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Is anyone familiar with this drug and its side effects on MC? I started Lotemax in Septmeber and combined it with Restasis and then stopped the Lotemax. I'm still using Restasis and now back on Lotemax too. It started with punctal plugs and artificial tears and gels. All of this has not helped at all. The drops feel good going in but my eye pain never stops. I did a follow up last Friday and was told to continue with all the above and add the doxycycline. It's my understanding it is an antibiotic which scares me. I've spent the last hour surfing the internet trying to get informed but I am unsure if this is a good idea. ???
My doc told me this is the last try- if this doesn't work he has nothing more to offer. I explained my eye pain to be constant and comparable to eye strain one might experience after many hours on the computer or doing bookwork but multiplied by ten. This past week has been awful. After dinner I sit on the couch and listen to tv since it gets to the point it just hurts too much to see. I thought about wearing sunglasses while watching tv but am just to tired.
I just declined depression medication a few weeks ago and now am debating about this one. I've taken to thinking they are all out the get me or I'm just a big pain in the ass. I made it clear that I have MC and gave a brief explanation but the doctor didn't see too interested. He never asked if I take any supplements or other meds so I don't feel too confident with his concern with me. Maybe there are no interaction risks so I could be wrong. I thought about calling my GI but I don't have much faith in their opinions either as they still insist I can eat anything I'd like.
I'm thinking about trying accupuncture but feel like a fool at times trying to figure out how to manage this thing. I don't know if the eye issues are related to MC, though I suppose it is since it's all an inflammatory disease.... I just want my eyeballs to feel some relief. I'd like to get into my contacts again so I can ride my motorcycle come spring without fiddling with my glasses.
Any suggestions would be appreciated- I'm afraid it may undo what the entocort is just barely controlling.
My mantra for the time being is : less drugs, not more.
You might be interested in some of the posts in this thread. Several of them mention doxycycline specifically as the suspected original cause of their MC. There are a number of other threads where this drug has been discussed, also.
Hint: When searching for issues such as any connections between MC and medications, it's always a good idea to search the archives of this discussion board first. Remember, this is the largest database of practical information associated with MC in the world. I found 41 "hits" when I did a search for "doxycycline"
Acupuncture might be worth a try. Obviously, mainstream doctors haven't had much luck in treating your vision problems.
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.
Ahh, thanks for the hint Tex and crap. I should have thought to read here first. I was reading other googled comments but never know the validity of the content because who knows what's out there. I could have saved myself an hour. Back to reading!
DebE...sorry to hear about your eye pain. I noticed a few years ago that if I wear my contacts my eyes start hurting kind of like the way you describe it but not as bad. I still have issues and have decided to just ditch my contacts. I'm okay with my glasses but if I read the computer or a book too long (which is short for most people) then my eyes get really tired and ache a little. I have to take many breaks from reading anything. My MIL had issues with her eyes and her doctor told her to take fish oil capsules. A lot! Then that gave her burning in her stomach and she had to give up those. I've often thought my eyes have some kind of inflammation going on. I used to take anti-inflammatories which helped but with MC there is no way I would try that!! It sounds like your eyes bother you more than the MC symptoms?
Maybe get another opinion from another eye doctor? I do hope you can find some relief.
Terri
Diagnosed with Lymphocytic Colitis in July, 2012 then with Celiac in November, 2012.
2 years prior to the MC Dx, (5 years ago) i had a 'strange' keritisis that would not go away, ie it would not respond to treatment. I saw one of the top optomology professors that has written text books, as my case was 'interesting'.
He referred me to an immunologist (dr house type) who did every blood, urine, poop test possible and could not 'ascertain' why i was having eye issues, fatigue, digestion issues, joint pain, adrenal issues. (does any of those symptoms sound familiar??)
the immunologist only conclusion was that i must have had contact with bat urine in PNG (which i didnt)
2 years later the MC dx and learnings from this board, i now know what was happening.
there are many MC'ers that have had issues with eyes before Dx and after.
since that incident i have not been able to wear any sort of eye make up (liner, shadow, mascara)
your body is inflammed, the healing system is not working 100%. Now with MC dx and the wealth of knowledge from this group and personal experience, the best thing you can do is rest, rest the eye (minimise computer/tv/reading), support and nuture your body to reduce inflammaton and optimise healing.
