Hi...I just joined the forum today although I've been lurking around for months. I was diagnosed celiac 8 years ago...went GF right away and have been pretty good with it though I've had bouts with D all along. In fall 2011 I noticed it had been a while since I'd had a "normal" bowel movement...thought maybe I'd slipped on my GF diet so tried to be careful....it went on and on. I noticed eating salad (a frequent meal when eating out and it could generally be thought to be "safe") made things WAY worse so stopped eating salad. D was chronic and urgent and...welll you all get the picture. I'd gained about 20 lbs in the past 2 years despite the chronic D. FINALLY in June I went to my GP to get blood tests done to see if somehow I was glutening myself...everything she tested me for can back ok. She referred me back to the GI that diagnosed my celiac. Saw him in late Nov...he knew instantly what the issue likely was and scheduled me for a colonoscopy for confirmation. I lucked out with someone cancelling and got my colonoscopy mid-Dec. Diagnosis in early January confirmed MC - CC actually. I did a course of entocort and on my own, based on what I read here eliminated all dairy, all veg and all fruit from my diet on top of being GF. Things seemed to go well until my dosage went down to 3mg. I acheived for a few days at a time what I remember to be "normal" bowel movements (ie not 12 times a day running to the nearest potty for a full body purge!) I even lost about 10 lbs. Slipped a bit on the elimination diet. Life is stressful - work, kids etc. I went away to a conference...got glutened (my own fault) and the D started again. This was almost 2 months ago. Finally got back to the GI this week and am back on Entocort for 6 months...thank goodness we have good extended medical benefits ;-) Back being very careful with diet and fingers crossed.
My question right now is...has anyone else had trouble losing weight with being celiac and MC? I would have thought that with the very boring, very basic diet I eat, the bouts of D etc. that I would have lost more than 10 lbs in 4 months!
I ask this question here because reading the posts here have been so helpful in helping me not feel crazy as I go against all the nutritional advice every given and eliminate not only most grains but vegetables and fruit from my diet (this seems to horrify many people).
Thanks to all of you for helping me not feel crazy as I go through this!
Struggling to lose weight!
Moderators: Rosie, Stanz, Jean, CAMary, moremuscle, JFR, Dee, xet, Peggy, Matthew, Gabes-Apg, grannyh, Gloria, Mars, starfire, Polly, Joefnh
Hi Dana,
Welcome to our internet family. Yes, you are not alone in gaining weight even with active MC. Others here have had the same problem.
This is just my opinion, but I have a hunch that this problem is associated with thyroid issues. An informal poll shows that we are about 7 times as likely to have thyroid problems as someone in the general population, and of course, for the vast majority of us in that situation, that means hypothyroidism. And unfortunately, the TSH test that doctors use these days to diagnose thyroid issues, does not show reliable results for many of us.
Even though our test results are well within the normal range, many of us are hypothyroid (despite not meeting the common diagnostic criteria). The extremely high correlation between MC and thyroid issues (according to our poll) makes it rather obvious that the inflammation that causes MC also affects thyroid function for many of us, and that is almost surely why we tend to gain weight, when we should be losing it.
Again, welcome aboard, and please feel free to ask anything.
Tex
Welcome to our internet family. Yes, you are not alone in gaining weight even with active MC. Others here have had the same problem.
This is just my opinion, but I have a hunch that this problem is associated with thyroid issues. An informal poll shows that we are about 7 times as likely to have thyroid problems as someone in the general population, and of course, for the vast majority of us in that situation, that means hypothyroidism. And unfortunately, the TSH test that doctors use these days to diagnose thyroid issues, does not show reliable results for many of us.
Even though our test results are well within the normal range, many of us are hypothyroid (despite not meeting the common diagnostic criteria). The extremely high correlation between MC and thyroid issues (according to our poll) makes it rather obvious that the inflammation that causes MC also affects thyroid function for many of us, and that is almost surely why we tend to gain weight, when we should be losing it.
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.
