Here you can find information on medications found by the members of this discussion board to be generally safe and effective, and to minimize the risk of provoking a microscopic colitis flare or relapse.
Linda wrote:However my stomach is gurgling even more than normal. Would there be any reason for that?
That's usually not good news, because it's typically a sign of a continuing reaction or even a more severe reaction. However, that sometimes happens as an episode of D is resolved and the inflammation is subsiding. That happened to me often when I was reacting, because I had alternating D and C. When the D phase (with all the gas and bloating) would come to an end, I would have the increased noise that you described, and then everything would settle down for a few days or so. So maybe this could be what's happening in your 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.
Thanks Tex! Hopefully everything is just settling down. At least I am feeling better. I am thinking of doing a complete elimination diet. Would this be an okay time to do that while I am on the medication?
As Gabes said it's about progress not perfection. Just one step at a time hey! In the meantime my stomach can entertain/annoy a whole room full of people.
Yes, it's the ideal time, because eliminating inflammatory foods will allow your digestive system to heal so that when you discontinue using the budesonide you should be able to remain in remission. If all inflammatory foods are not removed from the diet soon enough to allow healing progress then when the budesonide treatment is ended a relapse may occur a few weeks later. When the budesonide begins to take effect, it can mask the symptoms from many foods and make it easy to incorrectly assume that those foods are safe. Then when the treatment is ended the inflammation will be regenerated and it may be necessary to start over, because you won't know which food or foods are causing the problem.
Anyone who has MC can instantly recognize someone else who has the disease by those noises, but everyone else usually thinks that we are just extremely hungry.
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.
Tex, if the medication masks the symptoms from foods I am intolerant to then how will I be able to recognise which foods I am intolerant to when I start reintroducing as the medication will be masking the symptoms?
And how long does it generally take for Budesonide to take effect?
I am taking Budesonide (am in the process of weaning off of it).....I started the end of June last summer and have been on it all this time. I felt like it took effect as soon as I took it. I never had any trouble with it other than it has messed with my sleep.
It doesn't mask the symptoms for all people. It didn't for me so the whole time I was on it, I knew if I ate something I shouldn't have because I still felt it! It helped jump start me on my way to wellness.
Jari
Diagnosed with Collagenous Colitis, June 29th, 2015
Gluten free, Dairy free, and Soy free since July 3rd, 2015
Linda wrote:Tex, if the medication masks the symptoms from foods I am intolerant to then how will I be able to recognise which foods I am intolerant to when I start reintroducing as the medication will be masking the symptoms
You won't be able to safely experiment with adding foods back into your diet until after the budesonide treatment is ended.
Budesonide usually works within 2 to 10 days if it's going to work well.
One of the problems with taking budesonide when it doesn't work is that it doesn't help, but you still can't be sure that it might not mask the symptoms of certain foods.
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.
That is helpful information. I don't think I will waste my time doing a strict elimination and adding one food back every 4 days while on the Budesonide. I will look at doing that when I am off the medication. At the moment though I will modify my diet to cut out the most obvious triggers. I am thinking a modified paleo diet with rice and potato still included and I have a question mark over egg. And I confess I have been still eating a very small amount of hard cheese so maybe that has to go.
I have now been on medication for 7 days and symptoms have reduced but in no way are things 'normal.' And the stomach gurgling is worse.
In the early days of healing i would definately avoid high inflammatory items
(the dairy would most likely be contributing to the stomach noises)
any dairy (hard i know, i was a hard cheese lover before MC)
any alcohol
excess high histamine items (over ripe banana's, too much avocado, especially if you are reacting to pollen, dust etc)
small amounts of cooked egg may be ok - but i would not have them more than 3 times a week in the early days in case you are reacting to them.
Gabes Ryan
"Anything that contradicts experience and logic should be abandoned"
Dalai Lama
Thanks for that Gabes! I will keep all that in mind. Egg is a hard one because I have cut so many things out, egg is my breakfast staple. And I put avocado in my omelette. I will just have to work out another breakfast. Have a great Friday Gabes
Are duck eggs available in your area? Duck eggs should be safe and they are more nutritious than hen eggs.
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.
Austar Mariculture Pty Ltd who produces very sustainable and environmentally friendly fresh and smoked ocean and rainbow trout, duck eggs and watercress. They are Australia’s first land based ocean trout farm. Starting outside on 13 April.
I'm glad to read the Budesonide is sitting with you well now and continues to do so.
I am also an Aussie and am very keen to try it. Unfortunately trying to identify foods that I am intolerant to has been a very long process and I don't feel I am close at all. While I continue to do that I need to get on top of controlling the symptoms effectively again and I think this medication is my only hope.
So I have just been researching Budesonide availability in Australia. Sadly I see it still hasn't been added to Pharmaceutical Benefit Scheme Drug List that makes it cheaper for us. I priced it at approx $200 for 90 caps - how did you go about getting it for $133. I have Medibank Private as well so I am thinking it could be a little bit more affordable at $96.
Like you I have not been able to identify the foods I am intolerant to as yet. I feel that it is inevitable that I will have to do a strict elimination diet and that I will start on probably 3 foods and hopefully get symptoms under control. I just have to work out the right time to start.
My blood results were all showing inflammation so the doctor really did have to look at reducing the inflammation. After reading about things on this site I was happy to use the meds to try and quickly get the inflammation under control. Diet will be great for long term but sometimes we have to use medication to get things happening a bit quicker. Firstly the doc put me on Questran and that didn't get the symptoms under control, then he changed to Salofalk (mesalazine) for 6 weeks. Still no results, so the next step was Budesonide. I have been on it now 10 days and still have symptoms but I do notice that the symptoms are affected by what I eat so even on this medication it seems I will still need to be working on my diet.
After being on this support site and learning that the best medication is Budesonide I was a bit concerned that the doctor would want to put me on prednisolone or prednisone because it is on the PBS. But thankfully his suggestion was that I went on Budesonide. The brand name is 'Budenofalk' if that helps. It cost $132.99 but turns out I only got $30.60 back from Medibank Private. So it cost me $102.39 for one month. The plan is to drop down to only 2 capsules a day in the next month so it will cost even less. I wouldn't have a clue why they want to charge you approx. $200. The chemist I use is one of those discount chemists that guarantee that their price is the lowest so perhaps you will just have to shop around.
