I was diagnosed with MC in September of 2020.I thought that I was doing ok until I found your group about 3 weeks ago.
In 2002 I had heart bypass surgery with 6 Grafs. Not to long before that I had a number of stomach ulcers. A year or two after my heart surgery I had two cases of CDiff infections. Shortly after that I was diagnosed with a sever case of GERDS. I have been on PPIs for about 16 years up until my MC diagnosis. Three years ago I had a chronic sinus infection and eventually had an allergist do blood tests on me. I found out that I am allergic to 16 different environmental things. About 18 years ago I found out that I am allergic to all statin drugs and many others. My wife is diabetic 57 years insulin dependent. We eat a heart and diabetes healthy diet. We exercise 60 minutes every day. For the most part, we are both very healthy.
About 3 years ago my stomach problems started again. My doctor just thought that I had IBS. About 2 years ago I lost about 10 pounds and was on the toilet all of the time. Last just I had had enough and scheduled a colonoscopy with biopsies to see if I was celiac and any other things. I do not have celiac disease, but I do have Lymphocytic Colitis. The doctor that did the colonoscopy just said to go on a steroid. With my drug reactions I decided not to do that. I then went to Mayo Clinic for a second opinion. They told me to stop the PPI and reduce dairy and wheat even though I do not have celiac disease. They then instructed me to take and Imodium every day until the D stops. I went from 15-20 BM a day to 3-5. For the past 6 months I have taken an Imodium every day or every other day.
About 3 weeks ago I discovered Microscopic Colitis Support. I have been masking my symptoms with just Imodium. I have started a gluten free diet and eliminated almost all dairy. In the past 6 months I have gained almost 5 pounds back. I feel very fatigued and the stomach cramps are driving me nuts.
I have become impatient and just want to feel better. I can continue with the gluten free and dairy free diets, but is it enough. It appears it will take a long time to figure it all out. My question is, what about the Enterolab tests. They are pricy and I will have to pay for them. I am on Medicare. I am happy to pay the price, but I need to have some direction and confidence with that direction. I have read all of the blogs about Enterolab but just want to know that they will be correct. I know from dealing with my other allergies that there is not always a good answer or plan. I had started allergy shots 2 years ago and had to stop due to other health reasons. I would like to have the tests so I can reduce the amount of time to heal my intestines. Will the test give me a more focus direction with positive results.
Thanks for reading this.
New to group.
Moderators: Rosie, Stanz, Jean, CAMary, moremuscle, JFR, Dee, xet, Peggy, Matthew, Gabes-Apg, grannyh, Gloria, Mars, starfire, Polly, Joefnh
Re: New to group.
Hi,
Welcome to the group. Over the years, I've tried to read every post written here since this forum began almost 16 years ago, and I doubt that I've missed many. I don't recall seeing a single post written by a dissatisfied EnteroLab customer. We have found them to be surprisingly accurate, especially compared with other allergy and food sensitivity tests. No one else comes even close to their level of accuracy. Most of us consider the cost of the EnteroLab tests to be some of the best money we ever spent on our healthcare. So yes, you can assume that their results are accurate when you receive them.
Incidentally, the Mayo Clinic is right on target with their recommendation to stop the PPI. More than a few medications can cause MC, but PPIs are one of the worst, by far. Also, I noticed you mentioned that you've cut out most dairy products from your diet. With this disease, if the EnteroLab results show that you are indeed sensitive to casein, then you will have to avoid all dairy products 100%, in order to stop the inflammation. And of course that 100% avoidance requirement applies to any and all foods that cause your immune system to produce antibodies, especially gluten.
Again, welcome aboard, and please feel free to ask anything.
Tex
Welcome to the group. Over the years, I've tried to read every post written here since this forum began almost 16 years ago, and I doubt that I've missed many. I don't recall seeing a single post written by a dissatisfied EnteroLab customer. We have found them to be surprisingly accurate, especially compared with other allergy and food sensitivity tests. No one else comes even close to their level of accuracy. Most of us consider the cost of the EnteroLab tests to be some of the best money we ever spent on our healthcare. So yes, you can assume that their results are accurate when you receive them.
Incidentally, the Mayo Clinic is right on target with their recommendation to stop the PPI. More than a few medications can cause MC, but PPIs are one of the worst, by far. Also, I noticed you mentioned that you've cut out most dairy products from your diet. With this disease, if the EnteroLab results show that you are indeed sensitive to casein, then you will have to avoid all dairy products 100%, in order to stop the inflammation. And of course that 100% avoidance requirement applies to any and all foods that cause your immune system to produce antibodies, especially gluten.
Again, welcome aboard, and please feel free to ask anything.
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.