advice for handling minor flare?
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advice for handling minor flare?
Hi folks, I have been dealing with a minor flare for the past three weeks. I am down to one 3 mg pill of Entocort a day (and had been doing OK on that for a month or so before the recent flare), but now I am wondering if I should go back up to 6 mg. a day. I have been avoiding gluten and dairy strictly for a couple of years and avoiding most soy (though some products with soy lecithin are still sneaking in I know) for nearly that long. I'm wondering what caused the flare and how to get back on track. I haven't had a flare for this long of a period of time since going gf/df/sf. I'm wondering if there may be another food sensitivity. I've been taking pepto to keep things under control these past few weeks, but I'm nervous about keeping that up. I would like to manage this with just diet -- any advice in this regard? Or should I increase my Entocort and restrict my diet again? My ultimate goal is to cut back to no Entocort or possibly just a very, very low dose, so this is a bit discouraging. I have been on Entocort for a couple of years, now. Would love any insight and advice!
Hi,
Have you tried an antihistamine? Many members in your situation (IOW, suffering a relapse while in the final stages of tapering off Entocort) have found that an antihistamine each day (or one in the morning and one in the evening) will bring them back into remission. The reason why this works appears to be because tapering off Entocort (and especially stopping taking it too quickly) results in a mast cell population rebound, and this typically causes an increase in histamine levels, which can be detrimental to normal digestive system functioning.
It's certainly worth a try, and if it's going to do the job, it will do so quickly. If you don't see improvement within a day or 2 though, it's probably not going to work, in which case you may need to track down any unknown food sensitivities, or restart your Entocort treatment.
I gather that you are not sure of your food sensitivities. If you happen to be sensitive to soy, and you are only avoiding it 99.99 % of the time, that could be your problem. For those who are sensitive to it, soy is typically a very potent antigen. IOW, even tiny traces can cause a major reaction for many of us. Some of us react more severely to soy, than to gluten.
Or it could be some other food that's causing the problem. The surest way to verify or rule out the most common food sensitivities is by ordering a stool test from EnteroLab, but with patience and perseverance, the same thing can be accomplished by trial and error, of course.
Tex
Have you tried an antihistamine? Many members in your situation (IOW, suffering a relapse while in the final stages of tapering off Entocort) have found that an antihistamine each day (or one in the morning and one in the evening) will bring them back into remission. The reason why this works appears to be because tapering off Entocort (and especially stopping taking it too quickly) results in a mast cell population rebound, and this typically causes an increase in histamine levels, which can be detrimental to normal digestive system functioning.
It's certainly worth a try, and if it's going to do the job, it will do so quickly. If you don't see improvement within a day or 2 though, it's probably not going to work, in which case you may need to track down any unknown food sensitivities, or restart your Entocort treatment.
I gather that you are not sure of your food sensitivities. If you happen to be sensitive to soy, and you are only avoiding it 99.99 % of the time, that could be your problem. For those who are sensitive to it, soy is typically a very potent antigen. IOW, even tiny traces can cause a major reaction for many of us. Some of us react more severely to soy, than to gluten.
Or it could be some other food that's causing the problem. The surest way to verify or rule out the most common food sensitivities is by ordering a stool test from EnteroLab, but with patience and perseverance, the same thing can be accomplished by trial and error, of course.
Tex
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.
Much appreciated. I will try the antihistamine route -- certainly can't hurt. And, I will definitely be more vigilant about the soy. It is very interesting to know that soy could be a more potent antigen for me than gluten. I should also say that after I posted my question I saw you mention in another thread that some have a sensitivity to tapioca. I introduced tapioca into my baking a few months ago, so that is something I might also eliminate during this process. Thanks for the help and support!
Yes, back when I was recovering, I eventually discovered that tapioca was a problem for me, and others here have reported the same experience, so it's certainly possible that it might be a problem for you. I'm not sure whether I'm still sensitive to it these days, because I haven't tried it in years. Maybe I'll pick some up and test it one of these days, to see if I'm still sensitive to it.
Tex
Tex
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.