Flu then Relapse...

Thumbs · Post by **Thumbs** » Wed Jul 31, 2013 4:57 pm

I have been taking Entocort and had started to reduce from 6mg to 3mg over a two week period. (I had been having 2-3 days between BM's so it seemed logical that I start tapering down. The MD suggested fiber first but I know from this board that fiber may not be a good choice. At the end of my taper I ended up getting the flu bug of the vomiting variety. I recovered OK.. tired for several days. Then on Monday my cycle started early and the gurgling stomach and water has resumed. Can the flu cause a flare or was I not ready to reduce the Entocort? - I don't think I ate anything that should cause an issue I had cooked broccoli but I had been having that with no issues and I really didn't eat much over the weekend due to the flu. I have eliminated Egg (expect occasionally in a baked item, Dairy, Gluten, Soy)

Leah · Post by **Leah** » Wed Jul 31, 2013 6:06 pm

Yes, the flu can definitely throw our systems into a tizzy. If I were in your shoes, I would go back to 6 mg. until you are back to the point where you are skipping a day without a BM and start the taper over. Bummer.

Leah

Post by **tex** » Wed Jul 31, 2013 10:20 pm

with Leah. The flu does indeed cause enteritis, which by definition is intestinal inflammation, so it can definitely cause a relapse, especially when it occurs with such unfortunate timing.

I hope you recover faster, this time around.

Tex

ChattyMommy · Post by **ChattyMommy** » Tue Dec 03, 2013 10:19 am

I have enjoyed 6 months of remission after going gluten free. Last Friday night I came down with a bad stomach bug. Recovered on Saturday, woke up feeling great on Sunday. Diarrhea had subsided, and although I was not eating much, I was taking in food/drinks. Starting last night (Monday eve), I am in misery. I feel like I have stepped back in time 6 months, when my symptoms were at their worst. Diarrhea, but the achiness in my back and pelvic region is awful. So even though I was so far removed from symptoms, would this still apply to me (flu causing a relapse)?

I too, have been racking my brain with what I have eaten, but can come up with nothing. But my symptoms from inflammation are dead on. And I have never quite felt like this, days past the stomach flu.......please help!

Thank you so much!

Leah · Post by **Leah** » Tue Dec 03, 2013 10:41 am

Unfortunately, sometimes a stomach flu can set off a flare :( If you are eating any fiber, acid, dairy, spice…etc. that could be irritating things, it might be a good idea to stop eating them until things settle down.

Hope you feel better soon
Leah

ChattyMommy · Post by **ChattyMommy** » Tue Dec 03, 2013 10:47 am

Thank you so much Leah. Unfortunately yesterday I ate some kale soup, so you are very right about the fiber! My symptoms started a few hours after that, and I thought it had to have been some hidden gluten. But there was nothing.

I appreciate the confirmation that this relapse is what is causing the familiar pain. Its the first time I have had the stomach flu after my diagnosis in May, so now I know what to expect. Its too bad, since our MC symptoms are just as bad as the flu itself

Have a good day,

Sara

Post by **tex** » Tue Dec 03, 2013 11:07 am

Hi Sara,

I agree with Leah, and I don't really have anything to add other than I hope that a bland diet will allow you to regain remission quickly.

Good luck with this and please keep us posted on your progress, because many of us face the same situation from time to time.

Tex

ChattyMommy · Post by **ChattyMommy** » Tue Dec 03, 2013 11:10 am

I most definitely will keep you all updated. You are always so helpful with your information and experience.

This topic is probably especially timely I guess, due to it being "that" time of year. Stay healthy everyone!

Sara

Zizzle · Post by **Zizzle** » Tue Dec 03, 2013 11:32 am

I am a prime example of bugs causing relapses. I was almost off prednisone for my Dermatomyositis skin rash, when I developed a 24 stomach bug going around my kids' school. My rash flared back with a vengeance, and I had to increase the prednisone. Then I went on an autoimmune paleo anti-inflammatory diet that nearly cleared the entire rash....but my daughter got a flu-like illness for a week...and my rash flared back. It's so frustrating. I don't even have to get sick to have a relapse...it just has to activate my immune system while I fight off whatever's going around.

