Please Help!!
Moderators: Rosie, Stanz, Jean, CAMary, moremuscle, JFR, Dee, xet, Peggy, Matthew, Gabes-Apg, grannyh, Gloria, Mars, starfire, Polly, Joefnh
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BuggityBoo
- Posts: 16
- Joined: Tue Jun 28, 2011 12:44 pm
Please Help!!
I was diagnosed 2 weeks ago. I am now on Asacol, gluten free, dairy free, and as of today soda free. The problem is that I still have D!! What am I doing wrong? I feel very depressed. I just want it to stop. Can someone please help?
BB
Hi BuggityBoo,
Welcome to the board. Despite the fact that you haven't seen an end to the D, you are on the right track. The problem is that gluten causes long-term damage to the gut, and it takes a significant amount of time for the gut to heal, after the diet is started. Some people are luckier than others, and their symptoms disappear much faster, but for most of us, it takes months for the gut to heal enough for the D to stop. Everyone is different in that respect, because we all have individual response rates to medications, and to diet, and we all have varying degrees of intestinal damage. It's not easy to be patient with symptoms such as these, but unfortunately, it does take time for diet to work, and it takes time for drugs to work. The combination should work faster than either by itself, of course, but typically, it seems to take roughly a month to 6 weeks to see significant improvement with Asacol and diet, for many members here, and some take longer. Some are much luckier, of course, and their symptoms improve faster. Hopefully, you will be one of the lucky ones.
As Joan pointed out, Asacol doesn't work for some of us, because it contains a dairy ingredient, which triggers a reaction for some people with MC. Again, welcome aboard, and please feel free to ask anything.
Tex
Welcome to the board. Despite the fact that you haven't seen an end to the D, you are on the right track. The problem is that gluten causes long-term damage to the gut, and it takes a significant amount of time for the gut to heal, after the diet is started. Some people are luckier than others, and their symptoms disappear much faster, but for most of us, it takes months for the gut to heal enough for the D to stop. Everyone is different in that respect, because we all have individual response rates to medications, and to diet, and we all have varying degrees of intestinal damage. It's not easy to be patient with symptoms such as these, but unfortunately, it does take time for diet to work, and it takes time for drugs to work. The combination should work faster than either by itself, of course, but typically, it seems to take roughly a month to 6 weeks to see significant improvement with Asacol and diet, for many members here, and some take longer. Some are much luckier, of course, and their symptoms improve faster. Hopefully, you will be one of the lucky ones.
As Joan pointed out, Asacol doesn't work for some of us, because it contains a dairy ingredient, which triggers a reaction for some people with MC. Again, welcome aboard, and please feel free to ask anything.
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
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Joefnh
- Rockhopper Penguin
- Posts: 2478
- Joined: Wed Apr 21, 2010 8:25 pm
- Location: Southern New Hampshire
Hi BuggityBoo forthe sounds of it you are off to a good start. As mentioned you may want to also consider soy as a potential aggravant. Many here including myself react to soy, I know for me soy is actually worse than gluten.
As Tex had mentioned it does take a little while for things to settle down, for me with entocort it took a good 4 weeks to really start to feel better. At that time I was GF SF and DF and found that even with long term meds I have to avoid those food items permanently.
I can understand and remember the initial frustration that you are experiencing now. Remember for the most part we are used to being able to take a medicine and start to feel better in just a few days at the most. This unfortunately is one of those processes that takes a few weeks and that can be frustrating.
Hang in there BuggityBoo it does get better... Feel free to vent here... it does help. If the D does continue much more than a few weeks at the level it is now be sure to talk to your doctor about trying another med, as was mentioned the Asacol can be a problem for many due to it's dairy content. For most here Entocort works fairly quickly.
Take care
Joe
As Tex had mentioned it does take a little while for things to settle down, for me with entocort it took a good 4 weeks to really start to feel better. At that time I was GF SF and DF and found that even with long term meds I have to avoid those food items permanently.
I can understand and remember the initial frustration that you are experiencing now. Remember for the most part we are used to being able to take a medicine and start to feel better in just a few days at the most. This unfortunately is one of those processes that takes a few weeks and that can be frustrating.
Hang in there BuggityBoo it does get better... Feel free to vent here... it does help. If the D does continue much more than a few weeks at the level it is now be sure to talk to your doctor about trying another med, as was mentioned the Asacol can be a problem for many due to it's dairy content. For most here Entocort works fairly quickly.
Take care
Joe
Joe
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BuggityBoo
- Posts: 16
- Joined: Tue Jun 28, 2011 12:44 pm
Thanks!
