Do You Know (Or Believe That You Know) What Caused Your MC?

[tex]

Hi All,

At the suggestion of another member, Lilja, here is a poll that might help us to gain a little more insight into the causes of MC.

Please select the choice that you feel best fits your situation.

Tex

[UkuleleLady]

Great poll idea.

I voted PPI because soon after I started prevacid, MC and WD came down like a ton of bricks.

But, I believe I had gluten sensitivity long before, and extreme stress too. If I could have voted for all three items, I would have.

I think it was the combination of gluten sensitivity, stress and the PPI.

[humbird753]

I voted excessive stress in my life.

Although now that I've been learning more about MC the past several years, I believe it's possible I started experiencing symptoms not long after my first routine colonoscopy. It was within 2 months after that procedure that I started getting 'pencil' type poop off and on, which I now believe would be caused by inflamation. I found that unusual, but didn't bother to question it because they said my colonoscopy results were perfect. It was 1-1/2 years after that colonoscopy (and a lot of stressful situations) when I went into a full flare, and it never stopped. So now I'm not exactly positive what prompted it. I never had symptoms earlier in life (20's, 30's, 40's or early 50's).

And... as I have been learning, I realize symptoms can be so vague, and are often ignored. I see that in people I meet, and listen to things they're saying, and I believe there's just a storm brewing for them. I used to go on about going gluten-free as a cure for all their symptoms, but have stopped doing that because nobody wants to hear it. They (unfortunately) will only (possibly) try that after the storm has arrived.

Nice poll, Tex.

Paula

[Gabes-Apg]

Mine was a combo of items - there is not one single main cause

- genetics (Celiac Genes and Pyrrole) (25%)
- high intake of Doxycycline (as Malaria Prophylactic ) (20%)
- stress - and in my case the the further impact of stress with Pyrrole causing heavy toxicity and inflammation additional stress on immune system and adrenal system (25%)
- defects to bowel and bowel obstruction surgeries (15%)
- other medications Nsaids, SSRI (15%)

(the percentages are my estimate of the impact of that item.)

Of note, Bacteria / Parasite infection is not listed as a probable cause option... I think there are quite a few that fit into this category.

[Gabes-Apg]

Lilja
a discussion from March this year where another newbie asked the same question
http://www.perskyfarms.com/phpBB2/viewt ... se&start=0

[Lilja]

Hi,

Since you can only tick one box, I chose antibiotics. But, I think it was a combination of four things in the following prioritized order:

1. Excess use of antibiotics (several UVIs, Helicobacter Pylori, staphylococcus infection, stressfull job, didn't have "time" to be sick)
2. Gluten sensitivity (am 67 yrs old, always had stomach troubles. HLADQ8 or DQ2 not confirmed yet, am in a process*)
3. Pyrolles (zonulin test showed the double of max reference value)
4. What I think triggered my first D outbreak : bacteria from low/badly cooked meat

*) Since I have been off gluten for 1,5 yrs, and still experience recurrent D, maybe my reactions are not related to gluten.

Lilja

[Deb]

I think mine started from excessive stress. It was a few days after I learned a dear friend had terminal cancer and I had been in a period of above average stress for a while beforehand.

[JFR]

Since I have had gastrointestinal problems since my college days (that was in the 1960's), I can't say one thing triggered it. No doubt it was a combination of factors.

Jean

[Polly]

Doxycycline for suspected Lyme disease.

Polly

[ldubois7]

antibiotics for pre pneumonia & NSAIDS for menstrual cramps & sugar & stress.....wow...I was an MCer waiting to happen.....

[tex]

Hi Everyone;

Here's why I set the poll up the way that I did, with only single, exclusive choices:

I agree that MC is almost certainly caused by a combination of environmental events/issues, but many of those we may not even be aware of because we had them so long that they became our "norm". So I thought it would be best to try to concentrate on "the straw that broke the camel's back", because that one should not only be the freshest in our memory, but it should also be the most important one, since it was the one that finally/actually triggered the disease. Sure the other issues were present, but they didn't trigger the disease — they just predisposed us to develop the disease. I hope this makes sense.

And thanks for all the shared insight.

Tex

P. S. Gabes, in order to simplify choices, I assumed that antibiotics would cover situations where someone thought that infections and/or parasites were the cause of their MC. Do you feel that we actually need a separate option for that? I can still add it.

[Gabes-Apg]

Tex
the clarification about antibiotics covers the bacteria/parasite side of things...

[CanadianMommy]

I believe mine was caused by a mixture of things - excessive long-term stress, use of PPI for gerd (Nexium), prior AI disease (endometriosis), lack of vitamin D, and possibly genetic (my mother, sister, and grandmother have had both endometriosis and bowel issues as far back as I can remember). It could be any one of these things, or all of them, or even something else I've missed! My GI of course said "it just happens, we don't know why" LOL

[megamoxie]

I don't know for sure, and the final straw actually seemed to be an infection; after the 102F fever stopped, the D did not, for months.

Since my unexplained GI issues started when I was a teenager, a short while after I had strep throat for over a year straight and was given double doses of antibiotics for double durations one after another, I think that was most likely the root cause so I chose that in the poll. Other significant factors include stress (although I am not now experiencing, nor have I recently experienced the worst stress of my life), and NSAIDs (used to take for back injury, stopped taking due to heartburn).

[Zizzle]

For me:
Celiac HQ2 genes
Joint hypermobility and related weak collagen in the GI tract
Overuse of antibiotics in my youth leading to candida overgrowth, then multiple courses post-partum
GI infections acquired overseas
Stress
Low Vitamin D