What causes MC?

[scrowley]

I have a question that may have already been asked.........
since we have over 1000 signed up on this with MC, I am wondering what do you think caused your MC??
I really have no idea what caused mine, infection, auto-immune disease stress???
I am thinking for me Stress was a big one.
thanks,
sheila

[brandy]

Hi Sheila,

For me the following: stress, genetics (mother is celiac) and overeating. The big one was stress which caused the overeating which I believe pushed my gut bacteria out of sync. Brandy

[tex]

Sheila,

I can't really pinpoint the cause in my case, because it may have been a combination of factors. A big one was eating a lot of sweets all my life, and sugar is a known trigger for the leaky gut syndrome. Before my symptoms began, I had several years of increasing stress, and the development of diverticulosis/diverticulitis introduced the possibility of infection and gut bacteria imbalances.

IMO, the biggest factor, though, was probably a lifelong problem with untreated gluten-sensitivity, (which I was unaware of, since I had C, instead of D). I do have a copy of the most common celiac gene, and, of course, a non-celiac gene that predisposes to gluten-sensitivity. Looking back, I was a case waiting to happen, and I'm surprised that it didn't show up sooner.

Tex

[Robin]

Hi Sheila,

For me, my MC has always been lurking its ugly head. When I could no longer tolerate being sick ALL the time is when I really took a good look at what brought me to that point. So, I was abusing NSAID,s (I had been in a car accident and didn't want to be dependent on heavy pain killers) and I had been under A LOT of stress for over a year. The two of those things were deadly combination for me.

Robin

[maestraz]

Hi Sheila,
My first major indicator of MC type symptoms was when I took Chantix to stop smoking. BIG D, caused me to not finish the prescribed course of meds, though I did successfully stop smoking to this day, so I'm a little hesitant to lay the blame there. But I also believe that NSAIDS ( like ibuprofen and Celebrex, which I took regularly)and an SSRI med played a role. Since going GF/DF, and quitting those meds, I have a fraction of the joint pain I used to have. Could stress have played a role? Easily, as there was a lot going on in my life at the time. The auto-immune aspect of LC definitely freaked me out a little and still does in terms of future implications.

[Polly]

Antibiotics, I'm positive!

Hugs,

Polly

[starfire]

I have no idea what actually triggered my MC since my history includes so many of the suspected triggers. Much stress in the months prior to major symptoms, antibiotics, PPI's, NSAIDs, stopped smoking..... I'll never know.

Shirley

[draperygoddess]

I have two DQ1 genes, which predispose me to gluten sensitivity, and looking back, I can see some early signs of this at least going back to my early teens, but I believe what kicked me into overdrive was a prescription for Zoloft 7 years ago. I now know that Zoloft has been linked to GI problems in general and MC specifically, and I believe it was the trigger that tripped my genetic predisposition. I have not taken Zoloft for several months now, and ironically, don't suffer from anxiety now (again, I blame that on the gluten!), but apparently the damage has been done, as I still have multiple food intolerances. I can control my symptoms by diet alone, thankfully, but gluten and dairy, at least, are off the menu permanently.

[Zizzle]

For me:
Years of living in Latin America, bouncing back and forth to the US, and multiple GI bugs as a result.
Then, years of taking antibiotics before dentist appointments for mitral valve prolapse, and years of frequent antibiotics for UTIs.
And another massive GI bug in Guatemala and one in Thailand...which led to "IBS" and lactose intolerance.
Then, pregnancy and multiple bouts of mastitis in the post-partum period treated with antibiotics.

But, two of the biggest factors were my genetic predisposition to gluten intolerance (HLADQ2) and a connective tissue disorder that affects collagen in the GI tract (EDS-joint hypermobility).

[Deb]

I think my genetic predisposition (double DQ1) followed up by a period of severe stress triggered my MC.

[scrowley]

thanks for all the replies, its just interesting to hear everyones story.
For me, I didnt take NSAID's or any of that, ate very healthy but am Type A personality, highly strung, stressed out so something had to give.
sheila

[Lesley]

For me there are SO many possible causes. I think I have always had it in one form or another. My mother said that after a long hospitalization for polio (8 months at age 3) I always suffered from constipation. I had an appendectomy at age 9 which caused adhesions, and then surgery at age 19, which showed terrible spasticity in my colon. I have always struggled with it.

Many, many drugs throughout the years. Sugar, NSAIDs, PPIs, constant abx for constant infections...so many possible causes, but the trigger was "stomach flu" that was going around. With me it just didn't go away.

[harma]

for me, since my bowel problems started about 10 to 11 years ago (labelled as IBS by my PCP) I would say, that were the first signs of gluten intolerance. Also I believe that MC already started than. Or the MC is the result of ten years bowel problems. It is for sure the things are connected. Something changed in spring 2009 when the D started and did not go away. Personally I think a very shocking and emotional experience was the onset of getting my first MC flare up. There are more examples here how stress or hurtful emotional events trigger MC or create a flare up.

So for me I would go for gluten (maybe dairy too) and stress.

[Gloria]

The year before I was Dx'd with MC, my mother died, I got double pneumonia, had a torn meniscus with subsequent knee surgery, foot surgery, and diverticulitis. I don't usually see a connection between my MC and stress, but I certainly had a lot of stress that year.

What put me over the edge was the double dose of antibiotics for the diverticulitis - I had five straight weeks of D. I got better, but took more antibiotics after the foot surgery in November. By January, I had MC. I blame it on antibiotics.

Gloria

[coryhub]

I never had a gut problem until a stressful period of layoffs at work. During this insecure time I began to experience stomach & bowel problems. My family doctor didn't help by prescribing anti-inflammatory and ibuprofen drugs. I used to be able to eat most anything and loved spicy foods. Those days are over but I don't miss those foods anymore. Don't get me wrong, in the beginning it was hard but now I watch my friends eat buttered popcorn in the theater and am okay with the safe snacks I keep in my purse.