Newbie here saying hello

[Digitalhydra]

Hello good people.

I'm new, both to the forum and to the "wonderful" world that is MC, and I wanted to introduce myself.
My name is Sunna and was diagnosed with LC 3 weeks ago after almost 4 months of nearly constant D. I have had bouts of D for years so I'm not really sure how long I have had the disease, probably for years since I've had problematic digestion for a long time. I have also been diagnosed with depression, anxiety and fibromyalgia, so the LC definitely won't feel lonely.
I eliminated gluten and dairy from my diet as soon as I was diagnosed, and started an Entocort treatment yesterday, so my journey is just beginning. I have a wide variety of symptoms but am unsure which symptom fits which disease, it's all so interconnected. Symptoms include fatigue, cramps, D, dizziness, joint and muscle pain, flu like symptoms, mental fog, flatulence and a lower back pain that simply won't go away.

I've been reading a lot about MC an came across this site, which has been very helpful. The info here is vast and amazing, I feel like I could spend months or years reading everthing.

Looking forward to my stay here.

[tex]

Hello Sunna,

Welcome to our Internet family. Yes, there's a lot of information here because this forum has been in operation for almost 12 years.

Regarding which symptoms are associated with which disease — they are all associated with MC, regardless of what your doctors may have told you. Here's why:

The malabsorption problem caused by MC leads to deficiencies of vitamin D and magnesium, and after many years (5 or 6 or so) it can also cause a deficiency of the B vitamins and other vitamins and minerals. Because of that, virtually all of us are vitamin D and magnesium deficient. A chronic magnesium deficiency causes depression, anxiety, and it is also often misdiagnosed as fibromyalgia. I can provide medical research references to back up that claim if you want to see them

So depression, anxiety, and fibromyalgia are symptoms of MC. The disease itself causes the other symptoms, and most of us have experienced extreme fatigue, cramps, D, dizziness, joint and muscle pain, flu-like symptoms, brain fog, gas, bloating, flatulence, and chronic lower back pain when our disease is active. Many of us also have nausea and other symptoms when the disease is active.

Most of us find that as we fine tune our diet to totally remove all traces of the foods that cause our immune system to produce antibodies, all of those symptoms slowly fade away. But it can take time for the gut to heal, so it can take many months for some of us to reach remission. Others are able to recover sooner. The Entocort will help to mask the symptoms until the diet changes can heal your digestive system.

In other words, you can treat the depression, anxiety, and fibromyalgia by taking magnesium and vitamin D supplements (or by using topically-applied magnesium), and you can control the other MC symptoms by avoiding the offending foods in your diet.

Again, welcome aboard, and please feel free to ask anything.

Tex

[Digitalhydra]

Thank you for the welcome.

In my case the depression and anxiety came first, I have suffered from it since I was a kid and was diagnosed 20 years ago. It runs in my family. I think that constant antidepressant use is one of the contributing factor of my MC. I could very well be wrong though.

The fibro is a completely different matter, I'm not sure I even have it since the MC symptoms explain everything!

I find it really sad that my GI specialist only told me about D and mild abdominal pain as a symptom. I would be non the wiser if not for google and this site.

Thanks for pointing out magnesium and vit D to me, I had completely forgotten about those two supplements during my current flare. I have some at home, my brain has just been too foggy to remember. I'm going to start taking them right away.

I plan on making more and permanent diet changes and the Entocort treatment is mostly to relieve symptoms so that I have the energy to make them. Right now my appetite is shot so I mostly eat gluten free bread with coconut oil, potatoes and boiled rice with cooked apples and cinnamon, I don't have the energy for anything more complicated at the moment.

Again thank you for the welcome and pointers.

[Gabes-Apg]

Welcome
welcome to our group (more so family as Tex said)

sympathies that you had to find us.

I dont have much to add, definately start the Vit D3 and magnesium it will help big time with the anxiety and depression, fibromyalgia along with the MC.
My fibromyalgia has gone from being chronic to very mild once i resolved nutrient deficiencies.

I do have one suggestion

Right now my appetite is shot so I mostly eat gluten free bread with coconut oil, potatoes and boiled rice with cooked apples and cinnamon, I don't have the energy for anything more complicated at the moment.

Protein is very important to getting well, ourbodies need protein moreso than carbs.
well cooked, grass fed protein.

it is also suggested to avoid processed flours in the early stages of healing (ie the gluten free bread etc)
in your time reading on the board have you seen the area where we have a suggested eating plan? here is the link
http://www.perskyfarms.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=22328

It may seem overwhelming when you first read it, but i ask you to embrace the suggestions, as they work. things like home made bone broth and safe animal protein will be the best thing you can do, and very worthwhile of your energy.

if you have some time and energy for reading, another good area if you havent seen it already is the member success stories area, here you will see what others have done, how long it took etc

hope this helps

[Erica P-G]

Welcome Sunna,

This is a wonderful forum, be prepared to learn lots and begin to heal
Cheers
Erica

[tex]

In my case the depression and anxiety came first, I have suffered from it since I was a kid and was diagnosed 20 years ago. It runs in my family. I think that constant antidepressant use is one of the contributing factor of my MC.

Some of us are born with genetics that prevent us from absorbing magnesium normally. Constipation is another symptom of chronic magnesium. I had some degree of constipation all my life, so I'm pretty sure that I was born predisposed to magnesium deficiency. And that genetic connection is almost surely why some of the symptoms of magnesium deficiency tend to run in families.

