downs with the disease, oscillating between periods of remission followed by flare-ups, most caused by his own poor management of his health. Dr. Helems doesn’t focus on medical treatments or terminology, but instead on the emotional aspects of living with the disease. As the title of the book suggests, Dr. Helems has had to set his pride aside as the disease constantly beat him down.

The book is mostly memoir with a few “strategies” listed towards the end about how to live with the disease. This section is relatively short and doesn’t offer much practical information, though his advice on keeping your family, friends, and faith close to heart is some of the best advice on dealing with the emotional aspects of inflammatory bowel disease.

The book is very short–less than 100 pages, nearly double-spaced. It could be more informative in spots, especially on how to manage the emotional aspects of the disease. You probably won’t find the book in stores, though it is available through Amazon.com. At the time of this writing it is nearly out of stock, though there may be more new copies along the way.

Others have already reviewed this book, and no doubt numerous other books on bowel diseases in the past. I plan on reading more books from others in this area so as I get through them I’ll let you know how good they are.

Rating: 3/5. Check out if you get a chance but don’t put in too much effort trying to find it.

Keep fighting,
~Dennis