I am a newbie!

[sharonbelterday]

Hi there all...

Glad to know that I am not alone, first of all, and that there is all this information in this site. My GI doctor gave me ZERO info, just said I "have microscopic colitis, probably triggered by my diverticulitis" and that she was prescribing me Mesalamine to reduce the inflammation and that would probably make me feel better. When I e-mailed her back to say that the medication was not reducing the diarrhea, which I am having up to 12 times per day, that I should try Metamucil. LOL!!!

So, fellow potty people, I have MC and diverticulitis!

I have ordered Tex's book and found the post by Jean, so I will just be enjoying potatoes and chicken with tea for awhile, then gradually adding in other foods after my gut heals. I must say, I am awfully sad about not having my ginormous salad and glass of wine each evening...sniff.

Quick question. I have been paying my gym membership faithfully, and have not been able to go since all of this began back around Christmas. It is now almost 4th of July. The idea of jumping up and down in aerobics classes sounds dreadfully frightening about now. Do you think I should just cancel the membership for awhile and be content walking my dog around the park. Sometimes it is a grind just to do that, as I am so darned tired.

[JLH]

to the family.

You have found the best place in the world for info and support.

For your doc

[maestraz]

Welcome to this group! I hope that you begin to find relief as a result of the information you learn here. I certainly did.

I hear you on the exercise. When I was sick, I just hated that it was getting in the way of my exercise routine, but some days it was just unthinkable because the D was so bad that I couldn't leave the house. Other days, I was so tired and achy that I couldn't get off the couch. I had to force myself to be patient. I tried to keep going to yoga if I could, but just couldn't do my other classes. I just had to accept that my body needed all available energy to heal. When I returned to walking, my stamina was greatly diminished. It took a while to get back to normal.

Take it slow is my advice.

[tex]

Hi Sharon,

Welcome to our internet family. Yes, as you have figured out, fiber is not our friend, at least not until after we have healed, and we have been in remission for a while.

Interestingly, research shows that the same type of lymphocytic infiltration that is used as a diagnostic marker for MC, is also found in diverticulitis, suggesting to me, at least, that diverticulitis may possibly lead to MC in some cases. I also had diverticulitis, FWIW.

Regarding exercise for someone who has MC — in general, moderate exercise is helpful with this disease (provided that we have the energy available to do it), because exercise seems to increase our available energy in the long run, and it certainly helps to relieve stress, both of which are beneficial for treating this disease. That said, MC typically causes major fatigue, because it diverts so much of the body's available energy to the task of fighting the inflammation, so we certainly can't expect to be able to exercise (or work) at the same level as before the onset of our symptoms. IOW, as long as we respect our temporary physical (and mental) limitations, exercise can be beneficial, but I completely agree with Suze, that some of us are so sick at times that exercise may not be practical when we're having a bad day.

Again, welcome aboard, and please feel free to ask anything.

Tex

[UkuleleLady]

Hi Sharon,
I'm a newbie too. I understand your quandary on the exercise front. I was finishing up my personal training certification when I was hit with the WD onslaught, and it was devastating to me. I am supposed to be completing an internship right now, but I cannot. And I was just thinking yesterday that I need to cancel my gym membership until I am healed.

So far I've been swimming (very casually) and that has been pretty low impact and relaxing, so I'm grateful I can do that. Every couple of days I do pull-ups and squats just to maintain a little functional fitness. I can't do cardio (running) because it makes me cramp and go, and anyway I'm not eating enough calories to compensate.

Im experimenting wih meditation where before exercise was my primary stress reliever.

Good luck in your journey and nice to "meet" you.

Sincerely,
Nancy

[JLH]

Hmmmmmm. Diverticulitis pain was what got me to my first colonoscopy and D, of course. Sadly, no biopsy taken a that time. After I called the GI office to say I was going to be a recluse, the biopsies were taken.

So many possible causes, but we'll never know.

[Gloria]

My MC began with a double dose of antibiotics to treat diverticulitis. My GI and my PCP both denied that the antibiotics had anything to do with the sudden D.

Gloria

[shekoe]

How about going to aerobics but going low and slow. It is not about how vigorously we move, it is about moving. I am almost 70. I have suffered from CC for almost a decade.
I have found that aerobics, at whatever intensity I can muster, makes me feel better. Best of luck to you on this journey. Sheila

[sharonbelterday]

Has anyone tried a liquid protein powder only to give their system a break and let it heal? If so, what did you use?

[tex]

I don't understand why you feel that a highly processed food such as a protein supplement would "give your system a break and let it heal". IMO, it would be more likely to cause inflammation issues, and retard healing, because of all the ingredients that such products typically contain.

But that's just my opinion, which is admittedly much lower than the opinion of those who promote such products.

Tex

[sharonbelterday]

Thanks, Tex,

Why would I think a liquid protein powder would help? Just because I am a newbie and thought a liquid would be easier to digest, I guess. So, thanks for setting me straight.

I will make a baked potato and chicken and just eat those for a couple of weeks. I am still waiting for your book and trying to figure things out in the meantime.

