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This is getting spooky.... twice I have replied to your comments, and twice they have not shown up in this thread. Maybe third times the charm?
I haven't tried antihistamines for my colitis but would certainly be willing to give it a shot. The main reason I haven't bothered is because I was on a daily regimen of Claritin-D (for several years) during the time that I was diagnosed with colitis so I'm assuming that means it wouldn't work for me? Then again, that was 11 years ago and lots of things (most especially my body) have changed since then.
Polly, in looking at your food intolerance list, I have to ask.... what in heck do you eat!?!?!?!?
Sue
Polly wrote:Hi Sue,
Flares are the pits! And they SUCK! Anyway, something that has worked for me during a flare - taking 75 mg. of Zantac every 12 hours. It is safe to take for weeks, so no worry there. Have you tried that (an H2 blocker)?
Polly
Sue
Diagnosed November 2004, Used Asacol and Lialda, sometimes worked, sometimes made it worse. Entocort always works but hate it. Remission only lasts 3-6 months and then back on Entocort. Enterolab test July 2017, now gluten free. Time will tell!
I find that Zantac works better for me during a flare than Claritin. Claritin is more effective at blocking H1 (the histamine released mainly in the respiratory tract), while Zantac is more effective at blocking H2 (the histamine released primarily in the gastrointestinal tract). So a trial of Zantac might be worthwhile.
Also, something else I have found helpful during a D flare.......using Imodium daily - as little as necessary to be effective....as little as 1/2 pill once or twice daily. My reasoning for this is because motility problems are a major feature of MC - (in a D flare the gut is hyperactive) - and it seems to me that it makes sense to try to calm it down, to "retrain" it, so to speak, to a more normal motility pattern.
Let us know how you are doing. Hope you are feeling better.
Polly
P.S. What do I eat? That's the million dollar question! When solidly in remission I find I can add back in quite a few of the fruits and veggies. However, no such luck with gluten, dairy, soy, yeast, corn.
Blessed are they who can laugh at themselves, for they shall never cease to be amused.
Well, it's apparently not just posts directed at you that are disappearing into cyberspace.... I've also updated my profile twice yet I'm seeing the same old one down there.
Try, try again.
I'm doing much better already after doubling the Lialda Wednesday. Only one trip to the bathroom today and it was a casual walk, not a tight-cheeked run. :)
Sue
Sue
Diagnosed November 2004, Used Asacol and Lialda, sometimes worked, sometimes made it worse. Entocort always works but hate it. Remission only lasts 3-6 months and then back on Entocort. Enterolab test July 2017, now gluten free. Time will tell!
Regarding disappearing posts: Make sure that you are clicking on the "Submit" button, not the "Preview" button. And in your profile, instead of being on the right (as it is with replying to posts), the "submit" button is on the left. The button on the right "resets" your profile (which cancels any changes you might have just made).
Also, regarding antihistamines not helping your symptoms 11 years ago — remember that like most other medications, antihistamines are much more likely to bring relief of colitis symptoms if they are taken in conjunction with certain diet changes (and after enough time has passed to allow a significant amount of healing from T cell damage). IOW, antihistamines are best used to finish the treatment job. Their job is to counteract any inappropriate mast cell degranulation that might still be lingering and preventing remission. They're not likely to bring remission all by themselves. At least I believe that to be the case.
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.
Polly, I believe I have issues with low stomach acid so is is a good idea to take Zantac? I'm in a mild flare right now and it's mainly stomach aches/pains. I've never tried taking it before but would welcome a little relief but am afraid of making things worse.
I started a new job about a month ago and went from a desk job of 12 years to a very physically demanding job (loving it) and my appetite was huge until this past week. I am on the move all day long. Now the idea of eating is absolutely unappealling yet if I don't I will get light headed and shakey which isn't so good when climbing ladders, running a fork lift, etc.
Deb
"Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead, where there is no path, and leave a trail.
-Ralph Waldo Emerson
2007 CC
2013 thyroid cancer- total thyroidectomy
2013 Hashimoto's - numbers always "normal"
2017 Lyme's Disease
Zantac does reduce stomach acid but uses a different mechanism from the PPIs (proton pump inhibitors like Prilosec) - it blocks histamine from making the stomach produce excess acid. (PPIs actually shut down acid production in the stomach). So it doesn't have the side effects that PPIs do - like making MC worse.
I'd say it's worth a try. Maybe over the weekend? If it is effective, you should experience a relief of the stomach pains/aches within 30 -60 minutes. And you will feel a lot more like eating. Even if you do have low stomach acid, I don't think it would make things terribly worse. Let us know if you try it.
Polly
Blessed are they who can laugh at themselves, for they shall never cease to be amused.
