Norovirus
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Norovirus
Here's another thought I had after my liquid diarrhea turned to constipation then to normal after hernia with mesh surgery. About a week before my surgery I had a bout of horrible diarrhea despite my usual dose of colestipol, and it didn't respond to loperamide either. Then it got better, only to return, and a stool specimen indicated Norovirus, probably due to something I ate. At first I blamed raisin bran, but upon serious thought decided that wasn't likely. The other thing I ate before the two horrific days of diarrhea was a deli-prepared pimento cheese...which I threw out. I got better, and was pronounced okay to go ahead with surgery, which I did. I took opioids post-op for 2 days and had constipation, I assumed from that. But two weeks and no opiods later, diarrhea had not returned, despite a steady dose of stool softener. I am now 3 weeks post- op and all appears to be normal without any kind of constipation meds or diarrhea meds! Both GI MD and surgeon say the surgery had nothing to do with it; and indeed I had had previous hernia surgery in same spot (done without mesh) and the micro colitis-caused diarrhea was not affected one bit. But perhaps the Norovirus infection did affect it? Again MDs are skeptical. I was a virologist in my working days, but more in the area of molecular biology, so I can't say. But if the Norovirus stripped away all of the defective immune cells in the gut and they were replaced by more "friendly" immune cells? This probably isn't the case, and perhaps the MC induced diarrhea will return someday. I am 83 and hope I don't live that long! Right now I am eating anything I want, even raw salad greens, which used to cause horrible diarrhea. I should mention I had the MC diarrhea for over 5 years. And if I do travel again, I am going prepared for all possibilities! I'll keep you informed periodically, but would like to hear from people who have been diagnosed with MC and then later had remission and how long remission lasted.
Re: Norovirus
Hi Arleeda,
Good for you. I hope your remission continues. Many of us are in remission here — as long as we stick with our diet. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I assume that you're asking for responses from individuals who have experienced spontaneous remission, correct? That is, you're asking about cases that are in remission despite the fact that no diet restrictions are being followed. I believe there are a handful of members here in that situation, but I doubt you will get any responses because anyone who has been in spontaneous remission for an extended period normally rides off into the sunset, and stops reading posts on this board (because they don't need any of this advice).
For the vast majority of us, somewhere between 3 hours and 3 or 4 months after we begin eating gluten again, we relapse. A few react within minutes. Some last a year or more, and then relapse. We're all different in our sensitivity and tolerance levels. Most of us are fine with raw salads, after we heal — but repeated consumption of gluten will quickly cook our goose.
You might find some examples of spontaneous remission if you do a search of the archives, because a few members have posted about being able to eat anything after they recover, although they may have posted prematurely, and subsequently relapsed. And you have to read their posts carefully, because even though they claim to be eating "anything they want", when pressed, most will admit that they still have to avoid a certain food (or certain foods). A few tolerate being sick once in a while, but they are able to enjoy at least a few months of remission in between, so they only restrict their diet when they're sick.
Anyway, those are my impressions after reading virtually all the posts on this board since it was created (almost 16 years ago). Most other IBDs often allow periods of spontaneous remission, and then the patient relapses. But MC is so stingy that spontaneous remissions are scarce as hen's teeth among MC patients.
Tex
Good for you. I hope your remission continues. Many of us are in remission here — as long as we stick with our diet. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I assume that you're asking for responses from individuals who have experienced spontaneous remission, correct? That is, you're asking about cases that are in remission despite the fact that no diet restrictions are being followed. I believe there are a handful of members here in that situation, but I doubt you will get any responses because anyone who has been in spontaneous remission for an extended period normally rides off into the sunset, and stops reading posts on this board (because they don't need any of this advice).
For the vast majority of us, somewhere between 3 hours and 3 or 4 months after we begin eating gluten again, we relapse. A few react within minutes. Some last a year or more, and then relapse. We're all different in our sensitivity and tolerance levels. Most of us are fine with raw salads, after we heal — but repeated consumption of gluten will quickly cook our goose.
You might find some examples of spontaneous remission if you do a search of the archives, because a few members have posted about being able to eat anything after they recover, although they may have posted prematurely, and subsequently relapsed. And you have to read their posts carefully, because even though they claim to be eating "anything they want", when pressed, most will admit that they still have to avoid a certain food (or certain foods). A few tolerate being sick once in a while, but they are able to enjoy at least a few months of remission in between, so they only restrict their diet when they're sick.
Anyway, those are my impressions after reading virtually all the posts on this board since it was created (almost 16 years ago). Most other IBDs often allow periods of spontaneous remission, and then the patient relapses. But MC is so stingy that spontaneous remissions are scarce as hen's teeth among MC patients.
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.