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Gabes-Apg
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Dana
I have struggled with weight gain since my MC Dx. pre Dx I had been the same weight for about 4-5 years.
keep in mind, I have never taken predisone/entocort or any other steroid based med
I have an additional 60 pounds that I am trying to shift
further to tex's comment about thyroid, I think there is a combo of elements that cause this
- hormones
- any insulin diabetes risk due to age, family history etc
- adrenals and metabolism
- medications being taken
- other health issues (if it affects sleep etc)
- emotional issues
there is a great book called 'weight loss for those who care too much' or something along that lines, by Collette baron reid. it talks about the mental and emotional side of our lifestyle
the aspects of food and exercise are not covered until page 200. before this point the book is all about the emotional and mental side of eating, nourishment, lifestyles etc.
it was this book that gave me my current motto - progress not perfection.
IMO - like MC - there is no quick fix or guaranteed to work system that will help with weight loss. we have to figure out what works for us, that suits our budget, lifestyle, eating plan etc etc
I would suggest investigating 'Keto' where you eat high protein, high fat, low carb, to burn the existing fat in your body. Prior to some health issues of the past month, i think i was losing some weight via this. (i don't have scales at home!)
If you can afford an appointment with a nutritionist this would be very helpful as they can guide you to adopting something like Keto, and ensure there will be no interactions with medications/other health issues.
Keep in mind, any change in what we do or eat, will cause some minor symptoms (our bodies are very delicate chemistry wise) any changes you make do them gradually.....
I have struggled with weight gain since my MC Dx. pre Dx I had been the same weight for about 4-5 years.
keep in mind, I have never taken predisone/entocort or any other steroid based med
I have an additional 60 pounds that I am trying to shift
further to tex's comment about thyroid, I think there is a combo of elements that cause this
- hormones
- any insulin diabetes risk due to age, family history etc
- adrenals and metabolism
- medications being taken
- other health issues (if it affects sleep etc)
- emotional issues
there is a great book called 'weight loss for those who care too much' or something along that lines, by Collette baron reid. it talks about the mental and emotional side of our lifestyle
the aspects of food and exercise are not covered until page 200. before this point the book is all about the emotional and mental side of eating, nourishment, lifestyles etc.
it was this book that gave me my current motto - progress not perfection.
IMO - like MC - there is no quick fix or guaranteed to work system that will help with weight loss. we have to figure out what works for us, that suits our budget, lifestyle, eating plan etc etc
I would suggest investigating 'Keto' where you eat high protein, high fat, low carb, to burn the existing fat in your body. Prior to some health issues of the past month, i think i was losing some weight via this. (i don't have scales at home!)
If you can afford an appointment with a nutritionist this would be very helpful as they can guide you to adopting something like Keto, and ensure there will be no interactions with medications/other health issues.
Keep in mind, any change in what we do or eat, will cause some minor symptoms (our bodies are very delicate chemistry wise) any changes you make do them gradually.....
Gabes Ryan
"Anything that contradicts experience and logic should be abandoned"
Dalai Lama
"Anything that contradicts experience and logic should be abandoned"
Dalai Lama
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Welcome dana. I was going to say the same thing as Tex. Thyroid issues can definitely make weight loss almost impossible. if all of that checks out and you still are having issues, a lower carb diet usually works. If you are still eating rice and corn products and/or sugar, then that could also be your problem ( with my personal training clients, low carb is usually the answer). I do think that we need some carbs, but they should mostly come in the form of veggies. You can probably add some COOKED veggies into your diet. Carrots and squash is a good place to start.
I hope this round of Entocort works for you, but it's a bit suspicious that you started having problems again at the 3 mg. Dose. That usually means that you are reacting to something you are eating. We are all different, but soy and eggs would be the next things to look at.
good luck
Leah
I hope this round of Entocort works for you, but it's a bit suspicious that you started having problems again at the 3 mg. Dose. That usually means that you are reacting to something you are eating. We are all different, but soy and eggs would be the next things to look at.
good luck
Leah