Feel free to discuss any topic of general interest, so long as nothing you post here is likely to be interpreted as insulting, and/or inflammatory, nor clearly designed to provoke any individual or group. Please be considerate of others feelings, and they will be considerate of yours.
Yesterday I read nearly half of Tex's book. Very helpful and last night I decided to read more about the signs and symptoms of Pepto Bismol toxicity since I have been on it now for 15 days. I was very happily assuring myself that I had a plan that would work and soon (next couple of months) this thing would be under control.
I skipped my Prilosec dose yesterday and had decided that I would taper to every other day for awhile. I was hit with GERD last night that was eye-crossing. I went to sleep and this morning took the Prilosec and thought it strange that my eyesight was sooo blurry. I am used to that with some residual left from taking Levsin at night--but this is much worse and I still have it. Then I got out of bed. Vertigo hit me like a ton of bricks and as I sit here typing, I feel like I could easily fall out of my chair. Sooooo....no more Pepto for me! At least not until I have seen my doctor.
I have wondered if what I have been experiencing in being unable to process information very well is due to depression or early onset senility, but thankfully it seems to be due to what y'all are calling "brain fog". That is the only way I can understand WHY it took me so long to figure out why Enterolab may be the most helpful thing I can do for myself (besides cutting my beloved dairy out of my diet) right now. I know that you have said that being off of gluten for a year won't be a problem in picking up a sensitivity, but if I have gone off of dairy, does it pick that up too?
I am not usually this slow to "get it", but it does feel like I have to hear it a million different ways before it sinks in these days. I am going to keep reading and trying to absorb it thru the fog!
Jane
Diagnosed with Lymphocytic Colitis 12/19/12
"When it gets dark enough,you can see the stars."
Charles A. Beard
I hear you about the brain fog. It was a major problem for me, for several years. It finally forced me to down-size my business, because I just wasn't able make good decisions on too many days.
Please be aware that in addition to the rebound effect that withdrawing from a PPI can cause in the form of increased reflux/heartburn symptoms, withdrawal in some cases can also cause the nausea/vertigo symptoms that you describe (even though your doctor may claim otherwise). PPIs do bad things to the parietal cells in the stomach (dysplasia), and it can take a very long time to reverse the damage. In some cases, the damage cannot be reversed. If resuming your regular PPI treatment resolves the symptoms, then it seems clear that attempting to withdraw from the PPI may be the cause of your nausea and vertigo. Withdrawal can also cause headaches/migraines, for many people.
The half-life of anti-gluten antibodies (actually anti-gliadin antibodies) is 120 days. By contrast, the half-life of most other food antigens (such as casein, soy, eggs, etc., is about 6 days. Therefore there is a huge difference in the persistence of those antibodies after the corresponding respective foods are withdrawn from the diet. Based on our experience (and the recommendations of the folks at EnteroLab), anti-gliadin antibodies can usually still be reliably detected by their IgA stool tests for at least a year after gluten is withdrawn from the diet. In many cases (where the antibody level was relatively high to begin with), the antibodies can be detected up to 2 years after gluten is withdrawn from the diet.
For the other food sensitivities, though, it appears that the tests seem to be able to reliably detect antibodies for at least 2 or 3 months after the food is withdrawn from the diet. It's very likely that for those of us who have high antibody levels to begin with, they might be detectable for say, 4 to 6 months. After that, the risk of a false negative test result surely increases significantly.
To put this into perspective, consider that in general, high antibody levels are associated with food sensitivities that have been ongoing for several years, whereas food sensitivities that were triggered only a few months ago are typically associated with much lower antibody levels. IOW, in most cases, antibody levels tend to increase as we continue to eat the offending foods over an extended period of time.
If you cut casein out of your diet less than 1 month ago, for example, the test would probably have a theoretical reliability of close to 100 %. If you cut casein out of your diet less than 2 months ago, the theoretical reliability may have degraded to say 90 to 95 % (depending on your starting antibody level). As time passes, between the time at which the food was eliminated from the diet, and the time at which the test sample was taken, the chances of a false negative result continue to increase. But for several months, at least, your antibody levels should remain high enough that the test should be sufficiently reliable, for all practical purposes.
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 don't know, Tex. Seems I have skipped a day of Prilosec when I have forgotten meds and I have been out of town for 24 hours. I've had the GERD rebound reaction before when I have tried to quit, but never the vertigo and nausea. That has continued to stay with me today though it is better than it was, in spite of popping the Prilosec in my mouth first thing this morning.
I'm a little afraid to try the Pepto until I have seen the Dr.
Thanks for the clarification about the antibodies.
Jane
Diagnosed with Lymphocytic Colitis 12/19/12
"When it gets dark enough,you can see the stars."
Charles A. Beard
If you didn't notice any of those other symptoms when you skipped the Prilosec previously, then that certainly puts the Pepto in a suspicious light, I agree. There are no known drug interactions between Prilosec and bismuth subsalicylate, so there are no medical indications that Pepto and Prilosec cannot be taken together. Therefore, as you have concluded, the Pepto appears to be the prime suspect in your current situation.
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'm feeling better today. The blurry vision is gone. Took my Prilosec this morning. Have not taken Pepto since Saturday night. Still no D but it feels imminent. I have the gurgling stomach so bad that my hard of hearing spouse was trying to figure out what was going on outside because he was hearing "strange noises"! Two weeks is probably not long enough for the Pepto to work.
I see my gastroenterologist on Wednesday and my internist tomorrow. I think that I will see if I can be tested for selected IgA deficiency. He wanted to test me for gluten sensitivity back in October but figured that it would not show up in blood work since I had been virtually GF for a year. I am sure that there has been cross contamination but not enough to show up in any blood test. If I am not deficient, we will talk about getting an order for the testing thru Enterolabs.
Jane
Diagnosed with Lymphocytic Colitis 12/19/12
"When it gets dark enough,you can see the stars."
Charles A. Beard
