Need Advice Please

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

Post Reply
User avatar
mcnomore
Gentoo Penguin
Gentoo Penguin
Posts: 404
Joined: Mon Apr 05, 2010 5:31 pm
Location: Berkeley, California

Need Advice Please

Post by mcnomore »

My doc wants me to have a fecal fat test, but it requires that I eat 100 grams of fat for 3 days before the test, but I'm sure that will make me sick. He wants to see if I have pancreatic insufficiency. Has anyone had this test?Any advice? Thanks
MC diagnosed 2007
User avatar
carolm
Rockhopper Penguin
Rockhopper Penguin
Posts: 1346
Joined: Fri Sep 02, 2011 7:27 pm
Location: Kansas City

Post by carolm »

HI mcnomore-- I have not had the test and by the quiet response to your question, I'm guessing not many have. I agree with you that 100 grams of fat could make you sick. Fat is still something I have to limit and if I don't I can expect nausea, at least.

I hope someone else will chime in on your question. If you have the test please post how it goes. You never know when someone else may be experiencing the same thing.

take care,
Carol
“.... people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” Maya Angelou
User avatar
mcnomore
Gentoo Penguin
Gentoo Penguin
Posts: 404
Joined: Mon Apr 05, 2010 5:31 pm
Location: Berkeley, California

Post by mcnomore »

Thanks Carol, I don't think it's wise for me to have the test. I will be getting an ultrasound to check for gallstones however.
MC diagnosed 2007
User avatar
tex
Site Admin
Site Admin
Posts: 35072
Joined: Tue May 24, 2005 9:00 am
Location: Central Texas

Post by tex »

I decided to not post this initially, because I didn't want to unfairly influence your decision (based on speculation, rather than fact), but now that you have made a decision I'd like to point out why I agree with your decision.

IMO, pancreatic insufficiency is very commonly associated with MC. I have a hunch that it might even be a primary reason why we have limited fat digestion capacity when our intestines are inflamed. Therefore, if someone who has MC suspects that they have pancreatic insufficiency, the odds may be fairly high that they very likely do indeed have pancreatic insufficiency, thus making the test for pancreatic insufficiency redundant.

IMO, the test is unnecessary in most cases, since the condition will virtually always resolve when full remission from MC is achieved, and the intestines have time to heal. Until remission from MC is complete, treating pancreatic insufficiency is very likely pointless anyway, since it is unlikely to be successful as long as MC is active (because the pancreas will continue to be inflamed as long as the rest of the digestive system is inflamed). If more doctors actually understood MC, they would be less likely to be wasting time and money subjecting patients to unnecessary testing, and more likely to be developing treatment plans that actually offered some hope of long-term benefits.

Please be aware that when our MC is active, our gallbladder will also be inflamed, and therefore not functioning normally, and quite a few members have unnecessarily followed their doctor's advice to have their gallbladder removed because of poor functionality (rather than gallstones). Like the pancreas, the gallbladder typically resumes normal functioning after the intestines heal. Gallstones are another matter, though, and have nothing to do with MC. So if you actually have gallstones, then they may need intervention.

But this is all just my opinion, and I'm not a doctor.

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.
User avatar
mcnomore
Gentoo Penguin
Gentoo Penguin
Posts: 404
Joined: Mon Apr 05, 2010 5:31 pm
Location: Berkeley, California

Post by mcnomore »

Tex, thank you so much for your feedback. I think I had read other posts perhaps by you in the past with this information, but I can never get the search function to work well for me so I am glad you confirmed what I remember reading.

I have your ebook, but should have purchased the print version because it would be much easier for me to use as a reference.
MC diagnosed 2007
Post Reply

Return to “Main Message Board”