Dr. Troy Willis
The Unfortunate Expert
After 25 years with Crohn’s disease, Dr. Troy is helping others manage their disease through supplements, nutrition, and mindset.
After 8 years of practicing chiropractic medicine, Dr. Troy opened Live Well Natural Health in Louisville Kentucky in 2011 with a vision to be more than just a typical chiropractic practice. He wanted the care provided there to be proactive instead of reactive; wellness-focused instead of condition-focused. He knew he wanted to be a wellness physician when he was first exposed to Chiropractic while at St. Xavier High School. It was there that he first came to understand that health comes from within and is dramatically affected by the way we treat our bodies and minds. But his definition of care today has largely been influenced by his own personal journey.
It was more than 25 years ago when Dr. Troy was given the news that he had Crohn's disease. He has incorporated his lessons learned into his care for his patients. He coaches patients through a proprietary method to solve conditions such as IBS, IBD, Crohn's, Colitis and other autoimmune issues and is in the process of writing a book chronicling his journey and the healing methods he incorporates.
Dr. Troy started seeing symptoms as early as 11 years old. As a kid he didn't eat very healthy and had consistent gastrointestinal problems all through high school. By the time he was 20 years old, Dr. Troy had progressively gotten worse. He found himself having 20 bloody stools a day and quickly lost 30 pounds. He looked sick, he felt sick, and his body told him in numerous ways that he was sick. After passing out from exhaustion, malnutrition, and blood loss, Dr. Troy was rushed to the hospital (one of many hospitalizations over his journey). He was finally diagnosed with Crohn's disease but even after years of medication he still wasn't improving.
When he started his journey, like most of us, he didn't really know much about living a healthy lifestyle. Dr. Troy joked with me "I found out pretty quickly that beer and chicken wings weren't good for me!" He had never walked into a health store before and had no idea what supplements did. But after years of not having any success with traditional medication he was given the recommendation to try the natural supplements slippery elm and cat's claw. Within no time Dr. Troy's symptoms improved dramatically and he was sold on the value in natural and holistic supplementation. But Dr. Troy was quick to acknowledge that like medicine, supplements help for a while, but the goal should be finding an ideal diet after establishing some kind of balance in a flare.
Like most people I've talked to who have had success with naturally managing IBD, Dr. Troy has spent years trying to figure out what works for him. Since these events he has tested out as many supplements as he could, tried every diet on the market, and read any book he could find related to IBD. The mindset that has given him so much success has been, "If I can fully understand the disease, then I can solve for it!".
Dr. Troy believes that healing from IBD is multifaceted. "It's supplements, nutrition, and mindset." Generally Dr. Troy will start his patients with supplements to help calm things down during a flare. Once on supplements, he works with his clients to find each person's ideal diet which actually allows the gut to recover. The third stage which can often be the hardest to change is mindset but it is also where Dr. Troy has seen the most important healing occur. One example he gave was getting over the fear of always having to scout out the bathrooms of a new store you've never been to before.
"Stress is a big part of the equation as well. I remember telling my GI doctor that my symptoms get worse when I'm stressed. His response was 'but IBD is a physical problem Troy.' Thankfully the link between the mind/body connection is now much more understood than it was back then." Dr. Troy learned quickly that listening to his body was going to be best. "Feedback is everything!" And you can get feedback from virtually everywhere as long as you are listening. "People shouldn't suffer for as long as I had to."
Weekly coaching, a set of self-study lessons / modules, guide for which supplements to use, and extensive food sensitivity testing (IgG antibodies with complements - see below). "I can get people feeling better from supplements alone, but it's just as important, if not more so, to give them the tools and a framework for getting back on track because people don't live in a box - they live their lives!"
Thank you Dr. Troy for talking with us today! Keep on fighting for the IBD community!
Dr. Troy has a really neat partnership with KBMO labs to do food sensitivity testing on IgG antibodies that have complement proteins attached to them. The idea being that you can have IgG antibodies to things your immune system isn't currently fighting (so therefore not contributing to inflammation at that time). KBMO's food sensitivity test looks for trigger foods (antigens) that are actively being fought by white blood cells and are currently causing inflammation.
Dr. Troy's website: www.drtroywillis.com
Live Well Louisville Website: www.keeplouisvillewell.com.
