Hi,
I am another newbie, just found out last week that I have MC after 13 years of bowel troubles with the last 3 years being the worst with the constant D. My MD gave me a script for Entocort, but I am holding off for now. I have read lots of posts over the past week and I am starting to put all the info together. I have made dietary changes in the past (GF, GAPS, Fodmap), which have not provided me with relief, so I am thinking dairy, eggs, soy, or nuts may be my problem. I am giving it a go, but in the mean time, I have started taking 8 tablets of bismuth subsalicylate per day, and I have an increase in abdominal pain. Tolerating the pain for now, but not sure for how much longer as it makes me very irritable. The Pepto has significantly decreased the number of BM's per day, and I am no longer getting up during the night, but the constant pain is really starting to bother me. I am wondering if the pain will decrease, or do I need to decrease the dose, or just stop. Has anyone else had this type of reaction. If the Pepto doesn't work out for me, I think I will start the Entocort to get me though the next few month while I adjust my diet.
Oh, and thank you to everyone on this forum, you all have been so helpful.
Simpson
Increased abdominal pain with Pepto
Moderators: Rosie, Jean, CAMary, moremuscle, JFR, Dee, xet, Peggy, Matthew, Gabes-Apg, grannyh, Gloria, Mars, starfire, Polly, Joefnh
Increased abdominal pain with Pepto
Diagnosed 4/4/13
Simpson. You have found the best place in the world for information and support.
Hi,
Welcome to the board. Pepto-Bismol normally shouldn't cause increased abdominal pain. If the pain feels like the pain or cramps typically associated with constipation, then lowering the dose might help. But if they are due to a sensitivity to one of the ingredients in Pepto, then lowering the dose probably will not help. Unfortunately, we have found that not everyone can take Pepto, because of various side effects.
Again, welcome aboard, and please feel free to ask anything.
Tex
Welcome to the board. Pepto-Bismol normally shouldn't cause increased abdominal pain. If the pain feels like the pain or cramps typically associated with constipation, then lowering the dose might help. But if they are due to a sensitivity to one of the ingredients in Pepto, then lowering the dose probably will not help. Unfortunately, we have found that not everyone can take Pepto, because of various side effects.
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.
Hi,
I too am a newbie. *ugh* I think you should be very careful taking Pepto Bismol as it contains Aspirin! Aspirin is one of the two things that the stomach can absorb. The other is alcohol. Aspirin can cause you to have serious bleeding from the stomach. I would stop taking that immediately and contact your MD. I am (was) an E.R. Nurse, and this is what I would do. That being said, YIKES!!! Has anyone here gone into remission after Entocort? Anyone feel well enough to return to work? I am afraid my career is gone.
Thanks for the info.
~Trish RN
I too am a newbie. *ugh* I think you should be very careful taking Pepto Bismol as it contains Aspirin! Aspirin is one of the two things that the stomach can absorb. The other is alcohol. Aspirin can cause you to have serious bleeding from the stomach. I would stop taking that immediately and contact your MD. I am (was) an E.R. Nurse, and this is what I would do. That being said, YIKES!!! Has anyone here gone into remission after Entocort? Anyone feel well enough to return to work? I am afraid my career is gone.
Thanks for the info.
~Trish RN
Hi Trish,
Welcome to the board. Yes, bismuth subsalicylate is related to aspirin. But so are many of the drugs prescribed to treat MC, including all of the mesalamine-based drugs. The thing about the Pepto treatment is that it only lasts for 8 weeks, whereas doctors expect patients to take Asacol, Lialda, Pentasa, Colazal, etc., for the rest of their life to treat this disease. Just like all the other drugs used to treat MC (off-label, of course), Pepto-Bismol works just fine for those who are not sensitive to it. There are no drugs available for treating MC that are free of any risk. That's why we prefer controlling our symptoms by diet changes alone, whenever possible.
Some people are able to achieve remission with Entocort, but unless you change your diet, the odds are about 99 to 1 that you will relapse after the drug is discontinued. And for many of us, budesonide alone is not sufficient to bring remission, without diet changes made concurrently.
Sure, most of us here (except for the newbies) have our life back, but virtually none of us have been able to do it by using drug treatments alone (without making any diet changes).
Again, welcome aboard, and please feel free to ask anything.
Tex
Welcome to the board. Yes, bismuth subsalicylate is related to aspirin. But so are many of the drugs prescribed to treat MC, including all of the mesalamine-based drugs. The thing about the Pepto treatment is that it only lasts for 8 weeks, whereas doctors expect patients to take Asacol, Lialda, Pentasa, Colazal, etc., for the rest of their life to treat this disease. Just like all the other drugs used to treat MC (off-label, of course), Pepto-Bismol works just fine for those who are not sensitive to it. There are no drugs available for treating MC that are free of any risk. That's why we prefer controlling our symptoms by diet changes alone, whenever possible.