Do you think the combined A & C panels might help me get a handle on what is causing my up to 12 D's per day? Any other testing you think might help? A mid-May colonoscopy with biopsy revealed the MC, but I have no clue what other things they might have tested for during the biopsy, as my doc did not inform me. I just spent $1600 for the colonscopy and the ineffective mesalamine, and will pay for the lab bill, too. So what's another $569, LOL?!!! Anything to feel better and not cause further damage...

Sharon

[MBombardier]

Hi Sharon! Welcome to the board. Lots of us here in our fifties, since, of course, MC is a middle-aged disease, wink, wink. When I had my colonoscopy, I was diagnosed with diverticulosis. I am thankful that I have never had diverticulitis, at least not bad enough to know that's what it was.

Don't mind Tex--he was being sarcastic. Few men are kinder and more sympathetic than he is. When you know him better, you will recognize when he's being sarcastic or tongue-in-cheek, too.

Most of us don't do well with products that have more than three ingredients, all of which are real food. More ingredients can mean more chance for cross-contamination or cross-reactivity. That being said, there are probably people on here who use protein powders of some sort or another. We all have to manage our own healing in the way that is best for us.

Enterolab is a good way to drill down to the base causes, or many of the base causes for diarrhea. I say that with the caveat that at least three or four of us didn't show anything on the Enterolab tests. One person turned out to have selective IgA deficiency, and two of us (one being me) didn't show anything and when tested, our IgA was normal. So it was back to trial and error, which some of our overseas members do anyway because Enterolab testing is prohibitively expensive for them and there are no available alternatives.

I still wholeheartedly endorse the Enterolab tests, however. There is also MRT for food allergies that many members have done. When you get Tex's book, you will learn that there is a strong food allergy (and for many of us, seasonal allergy) component to the mix. MRT is an IgE blood test.

Again, welcome, and please feel free to ask anything.

[sharonbelterday]

Thanks, Marliss...

I did feel kind of dumb after Tex's post. After all, he did say welcome and ask anything! The powder is GF, whey based with a bunch of amino acids and sweetened with stevia instead of sugars, so I asked!?!?!?

After the post, I had chicken and white baked potato and now my tummy is up to its old tricks and I feel tired and frustrated again. I was trying to follow the recommended "chicken, potato, bananas and tea" recommended diet. Is it the chicken or potato? HMMM.

I am really trying to understand what to do first, and reading post after post. While waiting for Tex's book.

I found another thread that says eat bananas, rice, applesauce and tea.

I found threads that talk about MRT and others that list Enterolab results. I am willing to shell out the dough to figure out what the heck to eat in order to heal myself, but am now confused as to which to order.

I just received the diagnosis, and haven't even received the lab bill from the colonoscopy/biopsy yet, and just found your website last week, so I am still in shock (as well as having fuzzy brain).

Any advice is appreciated!

[Leah]

Welcome Sharon!
I know what you mean about the fatigue and exercise. I am a personal trainer ( and nutrition specialist) . I chose to go on Entocort ( Budesonide) simply because i felt i needed to be able to to my job. The drugs worked very quickly and my 9x a day went down to 1 or 2. While I was on the drug, I took out most of the main culprits ( gluten dairy, soy) but kept eggs in. I also took out all the "irritants" like RAW FRUITS AND VEGGIES, acid ( like tomato and citrus), fiber ( like beans and legumes), too much sugar, and caffiene. I mainly lived on meats, eggs, rice and it's products, Chex with almond milk, cooked veggies, some corn products, and nut butters for about 6 months. It took about that long to wean off the drug and continue on with diet alone.

Since I have been off, I have been able to add some of the "itrritants" back in ( like salad, beans, white potatoes, some chocolate...) and am doing fairly well. I have had some small flares along the way and when that happens, I go back to my "safe" diet. You also have to take a good look at any supplements or drugs you are taking that could prevent you from reaching remission. I recently was taking one for peri-menopause symptoms and it ended up being a problem.

if you can afford it, then I would do the Enterolab tests. I am one of those IgA deficient people who the test doesn't work for, but I wish I could have.

Good luck and keep us posted on your progress
Leah

[MBombardier]

We all have similar, but different safe foods. For example, I can't do potatoes or rice, so my safe foods are chicken (some can't do chicken, but turkey is often okay), stewed carrots, and applesauce, though I'm iffy on the applesauce because of thyroid/high carb issues. Yum, yum, right? But if you gotta, you gotta...

I suggest (at least until things settle down) that you also stay away from any dairy, including whey or butter. A high percentage, probably well over half, of people who are sensitive to gluten are also sensitive to not only the lactose but the casein (the protein) in dairy products. You'll discover what your safe foods are. Hopefully, you won't have to be as restrictive as some.

Also--give your gut time. In the beginning, you can be so inflamed that even safe foods make the gut mad. It's helpful to keep a food diary--called the "Winning the Poo" diary, so that you can get some idea of what's going on as you progress through the weeks.

BTW, many of us can do a glass or two of white wine. It helps with the mourning process.