Is there such a thing as having "half" of a flare?

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.

Moderators: Rosie, Stanz, Jean, CAMary, moremuscle, JFR, Dee, xet, Peggy, Matthew, Gabes-Apg, grannyh, Gloria, Mars, starfire, Polly, Joefnh

Julie
Adélie Penguin
Adélie Penguin
Posts: 181
Joined: Fri Aug 31, 2012 2:03 am
Location: Belgium

Is there such a thing as having "half" of a flare?

Post by Julie »

Hi,

I'm in a strange situation right now. I have had D every day since Sunday, so I take immodium every day. It is so strange because I don't feel sick. I am not in any pain and this really doesn't feel like a flare. The D is also weird: slimes + very light brown (almost yellowish), it was yellow on Sunday. I called my doc and he said that a lot of people get that colour when the bowels work too fast. But I can't seem to shake the feeling that these slimes are bad news. Am I right?

Is it possible that I have improved so much, that my flares have become weaker? And therefor, I'm having "half" of a flare?

I do have to mention that I used to have a lot of D everyday, and I was in a lot of pain. But thanks to the strict diet en supportive meds, I feel great and I haven't had a big flare in months. (That's a first!)

Thx!

Julie
It doesn't matter how many times you fall, but how many times you get up en go for it again. HOPE !!!!
Leah
King Penguin
King Penguin
Posts: 2533
Joined: Thu Feb 02, 2012 10:16 pm
Location: San Francisco Bay Area

Post by Leah »

Hi Julie. Yes, I think the light color is fat malabsorption, but Tex I'm sure will chime in. The slime is too much mucus being produced. Have you been eating more fiber lately?

I can't claim to understand everything about this disease, but i do know that although I am doing well by only going once a day, what comes out of me varies greatly depending on what I consume. I try not to worry about it as long as i don't have D many days in a row. Since you are, you must be reacting to something. have you changed anything lately? Think hard. I remember the last time that happened to me and it took me a while to figure out that I was reacting to a plant form of estrogen I was taking for peri-menopause. I didn't think about it because i had been taking it for over a month before I reacted.

good luck figuring it out
leah
Julie
Adélie Penguin
Adélie Penguin
Posts: 181
Joined: Fri Aug 31, 2012 2:03 am
Location: Belgium

Post by Julie »

Hi Leah,

Thanks for the reply. I was getting a little bit afraid because I'm reading all these articles about the gallbladder and the liver... I already posted a question about the colour, Tex gave me a great answer. I hope that I don't have any problems with my liver or gallbladder.

I really don't know what went wrong, I haven't changed anything in my diet, so that couldn't be the problem. I didn't take any new medications, ...

I gave up coca-cola, but I can't really see what could be wrong with that... So, I'm stuck. I'll think about it.

Grts

Julie
It doesn't matter how many times you fall, but how many times you get up en go for it again. HOPE !!!!
User avatar
tex
Site Admin
Site Admin
Posts: 35072
Joined: Tue May 24, 2005 9:00 am
Location: Central Texas

Post by tex »

Hi Julie,

Leah is correct, the mucus is a sign of inflammation in your intestines, so you are having a microscopic colitis flare. The reason why you do not notice any additional symptoms is probably because your gut has healed enough that you do not currently have the leaky gut syndrome, so no products of incomplete digestion are leaking into your bloodstream to cause all the other symptoms (aches and pains all over the body) that usually accompany an MC flare. If the flare continues long enough though, you will probably eventually develop additional symptoms.

As Leah suggested, you should eat a low-fiber, very simple diet, until the flare passes. And make sure that everything you eat is safe for you. This flare was probably started by the stress that you mentioned a few days ago. Please try to relax more, and worry less (or not at all). Worry only makes it worse.

Tex
:cowboy:

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.
Julie
Adélie Penguin
Adélie Penguin
Posts: 181
Joined: Fri Aug 31, 2012 2:03 am
Location: Belgium

Post by Julie »

Hi Tex, Leah

I know that I shouldn't worry so much, it's just a very stressful time at work. I just can't stop being stressed all the time. My family had a lot of problems over the summer. So I keep being stressed. I spend my days wondering if the haert poundind, that I have, is even normal. It goes sooo fast and hard and then I get dizzy, ... My doc explained that I am breathing in a very bad way. She called it chronic hyperventilation.

So my plan for now is watching my diet and breathing and hoping that this will all pass quickly.

Grts

Julie
It doesn't matter how many times you fall, but how many times you get up en go for it again. HOPE !!!!
Leah
King Penguin
King Penguin
Posts: 2533
Joined: Thu Feb 02, 2012 10:16 pm
Location: San Francisco Bay Area

Post by Leah »

Stress is a tough one Julie. Google "ocean breathing". It is a way of breathing that should be practiced every day for at least 5 minutes at a time. It seems to help many people.

Leah
Julie
Adélie Penguin
Adélie Penguin
Posts: 181
Joined: Fri Aug 31, 2012 2:03 am
Location: Belgium

Post by Julie »

Thx Leah!
It doesn't matter how many times you fall, but how many times you get up en go for it again. HOPE !!!!
Julie
Adélie Penguin
Adélie Penguin
Posts: 181
Joined: Fri Aug 31, 2012 2:03 am
Location: Belgium

Post by Julie »

Just an update : my "half" flare has turned into a big one. Strange... It has been months since I even felt that I was an LC patient. I was doing great and my symptoms were almost completely gone.

