Hello everyone!
A little about myself....happily married to the love of my life, 7 great kiddos ranging in age from 15 to 6 months. I'm an RN but now a fulltime stay at home/homeschool momma. I lead a happy life and grateful for my blessings :)
Now onto the yucky stuff ;) I am new here, somewhat I should say. I came here 12 yrs ago when I was first Dx with MC. I had constipation/constant urge to go with no results. Biopsy revealed MC. I have never had D with this, only constipation. For 12 yrs I would feel achey in legs and arms occasionally but usually contributed that to motherhood. C occasionally, too. I am pretty healthy otherwise. We have 7 beautiful babies and the little MC symptoms I did have always seemed better while pregnant. I ate whatever I wanted...and it was a lot of carbs and sugar. I love fruit and vegetables are just Ok ;) I never thought about MC much these last 12 yrs until 2 months ago....and that's why I'm here!
About two months ago, I woke up with a sensitive jaw joint and some stiffness in one of my fingers. It would leave by noon. That happened a few times until one day it hung around all day. Then it was gone again for a few days. Next time it stayed for maybe 2 days....then whamo....2 weeks ago, it never left. ( I also had a horrible shoulder joint pain that was around for 2 days a few weeks ago). So for the last 2 weeks, I have TMJ pain and one finger is stiff and sore in the joints. I haven't been eating anything beyond rice, mashed potatoes, smoothies. Range of motion changes as well as severity of pain. Some days I can barely chew a soft cookie, other days I can eat noodles. Today, I'm back to barely being able to open my mouth, so it is egg drop soup for supper. I've seen two different dentists (had a rather large filling fixed 2 moths ago) and tomorrow I see an endodontist and it looks like it probably is NOT a tooth problem, but we are double checking. I talked with a chiropractor and another dentist who both are highly interested in food allergies and how food can harm and help our body. They immediately mentioned a gluten sensitivity to me. I told them that I was awaiting the day that MC would flare to the point that I would have tons of diet restrictions..... gluten being the main one . I fear the day has come. Anyone else have this type of joint pain as your main issue? I have NEVER had diarrhea as a problem. Any help would be wonderful! I'm not sure what to do anymore. I started taking Vit D, iron and a probiotic per the natural dentist. Oh! I should add that I had a c section in Jan (tons of antibiotics and ibuprofen) and two UTIs last month with 3 different antibiotics. During that time all the joint pain started. I'm guessing all that pulled it out of remission......UGH.....It just makes me feel worried about how this is going to effect my life. Good news is...it's treatable. I just hope the gluten elimination will work! I have the book Wheat Belly and am going to start reading it tonight after I search through this website more. Thank you SO much for any advice in advance!
New here! Joint pain
Moderators: Rosie, Jean, CAMary, moremuscle, JFR, Dee, xet, Peggy, Matthew, Gabes-Apg, grannyh, Gloria, Mars, starfire, Polly, Joefnh
Hi Michelle,
Welcome to our internet family. For most of my life (for decades before my MC symptoms began), I had C. It wasn't debilitating or anything of that sort, just aggravating. Then about 13 or 14 years ago, I started having flu-like symptoms that would come and go. Uncontrollable D for a while, then C for a while. And about this time my arthritis symptoms began. At one point I had to use a cane for walking, because my knees were so tender and inflamed. One elbow was inflamed, and the joints of several fingers on one hand became inflamed and the fingers began growing crooked and twisted, beyond the middle and distal joints. Then one day the D started and wouldn't stop. When my GI symptoms were in full flare, often I could barely open my mouth wide enough to eat soup from a teaspoon, and I had all of the other TMJ symptoms, such as popping noises when I chewed, painful jaws, and swollen lymph nodes.
To cut to the chase, after I eliminated gluten, dairy, and several other foods from my diet, the arthritis faded away and I was able to throw the cane away. And, of course, my GI issues also resolved, after I fine-tuned my diet. I have never had any TMJ symptoms to return since I've been in remission (I've been in remission for over 9 years now).
I did have some osteoarthritis symptoms return when my diet became cross-contaminated a couple of years ago, but that was resolved by ordering a couple of stool tests from EnteroLab, to confirm the source of the problem, and then by changing my eating habits to avoid the cross-contamination risk, and by eliminating casein from my diet.