Here are links to a couple of published medical references and a doctor's blog concerning the treatment of depression by the use of magnesium:

The first information on the beneficial effect of magnesium sulfate given hypodermically to patients with agitated depression was published almost 100 years ago. Numerous pre-clinical and clinical studies confirmed the initial observations as well as demonstrated the beneficial safety profile of magnesium supplementation. Thus, magnesium preparations seem to be a valuable addition to the pharmacological armamentarium for management of depression.

Magnesium in depression.

Magnesium ions regulate calcium ion flow in neuronal calcium channels, helping to regulate neuronal nitric oxide production. In magnesium deficiency, neuronal requirements for magnesium may not be met, causing neuronal damage which could manifest as depression. Magnesium treatment is hypothesized to be effective in treating major depression resulting from intraneuronal magnesium deficits. These magnesium ion neuronal deficits may be induced by stress hormones, excessive dietary calcium as well as dietary deficiencies of magnesium. Case histories are presented showing rapid recovery (less than 7 days) from major depression using 125-300 mg of magnesium (as glycinate and taurinate) with each meal and at bedtime. Magnesium was found usually effective for treatment of depression in general use.

Rapid recovery from major depression using magnesium treatment.

My preferred product is magnesium chelated to glycinate (as in mag glycinate) or taurate which are inhibitory amino acids. However mag citrate may be used if a more osmotic effect is sought after (think constipation). Dividing doses throughout the day (say, with each meal) may be helpful if you get loose stools, but magnesium may have a calming effect that is preferable at night.

For my patients struggling with insomnia, incorporating an Epsom salt bath into your nightly ritual helps warm the body and provides a healthy dose of this sought-after mineral.

Conventional doctors are well-aware of the power of this nutrient—it’s used in hospitals for constipation, heart arrhythmias, seizures and contractions in pregnancy—but they seem to forget about it when they sit down behind their desks in the office. Use this information to experience the power of nature’s natural relaxant.

A Woman’s Friend: Magnesium

Right now my appetite is shot

Not quite 2 years ago I was finally forced to figure out the cause of all my symptoms because I woke up feeling cruddy and my appetite was shot, also — I couldn't even force myself to eat more than about half of my breakfast. That's when I went to the ER. But the doctors there missed it also, because doctors are not trained to look for magnesium deficiency. Today, most doctors seem to get most of their treatment updates from drug reps. And drug companies don't promote the use of magnesium because they make huge amounts of money selling antidepressants, anti-anxiety meds, and various other drugs to treat the symptoms. But none of those drugs treat the cause of the problem — chronic magnesium deficiency. Here's where I posted about finally figuring out my magnesium deficiency if you're interested in more details:

Even ER Docs Don't Recognize The Importance Of Magnesium

And yes, most antidepressant medications are known to significantly increase the risk of developing MC. And in addition, then tend to prevent remission as long as they are being used.

I hope that some of this is helpful.

Tex

[Digitalhydra]

Thank you again for the welcome.

Gabes: Thank you for your suggestions. I agree with the lack of protein, eating properly has always been a bit of a problem with me, I lose my appetite easily and frequently lack the energy and motivation to cook anything, something I contribute to my depression. To be perfectly honest with you I am at a bit of a loss, it's all a bit overwhelming at the moment but I will definitely check out some of the eating suggestions. You mention processed flours and I'm not sure what you mean by that. Are you talking about for instance almond flour and rice flour?

Tex: I wholeheartedly agree about the magnesium, the importance of this element are greater than most people know. I have been taking magnesium supplements for years now, in the form of magnesium citrate (it's the best thing I can get here) but know about the glycinate and taurate varieties. Those would be better but I haven't found them anywhere here. I, however, probably take too little of it per day and am going to increase my dosage, as well as that of vitamin D. Thanks again for the suggestions.

[tex]

Tex: I wholeheartedly agree about the magnesium, the importance of this element are greater than most people know. I have been taking magnesium supplements for years now, in the form of magnesium citrate (it's the best thing I can get here) but know about the glycinate and taurate varieties. Those would be better but I haven't found them anywhere here. I, however, probably take too little of it per day and am going to increase my dosage, as well as that of vitamin D. Thanks again for the suggestions.

I also took magnesium supplements for many years, but apparently I was not taking enough, and my magnesium reserves slowly dwindled away to nothing. Those of us who have trouble absorbing it require much more than "normal" people. I find that I have to take at least 600 mg daily (spaced out over the day with meals) or I slowly lose ground and begin to show magnesium deficiency symptoms again. Before I tripled my dose, I thought that I was taking plenty, but obviously I wasn't.

And also, many magnesium supplement labels are deceiving. In the U. S. at least, they will, for example, show 200 mg on the front label, leading one to assume that it contains 200 mg of magnesium per tablet. But that's not the case. If we read the back label, somewhere in small print it will usually show the dose to be 200 mg "per serving". And somewhere else on the back label it will list the "serving size" as 2 tablets.

That was the reason why I was only taking 200 mg for years. But even if I had been taking what I thought I was taking (400 mg per day), it wouldn't have been enough, and my magnesium reserves would have continued to drain away anyway.

Many of us order supplements over the Internet, in order to get products that are free of ingredients that cause us to react.

Tex

[Gabes-Apg]

hopefully the Vit D3 and magnesium will help you get some energy and motivation back

taking good doses of them for a few weeks will start to help.

be patient, take it a step at a time.
sadly there is no quick fix for this. you are taking the right steps to get better.

[Janie]

Welcome Sunna,
There is so much knowledge that everyone shares here especially Tex and Gabes. I am fairly new here and I thank God I found this forum.