- low inflammation, low histamine diet,
- green tea to boost the immune system etc,
- have treatments such as acupuncture to reduce the inflammation in the body and assist the healing process,
- avoid using products on your face that contain irritant such as wheat /soy etc,
Now that you have MC, having a dose of Doxy may or may not make things worse digestion wise. (I am one of the ones that i believe doxy caused the MC, i had alot of doxy over a period of 2 years as a malaria protector) If it was me, unless the doctor is 100% sure it will help the eye, i would not take it.
Gabes Ryan
"Anything that contradicts experience and logic should be abandoned"
Dalai Lama
Terri, I'm getting ready to shovel AGAIN, for the sixth time in three days so I'm keeping my mind entertained with summer cycle riding. I am not a cold weather/winter person so I'm not sure how I ended up in Wisconsin. Thanks for sharing your thoughts, yes- right now I would say I think less and less about the actual D problems than all of the other "stuff" that is aggravating me. For the past months it's been my eyes that have been all consuming. I've worked so hard to get to where I'm at right now and I know I'm teetering on the appropriate dose for entorcort because I still have more WD than anything but it's tolerable. If it weren't for all my other issues I may be content to coast at the 3mg of entorcort and stick with the diet. I've decided I have to wait another year and make big decisions at a later date about the MC. I've simply not had enough time to heal to feel confident in deciding what to do next. A few times a week Norman and mildly C will show up on my doorstep for no reason which I used to find incredibly frustrating but now I've decided to take that as a sign that I'm at least capable of it at 3mg.
I have gotten a second opinion on my eyes and it is the same dx- dry eye. I will have to call mine today and ask what the alternative is. I'm prepared for the generic response since I originally turned down Lotemax about three years ago because I didn't want to take any steriods. I anticipate he will tell me that it is a low dose and safe to take and if I don't heed his advise there is nothing more he can do for me. That was pretty much what I was told when I declined the Lotemax. He did mention wearing a type of lense that would help keep the moisture in which I might be willing to try but I can't even think about putting my regular contacts in so I'm a bit skeptical of that.
Gabes- I've already decided not to use it after reading through the posts here. It's a very fine line with the risk because the eye problems are severely impacting day to day life but the idea of possibly making my guts worse after all the effort I've put into it simply makes me dig my heels into the ground and say No Way. I've tried the fish oil too and I may not have given it enough time, but didn't see any noticable changes. It gets to be so expensive when it's not covered under insurance.
It seems so many of my issues come and go after months of tormenting me and I was hoping this one would too. The NP I saw a few weeks ago brought up accupuncture as something that might suit me better. I'm trying to juggle my work schedule to make it fit. Again, the insurance companies are willing to shell out thousands of dollars in my name to push drugs and treatments that will cause additional problems and cost even more, but when the alternative medicines are mentioned time stands still and the act like I'm the one who's nuts. It's a strain on the budget but I may not have a choice at this point.
Thanks for all your help!! I think I need a new GPS for Christmas since the one I currently have keeps trying to lead me down the wrong path.
Have they diagnosed you with Sjogren's Syndrome? The autoimmune dry eye/dry mouth disease?
I'm seeing an acupuncturist for my autoimmune skin rash and she told me there is lots they can do for eye conditions, so it's worth a shot. I am a true believer.
They've mentioned Sjogren's but nothing more has ever been done. By chance, I got in to see someone today that practices accupunture. I had an hour's worth of calculated frequency acu therapy (magnetics) and it made my neck and upper shoulder tightness disappear. It felt great! The tightness returned two hours later but gave me a reason to keep my next appointment. We had a good conversation about diet although there were a few things I didn't totally agree with but didn't make any issues since it was nice to hear intelligence coming out of her mouth. She told me to stop eating rice since it promotes inflammation and to eliminate all grains. Wild rice would be ok. She did bring up quinoa and amaranth which I thought I read would be in the grain category per paleo philosophy. She also encouraged me to eat eggs again which I'd love to do but my entero lab tests done last year indicated I should avoid them. Also was adding beans and lentils which I explained I love to eat but have given up all legumes because of the MC. I do occasionally have them just to have a change in my menu but am still wary of them. She also encouraged yogurt but I know I can't do dairy- immediate stomache ache. She was very tolerant of my many declines of her suggestions. She suggested making my own yogurt with coconut milk. Another suggestion was to get more carbs but she had difficulty giving me ideas based on my current GF/SF/DF/EF diet. Sprouted grain breads were mentioned but soy has been my issue with prepared GF breads. She also encouraged buckwheat but I'm not risking it.