I still have no clue what could have caused this. It's quite frustrating knowing that something is making you sick and you don't really know what it is...

My fear is that I will have my episodes again, like last year. Last year, I had huge flares every two weeks, sometimes even every week. It got so severe that I was hospitalized 4 times in 6 months. I was sick from work a lot (one, sometimes 2 weeks a month!)

It got better (finally), I did the diet and I was very vigilant. I made sure everything was right for me. I felt great for about 8 months, and then last week, it started again. Is this a sign that I will have a crappy year again? (sorry for my choice of words, but that's what it really is : crappy) Should I be afraid?

Thx

Julie
It doesn't matter how many times you fall, but how many times you get up en go for it again. HOPE !!!!
User avatar
tex
Site Admin
Site Admin
Posts: 35072
Joined: Tue May 24, 2005 9:00 am
Location: Central Texas

Post by tex »

Julie,

I'm sorry to hear that you are having a full flare of symptoms. This flare seems to have been triggered by stress, but I wonder if something else might be adding to it. Are you taking any medications now?

Tex
:cowboy:

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.
Julie
Adélie Penguin
Adélie Penguin
Posts: 181
Joined: Fri Aug 31, 2012 2:03 am
Location: Belgium

Post by Julie »

Hi Tex,

Yes, I am taking medications :

* Litican

* Esomeprazol (I know that this isn't good for me, the problem is that if I don't take it, I get nasty stomach inflammations. I have a hiatus hernia with chronic reflux. I tried to stop, but I got very ill. I've been taking these for 6 years now, the doc mentionned that it might be too difficult to stop since I've been taking them for so long.)

* Bion transit (Probiotic : when I started taking these, my flares got a lot less serious. I started to have fewer flares and I got better. Last week I had to switch to Norgitan because the Bion transit were all out. Maybe that's the issue?)

* Veinomitol (a medicine for the veins in the legs, I have problems with my veins so I have to take this once a day. I looked it up and it seems like a safe medication for me. I've been taking this for 7 months.)

OMG it just hit me as I am writing this! Three weeks I had to take my wisdom tooth out. As a result, I couldn't eat properly, so I ate yoghurts. Maybe I had to much dairy in my system?

Grts

Julie
It doesn't matter how many times you fall, but how many times you get up en go for it again. HOPE !!!!
User avatar
tex
Site Admin
Site Admin
Posts: 35072
Joined: Tue May 24, 2005 9:00 am
Location: Central Texas

Post by tex »

Hi Julie,

It's possible that the yoghurt may have initially triggered the relapse, but the change of propiotics is almost surely the reason why your flare became worse. Most of us cannot take a probiotic because they cause us to have D. If I were in your situation, I would stop taking the probiotic for a week, to see if that helps.

If the probiotic is not the problem, then the Esomeprazol is the next most likely culprit. Many people have developed MC because of PPIs. And you are correct, they are extremely difficult to stop taking.

Tex
:cowboy:

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.
Julie
Adélie Penguin
Adélie Penguin
Posts: 181
Joined: Fri Aug 31, 2012 2:03 am
Location: Belgium

Post by Julie »

Hi Tex,

I just saw my doctor. She told me to stop taking the new probiotic and go back on the old one (I was doing great when I was on the old one). I also got another type of medicine to help me get rid of the D (other than immodium).

I am certain that the yoghurt caused it, and when I changed the probiotic, I made it worse. (Thanks for explaining it to me, Tex!)

The question now is : when is it over? I mean, teaching is really difficult with D. I can't leave the children alone...

I was so disappointed that I cried every spare minute I had today. I don't know what it is, but I'm so emotional right now. Maybe it's the fear of becoming what I was : an ill person, all the time.

Grts

Julie
It doesn't matter how many times you fall, but how many times you get up en go for it again. HOPE !!!!
User avatar
tex
Site Admin
Site Admin
Posts: 35072
Joined: Tue May 24, 2005 9:00 am
Location: Central Texas

Post by tex »

Julie,

If the yoghurt was the problem, then your symptoms should improve within a day or 2 after you stop using it.

I agree that teaching is very demanding work. Was the new medication a prescription for Lomotil? It works similarly to Imodium, and it should help you to get through your class schedules without having to run to the bathroom frequently.

Since you can't leave a classroom until the period is over, if you need something to make you feel more secure (so that you don't have to worry about having an "accident"), you might want to consider wearing adult diapers. Some members have done that, because it provides a sense of security, so that they can stop worrying about having an "accident".

Tex
:cowboy:

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.
Leah
King Penguin
King Penguin
Posts: 2533
Joined: Thu Feb 02, 2012 10:16 pm
Location: San Francisco Bay Area

Post by Leah »

Even with adult diapers, wouldn't the smell be pretty telling ? You'd still have to leave the room to clean up, no? i hope you get this under control quickly Julie.

leah
User avatar
tex
Site Admin
Site Admin
Posts: 35072
Joined: Tue May 24, 2005 9:00 am
Location: Central Texas

Post by tex »

Leah wrote:Even with adult diapers, wouldn't the smell be pretty telling ? You'd still have to leave the room to clean up, no? i hope you get this under control quickly Julie.

leah
:shrug: We have a few members who swear by them, when the chips are down.

Tex
:cowboy:

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.
Post Reply

Return to “Main Message Board”