You guys are turning my night back around. I now feel a little more positive. I have more options and I know it will take longer than a week to feel better. I hope you guys know what a difference you make in peoples lives!
Hang in there, Bug!
Diet takes longer than meds to help. Asacol helps some but not others. In the meantime, do make sure you're resting (more than you even think), drinking fluids (I'm a big fan of chicken broth, but a soothing herbal tea works for some, or mineral water... there is a recipe for a homemade version of Gatorade here (since the commercial ones have all kinds of potentially irritating ingredients): http://www.perskyfarms.com/phpBB2/viewt ... ectrolytes - please don't be overly alarmed about the potentially serious consequences of dehydration, because I truly believe if you are able to post to the forum, you have plenty of time to rehydrate. (I truly could not put a post together when I first joined.)
There are applesauce and other cooked fruit products that contain *no* other ingredients in most health-food stores. (If all else fails... on my recent vacation I bought some baby-food applesauce with apricots.) Most of us (not all, but an awful lot) do tolerate bananas, which also replenish potassium that's sometimes out of balance with D. Too much fiber and too much sweetener of any kind can be hard to tolerate at this point.
Sometimes a boiled potato can taste better than you'd imagine...
I hope this helps, and I hope you're feeling better very soon. If you come to believe Asacol is contributing to your problems, you could try Imodium or Pepto Bismol - our response to medications is very individual. As Joe says, Entocort often provides faster relief, especially since you have removed the major food triggers, but it is very expensive, and you don't have it on hand at the moment, so I'm focusing on ways to get you through the week with some encouragement!
All my best,
Sara
Diet takes longer than meds to help. Asacol helps some but not others. In the meantime, do make sure you're resting (more than you even think), drinking fluids (I'm a big fan of chicken broth, but a soothing herbal tea works for some, or mineral water... there is a recipe for a homemade version of Gatorade here (since the commercial ones have all kinds of potentially irritating ingredients): http://www.perskyfarms.com/phpBB2/viewt ... ectrolytes - please don't be overly alarmed about the potentially serious consequences of dehydration, because I truly believe if you are able to post to the forum, you have plenty of time to rehydrate. (I truly could not put a post together when I first joined.)
There are applesauce and other cooked fruit products that contain *no* other ingredients in most health-food stores. (If all else fails... on my recent vacation I bought some baby-food applesauce with apricots.) Most of us (not all, but an awful lot) do tolerate bananas, which also replenish potassium that's sometimes out of balance with D. Too much fiber and too much sweetener of any kind can be hard to tolerate at this point.
Sometimes a boiled potato can taste better than you'd imagine...
I hope this helps, and I hope you're feeling better very soon. If you come to believe Asacol is contributing to your problems, you could try Imodium or Pepto Bismol - our response to medications is very individual. As Joe says, Entocort often provides faster relief, especially since you have removed the major food triggers, but it is very expensive, and you don't have it on hand at the moment, so I'm focusing on ways to get you through the week with some encouragement!
All my best,
Sara
Hi Buggity Boo,
I understand your frustration. I was diagnosed just 3 weeks ago. I've had some relief from D with Entocort and going DF GF and mostly SF. I agree with the others that if you have dairy issues, you might wish to look at Entocort. My doctor gave me a coupon that gets me Entocort with a discount.
Prior to taking my Entocort, I was having XD 20-30 times a day. Now it's just D and only on occasion. I'm still learning what works for me, as you are learning what works for you.
Bananas work well for me, as does rice, applesauce and GF DF toast.
Please heed our advice and rest, drink plenty of fluids, and try simple foods. If you like to cook, try making your own homemade chicken soup. I found it very helpful and tasty when I did this.
And if you need to complain, we are here for you!
Sending you hugs,
Sharaine
I understand your frustration. I was diagnosed just 3 weeks ago. I've had some relief from D with Entocort and going DF GF and mostly SF. I agree with the others that if you have dairy issues, you might wish to look at Entocort. My doctor gave me a coupon that gets me Entocort with a discount.
Prior to taking my Entocort, I was having XD 20-30 times a day. Now it's just D and only on occasion. I'm still learning what works for me, as you are learning what works for you.
Bananas work well for me, as does rice, applesauce and GF DF toast.
Please heed our advice and rest, drink plenty of fluids, and try simple foods. If you like to cook, try making your own homemade chicken soup. I found it very helpful and tasty when I did this.
And if you need to complain, we are here for you!
Sending you hugs,
Sharaine