She did a thermal scan and gave me interesting results. I am still skeptical since my experience time and time again is to spend a lot of money only to be let down. However, she said my thyroid is way out of whack. TEX- imagine that!! I'm not sure if she can offer the right corrective treatment but I'm going to at least go a few more times to see if I continue to feel improvements.
as mentioned in other posts about natural therapy, my experience is that MC is a little bit unique and does not fit the normal 'stock standard' digestion treatment protocols suggested by natural therapy practitioners.
we are all different.... Rice has been a fantastic calming anti inflammatory for me, yet there are others that can not tolerate it at all.
find your 'safe' easy to digest meals and stick to them
Gabes Ryan
"Anything that contradicts experience and logic should be abandoned"
Dalai Lama
DebE wrote:However, she said my thyroid is way out of whack. TEX- imagine that!!
Well how about that? She may have some potential.
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.
Is it oral doxy or drops? I wouldn't worry if it is drops, since little would be absorbed systemically. I had dry eye. Actually, it started before the MC hit. Whenever I am in good remission it seems to disappear most of the time. But there are occasional days that I notice it - my eyes hurt, are scratchy, and the vision is not as good. Just a thought - have you considered any soaps/creams you may be putting on your face? Retin A? Fruit acids? Cleansers? I would bet most of these things could really irritate the eye. My policy now is to go to bed with NOTHING on my face.
I hope you find significant relief soon.
Love,
Polly
P.S. FWIW, I seem to do OK with most beans (exception - pinto beans - which for some reason were "red" on MRT). Of course, as Gabes always points out, we are all different.
Blessed are they who can laugh at themselves, for they shall never cease to be amused.
She told me to stop eating rice since it promotes inflammation and to eliminate all grains. Wild rice would be ok.
I have given up rice because of Enterolab testing and was wondering about wild rice when I saw it in my pantry today. Would that be a no no also for me if I have eliminated white rice?
She suggested making my own yogurt with coconut milk
I make my own yogurt with coconut milk but preparation is a big job, heating & cooling to correct temperatures, sterilizing jars etc. I do this because I have the time and don't like paying the price of purchased coconut milk yogurt, $1.50 a small carton.
Charlotte
The food you eat can be either the safest and most powerful form of medicine, or the slowest form of poison. Ann Wigmore
This is just a WAEG, but wild rice plants are so similar to commercially-produced rice varieties that I would think that the amino acid chains in wild rice proteins are very similar to the amino acid chains that define the proteins in commercially-produced rice — close enough that the immune system would treat them equally.
Wild rice is usually promoted over conventional rice because it's perceived as a much healthier choice, based on its lower glycemic properties and a balanced omega-3 to omega-6 fatty acid ratio. It has preferred glycemic characteristics because it has a higher protein content, and a lower carbohydrate content, when compared with brown rice, for example. It also has more vitamin A and folic acid.
IOW, wild rice is promoted not because it is less allergenic, but because it is perceived as a much healthier choice. The claim that wild rice is non-inflammatory is based primarily on it's favorable ometa-3 to omega-6 ratio, and has nothing to do with the potential to trigger an autoimmune reaction because of a protein sensitivity. All rice varieties are very, very unlikely to trigger an autoimmune reaction — rice is surely the least allergenic commercially important grain in existence.
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.
I explained my eye pain to be constant and comparable to eye strain one might experience after many hours on the computer or doing bookwork but multiplied by ten. This past week has been awful. After dinner I sit on the couch and listen to tv since it gets to the point it just hurts too much to see. I thought about wearing sunglasses while watching tv but am just to tired.
I made it clear that I have MC and gave a brief explanation but the doctor didn't see too interested. He never asked if I take any supplements or other meds so I don't feel too confident with his concern with me. Maybe there are no interaction risks so I could be wrong. I thought about calling my GI but I don't have much faith in their opinions either as they still insist I can eat anything I'd like. 