Some people are able to achieve remission with Entocort, but unless you change your diet, the odds are about 99 to 1 that you will relapse after the drug is discontinued. And for many of us, budesonide alone is not sufficient to bring remission, without diet changes made concurrently.
Sure, most of us here (except for the newbies) have our life back, but virtually none of us have been able to do it by using drug treatments alone (without making any diet changes).
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.
Trish,
In cases where MC happens to be drug-induced, and it's caught soon enough, just stopping the drug (or drugs) that caused it, and avoiding them can bring lasting remission. But for the rest of us, yes, all but a few of us are sensitive to gluten, and most of us are also sensitive to dairy and soy. If eliminating them from the diet doesn't resolve the symptoms, then eggs are the next most likely additional sensitivity.
Please be aware that while a few people improve rapidly on the diet, for many of us, it can take months to see resolution of the diarrhea (D). And if our diet is somehow cross-contaminated, or any additional undiscovered food sensitivities remain in the diet, that can postpone remission. It's a tough disease to treat, because we are all different, so our diet has to be carefully custom tailored. And in general, the longer we have had symptoms, the longer it takes for our gut to heal.
Taking Entocort EC (budsonide) allows many patients to get their life back while waiting for the diet changes to heal their gut. But please be aware that it can mask the symptoms of food sensitivities, so you may still have to fine-tune your diet as you wean off the budesonide. We have found by experience that the slower the dosage is tapered (especially in the latter stages), the better the odds of remaining in remission after the drug is totally discontinued, because this allows for fine-tuning the diet without slipping into a total relapse of symptoms.
If you would prefer to use lab tests to accurately access certain food sensitivities, the stool tests offered by EnteroLab in Dallas, TX are accurate and reliable. They offer tests for the most common food sensitivities associated with MC. FWIW, the founder of the lab, Dr. Kenneth Fine, is a GI doc who has MC himself, and that prompted him to develop the tests. We haven't found any other tests that are anywhere near as reliable. Most blood tests are not very useful, because the antibodies involved are IgA antibodies, and as you are probably aware, most blood tests rely on the detection of IgE and IgG antibodies. And the celiac screening blood tests have such low sensitivity that they will only detect fully-developed celiac disease. There are no blood tests that will detect non-celiac gluten sensitivity. Only the stool tests (or IgA testing of biopsy samples taken from the mucosa of the colon during a colonoscopy) will detect non-celiac gluten sensitivity.
https://www.enterolab.com/StaticPages/TestInfo.aspx
Hopefully, after a few months of careful diet control, you will be feeling well enough that you will want to return to work (though it usually takes a couple of years to fully recover, because the healing takes so long).
You're very welcome,
Tex
In cases where MC happens to be drug-induced, and it's caught soon enough, just stopping the drug (or drugs) that caused it, and avoiding them can bring lasting remission. But for the rest of us, yes, all but a few of us are sensitive to gluten, and most of us are also sensitive to dairy and soy. If eliminating them from the diet doesn't resolve the symptoms, then eggs are the next most likely additional sensitivity.
Please be aware that while a few people improve rapidly on the diet, for many of us, it can take months to see resolution of the diarrhea (D). And if our diet is somehow cross-contaminated, or any additional undiscovered food sensitivities remain in the diet, that can postpone remission. It's a tough disease to treat, because we are all different, so our diet has to be carefully custom tailored. And in general, the longer we have had symptoms, the longer it takes for our gut to heal.
Taking Entocort EC (budsonide) allows many patients to get their life back while waiting for the diet changes to heal their gut. But please be aware that it can mask the symptoms of food sensitivities, so you may still have to fine-tune your diet as you wean off the budesonide. We have found by experience that the slower the dosage is tapered (especially in the latter stages), the better the odds of remaining in remission after the drug is totally discontinued, because this allows for fine-tuning the diet without slipping into a total relapse of symptoms.
If you would prefer to use lab tests to accurately access certain food sensitivities, the stool tests offered by EnteroLab in Dallas, TX are accurate and reliable. They offer tests for the most common food sensitivities associated with MC. FWIW, the founder of the lab, Dr. Kenneth Fine, is a GI doc who has MC himself, and that prompted him to develop the tests. We haven't found any other tests that are anywhere near as reliable. Most blood tests are not very useful, because the antibodies involved are IgA antibodies, and as you are probably aware, most blood tests rely on the detection of IgE and IgG antibodies. And the celiac screening blood tests have such low sensitivity that they will only detect fully-developed celiac disease. There are no blood tests that will detect non-celiac gluten sensitivity. Only the stool tests (or IgA testing of biopsy samples taken from the mucosa of the colon during a colonoscopy) will detect non-celiac gluten sensitivity.
https://www.enterolab.com/StaticPages/TestInfo.aspx
Hopefully, after a few months of careful diet control, you will be feeling well enough that you will want to return to work (though it usually takes a couple of years to fully recover, because the healing takes so long).
You're very welcome,
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.