Hello everyone, I hope everyone is doing well. It's been a while since I've posted. An update on me, I've been GF and DF for over a month now and not one bit of improvement. I had an appointment with my Gastro this morning. She told me to stop taking Lialda. She gave me a prescription for anti biotics saying that I may have a bacterial overgrowth and she gave me samples of Creon Pancrelipase. I didn't understand completely, but she said that some of this may be caused by my pancreas not working correctly (making enzymes or something). Does anyone know about the pancreas and how it affects digestion and does anyone have experience with anti biotics? Also, she wants me to start taking my Celexa, stating that the mind, gut connection may have something to do with this. I'm so desperate right now. I'm still not working and still afraid to look. So, I need much advice :) Should I take my anti depressant? Does anyone know if anti biotics could work? Does anyone know if a pancreas can cause this? And finally, should I start eating Gluten and Dairy again? She told me that my celiac panel came back clear and my upper endoscopy showed absolutely no sprue. I still haven't tried the few foods diet, picking just a couple of foods and eating only them for a couple of weeks.
I'm just so lost and overwhelmed right now. I don't know what to do. I must get control of this so I can move on in life. I would like to have confidence that these new drugs will work, but nothing has so far and I am getting depressed! Thank you again for all advice in the past. You all help me more than you know :)
GF, DF not helping
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Unfortunately, it appears that your gastroenterologist is more lost than you are. The blood tests for celiac sprue are almost always worthless for someone with MC, because they will only detect fully-developed celiac disease, and very few of us have fully-developed celiac sprue. Those tests will never detect the type of food sensitivities that we have, because they're not sensitive enough. That's why it still takes over 9 years to get a diagnosis of celiac disease, on the average - the doctors are lost, when it comes to gluten-sensitivity, especially non-celiac gluten-sensitivity.
MC can affect virtually any organ in the digestive system, so yes, it can affect the ability of the pancreas to produce digestive enzymes. It is pointless to treat it, in most cases, because once you get your MC symptoms under control, the pancreas function will return to normal. Treating the pancreas is treating a symptom, that does not treat the cause of the problem.
Your doctor is a perfect example of a little education being a bad thing, because she is misinterpreting the role of the gut-brain connection. Yes, the enteric nervous system that controls the digestive system is directly connected with the brain, but that's no reason to take an anti-depressant. The problem is not in your head - it's in your intestines.
Unless you are taking Entocort, you have not been on the diet long enough to see results. It takes time for the intestines to heal - doctors don't seem to be aware of that, for some strange reason - they expect instant results. It took a long time for the damage to your intestines to accumulate before you started to react, and it will take a reasonable amount of time for the damage to heal, before you stop reacting. If you don's see any improvement in several more months, then it will be time to look for another food-sensitivity to remove from your diet. Soy is the next likely suspect. Be very sure that you are removing all sources of gluten from your diet. If you are using commercially processed foods, cross-contamination is common, and trace amounts can prevent you from reaching remission.
An antibiotic is unlikely to help. If you decide to take it, please use a probiotic as you end the antibiotic treatment, and for at least a couple of weeks afterward, so that you don't end up with a C. diff infection. Ciprofloxacin will usually stop the D for as long as you take it, but a few days after the treatment ends, the symptoms will relapse. Many members have taken antibiotics at their doctors suggestion, but I'm not aware of anyone who resolved their MC for more than a couple of weeks by doing that.
I hear you - this is a very depressing disease, and it causes us to feel alone and helpless - been there, done that. We have to live life one day at a time, and be very careful with our diet. Perseverance and patience will eventually pay off, though. Trust me, most of us have felt just as you are feeling - it's a cruel disease, and the doctors don't understand it.
Tex
MC can affect virtually any organ in the digestive system, so yes, it can affect the ability of the pancreas to produce digestive enzymes. It is pointless to treat it, in most cases, because once you get your MC symptoms under control, the pancreas function will return to normal. Treating the pancreas is treating a symptom, that does not treat the cause of the problem.
Your doctor is a perfect example of a little education being a bad thing, because she is misinterpreting the role of the gut-brain connection. Yes, the enteric nervous system that controls the digestive system is directly connected with the brain, but that's no reason to take an anti-depressant. The problem is not in your head - it's in your intestines.
Unless you are taking Entocort, you have not been on the diet long enough to see results. It takes time for the intestines to heal - doctors don't seem to be aware of that, for some strange reason - they expect instant results. It took a long time for the damage to your intestines to accumulate before you started to react, and it will take a reasonable amount of time for the damage to heal, before you stop reacting. If you don's see any improvement in several more months, then it will be time to look for another food-sensitivity to remove from your diet. Soy is the next likely suspect. Be very sure that you are removing all sources of gluten from your diet. If you are using commercially processed foods, cross-contamination is common, and trace amounts can prevent you from reaching remission.
An antibiotic is unlikely to help. If you decide to take it, please use a probiotic as you end the antibiotic treatment, and for at least a couple of weeks afterward, so that you don't end up with a C. diff infection. Ciprofloxacin will usually stop the D for as long as you take it, but a few days after the treatment ends, the symptoms will relapse. Many members have taken antibiotics at their doctors suggestion, but I'm not aware of anyone who resolved their MC for more than a couple of weeks by doing that.
I hear you - this is a very depressing disease, and it causes us to feel alone and helpless - been there, done that. We have to live life one day at a time, and be very careful with our diet. Perseverance and patience will eventually pay off, though. Trust me, most of us have felt just as you are feeling - it's a cruel disease, and the doctors don't understand it.
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.