ChattyMommy · Post by **ChattyMommy** » Tue Dec 03, 2013 11:56 am

Wow! I never would have expected that an illness/virus that causes its own symptoms, could wreak havoc with our MC. These past 6 months, I just had gluten (FREE) on the mind, thinking that if I avoid all gluten, I would be fine. That is why this threw me for such a loop. I just knew that the symptoms I was having were the exact same from this past winter, before I was diagnosed. The pain, achiness, lack of appetite, D, are hard to forget. And yet, I also knew they were separate from this bug. I think that may be something only someone with MC might understand.

One question I did think of, however. I know my initial inflammation a few days ago came from the stomach virus. What causes the continued inflammation in someone with MC? Or, in your case Zizzle, what caused your rash to extend beyond the timeframe that you daughter was sick? Why do our symptoms, as people with MC, stay longer?

Zizzle · Post by **Zizzle** » Tue Dec 03, 2013 12:02 pm

What causes the continued inflammation in someone with MC? Or, in your case Zizzle, what caused your rash to extend beyond the timeframe that you daughter was sick? Why do our symptoms, as people with MC, stay longer?

Well that's the million dollar question. I've been reluctant to accept the prevailing medical opinion that inflammation takes A LONG TIME to stop and heal. I expected prednisone to clear my rash in days and weeks, not over several months. Likewise, I expected my rash to clear within several days of going everything-free and starting probiotics. Instead it took weeks, with a few setbacks along the way. Many immune-suppressing medications for autoimmune diseases take months to show any improvement. Plaquenil for my rash takes up to 6 months to do anything -- I think it's crazy!!

Post by **tex** » Tue Dec 03, 2013 2:33 pm

Sara,

IMO, the wildcard that can trump everything else is stress — stress that is either severe enough or lasts long enough for the immune system to perceive as chronic stress. With MC (and other autoimmune-type diseases), chronic stress tends to make the reactions self-perpetuating, because the reactions themselves cause very stressful symptoms, which then promote additional stress (both physical and emotional stress). Once we're on that merry-go-round, getting off can sometimes seem like "Mission Impossible", but that's the nature of autoimmune-type diseases, and that's what makes dealing with them such a challenging problem.

Tex

ldubois7 · Post by **ldubois7** » Tue Dec 03, 2013 3:24 pm

I agree with Tex on the stress wildcard!

I had my family for Thanksgiving. I spent days cleaning, and then preparing foods for the event. I had stomach cramping, gurgling, unusual stools etc, and I was eating the exact same things I always do.
After Thanksgiving I had brain fog and was lethargic for a few days, then slowly started feeling normal again. Now, I am fine (or rather what we consider fine with our disease).

It was the stress of the holiday that caused my symptoms. I never would have believed it, had I not experienced it.

Jeanemcl · Post by **Jeanemcl** » Tue Dec 03, 2013 3:31 pm

Darn....that is hard to accept, but I think I see it also.
Jean

DebE13 · Post by **DebE13** » Tue Dec 03, 2013 6:54 pm

I just went back to work today after five wonderful days off. Yesterday and this morning I noticed I went from watery D to a loose stool. Not perfect but not flat out D either. I haven't changed anything I'm eating so I wonder how much stress plays into it. Or then again, it could just be a fluke. I think I should go on vacation for another five days to see if there's a pattern.

I made a conscious effort today to NOT react to the demands and stressors of the job. I will never change the fact that residents will always be complaining to me about whatever it is they're not satisfied with and expect me to solve their problem, I will always have more work than time, and will be constantly interrupted all day long and never have a chance to quietly work on one project at a time. I made a point to complain less and laugh when the opportunity arose. Gabes, I'm trying to go with the flow!

It worked today so hopefully I can retrain myself to stop getting wound up over what will always be and just do what I can, the best I can.