Again, welcome aboard, and please feel free to ask anything.
Tex (Wayne)
Welcome to our internet family. For most of my life (for decades before my MC symptoms began), I had C. It wasn't debilitating or anything of that sort, just aggravating. Then about 13 or 14 years ago, I started having flu-like symptoms that would come and go. Uncontrollable D for a while, then C for a while. And about this time my arthritis symptoms began. At one point I had to use a cane for walking, because my knees were so tender and inflamed. One elbow was inflamed, and the joints of several fingers on one hand became inflamed and the fingers began growing crooked and twisted, beyond the middle and distal joints. Then one day the D started and wouldn't stop. When my GI symptoms were in full flare, often I could barely open my mouth wide enough to eat soup from a teaspoon, and I had all of the other TMJ symptoms, such as popping noises when I chewed, painful jaws, and swollen lymph nodes.
To cut to the chase, after I eliminated gluten, dairy, and several other foods from my diet, the arthritis faded away and I was able to throw the cane away. And, of course, my GI issues also resolved, after I fine-tuned my diet. I have never had any TMJ symptoms to return since I've been in remission (I've been in remission for over 9 years now).
I did have some osteoarthritis symptoms return when my diet became cross-contaminated a couple of years ago, but that was resolved by ordering a couple of stool tests from EnteroLab, to confirm the source of the problem, and then by changing my eating habits to avoid the cross-contamination risk, and by eliminating casein from my diet.
Again, welcome aboard, and please feel free to ask anything.
Tex (Wayne)
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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Michelle Ann
- Posts: 2
- Joined: Sat Jul 20, 2013 3:53 pm
Thank you Wayne!! I felt so much better after reading your post. I felt like I wasn't losing my mind. I appreciate your warm welcome and prompt response. I need all the help I can get :)
Of course the endodontist found nothing tooth related. My more natural approach dentist didn't think he would while the more close minded dentist thought he may. We are switching dentists. He recommended gluten free to me asll as my chiropractor and this board.
So since Monday I have avoided anything gluten. I thought by Monday evening things were looking up. I'm back to barely being able to open my mouth for a spoon and my index finger still stiff and sore. Should I be more patient? I'm sure healing time is all variable. I am taking the probiotic religiously as I am sure the antibiotics I've had the last 6 moths wiped me out. I'm going on 3 weeks of limited jaw movement and this soft food diet is hard. I've researched gluten free foods and think I'm doing pretty well eliminating. What do you all think? Wayne? you are so knowledgeable and I can't wait to be able to order your book! all these copays are killing us...as well as the frequent smoothie purchases ;)
I haven't looked over the elimination section yet. Time is short and I needed to learn gluten free foods first. Any section of this website you could point me too would be great.
I'm actually at a loss for what to even ask beyond the above. If you can think of anything I might be missing let me know! I greatly appreciate this!
Shelly
Of course the endodontist found nothing tooth related. My more natural approach dentist didn't think he would while the more close minded dentist thought he may. We are switching dentists. He recommended gluten free to me asll as my chiropractor and this board.
So since Monday I have avoided anything gluten. I thought by Monday evening things were looking up. I'm back to barely being able to open my mouth for a spoon and my index finger still stiff and sore. Should I be more patient? I'm sure healing time is all variable. I am taking the probiotic religiously as I am sure the antibiotics I've had the last 6 moths wiped me out. I'm going on 3 weeks of limited jaw movement and this soft food diet is hard. I've researched gluten free foods and think I'm doing pretty well eliminating. What do you all think? Wayne? you are so knowledgeable and I can't wait to be able to order your book! all these copays are killing us...as well as the frequent smoothie purchases ;)
I haven't looked over the elimination section yet. Time is short and I needed to learn gluten free foods first. Any section of this website you could point me too would be great.
I'm actually at a loss for what to even ask beyond the above. If you can think of anything I might be missing let me know! I greatly appreciate this!
Shelly
Shelly,
Yes, we all seem to respond to treatment at different rates, but for most of us, unless we take Entocort to mask the symptoms while the diet is beginning to take effect, it usually takes several months or more to see substantial improvement. A few members here have seen benefits in a week or less, but for most of us, it takes much longer, because the intestines seem to heal slowly. Since you don't have diarrhea as a symptom, there wouldn't be much point in taking budesonide (Entocort). About all it could do would be to cause constipation.
If I were in your situation, I would probably hope for noticeable improvement within 2 or 3 weeks, but I wouldn't feel discouraged unless there was no improvement after almost a year. It took me a year and a half to actually reach remission, but back in those days my doctors were no help at all, and I wasn't aware of any discussion boards where I could get help from others' experiences and insight, so I had to use the "learn as I go" approach. I would hope that with gluten out of your diet, your TMJ should begin to slowly improve after a few weeks, but all we can do is guess, and hope for a quick response.
You may have already located these, but in case you haven't, a description of the elimination diet can be found here.
Individual lists (and a combined list) of ingredients that may contain gluten, dairy, soy, or corn can be found here.
Note that on those lists, some of the ingredients are marked with an asterisk. That means that they might be made from the food in question, but they may not necessarily be made from it in this country. If there is any question, I just avoid the ingredient, or else call the manufacturer to verify the source.
Some meal suggestions can be found here.
Anytime you have any questions, please ask, rather than to take a chance by guessing, and ending up sick if you make a bad guess.
And please keep us posted on your progress.
Wayne
Yes, we all seem to respond to treatment at different rates, but for most of us, unless we take Entocort to mask the symptoms while the diet is beginning to take effect, it usually takes several months or more to see substantial improvement. A few members here have seen benefits in a week or less, but for most of us, it takes much longer, because the intestines seem to heal slowly. Since you don't have diarrhea as a symptom, there wouldn't be much point in taking budesonide (Entocort). About all it could do would be to cause constipation.
If I were in your situation, I would probably hope for noticeable improvement within 2 or 3 weeks, but I wouldn't feel discouraged unless there was no improvement after almost a year. It took me a year and a half to actually reach remission, but back in those days my doctors were no help at all, and I wasn't aware of any discussion boards where I could get help from others' experiences and insight, so I had to use the "learn as I go" approach. I would hope that with gluten out of your diet, your TMJ should begin to slowly improve after a few weeks, but all we can do is guess, and hope for a quick response.
You may have already located these, but in case you haven't, a description of the elimination diet can be found here.
Individual lists (and a combined list) of ingredients that may contain gluten, dairy, soy, or corn can be found here.
Note that on those lists, some of the ingredients are marked with an asterisk. That means that they might be made from the food in question, but they may not necessarily be made from it in this country. If there is any question, I just avoid the ingredient, or else call the manufacturer to verify the source.
Some meal suggestions can be found here.
Anytime you have any questions, please ask, rather than to take a chance by guessing, and ending up sick if you make a bad guess.
And please keep us posted on your progress.
Wayne
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, Shelly,
I was diagnosed in June 2011 with CC. My issue is D, accompanied by TMJ and joint pains. This board and folks like Tex have helped me tremendously.
I have had to give up gluten, dairy, green beans, almonds, other legumes (mostly .. I cheat sometimes with black beans). My TMJ is better, and my joints are MUCH improved ... it's when I get accidentally glutened that I have my biggest problems.
I have to say that lately I've been having issues with my joints and with having to go to the restroom MANY times a day. It's not D, but it's definitely poop every time I go ... I think it's because I have grown lax in my restrictions of fruit consumption. In fact, I'm going to have to cut out strawberries and see how it goes. I also know that I cannot eat more than one or two bites of cantaloupe without it causing me trouble.
I share this with you just so you know that you and Tex are not alone. I wish you the best. Feel free to ask questions.
Sharaine
I was diagnosed in June 2011 with CC. My issue is D, accompanied by TMJ and joint pains. This board and folks like Tex have helped me tremendously.
I have had to give up gluten, dairy, green beans, almonds, other legumes (mostly .. I cheat sometimes with black beans). My TMJ is better, and my joints are MUCH improved ... it's when I get accidentally glutened that I have my biggest problems.
I have to say that lately I've been having issues with my joints and with having to go to the restroom MANY times a day. It's not D, but it's definitely poop every time I go ... I think it's because I have grown lax in my restrictions of fruit consumption. In fact, I'm going to have to cut out strawberries and see how it goes. I also know that I cannot eat more than one or two bites of cantaloupe without it causing me trouble.
I share this with you just so you know that you and Tex are not alone. I wish you the best. Feel free to ask questions.
Sharaine