To Budesonide or not to Budesonide, that is the question!

[Jassy 2020]

Hello, I'm fairly new to this Forum and have found it very helpful with learning to manage my Microscopic Colitis. I was diagnosed with MC after a colonoscopy in November 2020. Budesonide was suggested by the surgeon that performed the colonoscopy as treatment if my diarrhea became too much to manage with Imodium. I've been following a GF diet for the past 9 months or so, with low Dairy, fat and sugar. I've been using Imodium every 4 -6 days to manage diarrhea and cramps. Lately I've had to increase the frequency of Imodium. After having some close calls in morning yoga classes last week, (made it to the bathroom both times but had cramps and watery D, very unpleasant!), I visited my doctor to see what his thoughts were about me increasing my Imodium to every couple of days. He suggested trying a 7 day course of Budesonide to see if it may "shock" my system back into normal function. If that doesn't work he suggests a full course of Budesonide, 9 mg/day, tapering after 3 months. As I already have COVID booster vaccine booked for next week, and plan to have flu vaccine this month too, we decided to wait a month and revisit the situation then. After reading more on the Forum I am tweaking my diet to remove diary completely and also a multi vitamin I was taking. I've added in topical Magnesium spray at bedtime and am sleeping better. I'm keeping a food/poop/Imodium diary and looking for more possible "culprits" in my diet and routines. Thank you so much for all the tips and advice on here. I wanted to reach out and see if you may have any other suggestions for me? Viberzi was suggested to me by a friend, but after reading a bit about it online and here, I'm not sure it would be a good idea either. I am also very hesitant to take Budesonide because of the side effects. I've had Psoriatic Arthritis for 30 plus years and was treated with some major drugs back then that I think have possibly affected my colon. If I can heal with minimal drugs that would be my preference!

[tex]

If your immune system is producing antibodies against casein, then even tiny amounts in the diet could be causing the problem. Consequently, eliminating dairy completely may resolve the problem. Or, you might be in a situation similar to me. When I initially reached remission, I tested negative for soy sensitivity at EnteroLab. But about five or six years later (more or less), I developed a soy sensitivity. Additional sensitivities don't usually show up later for most of us, but in some cases, they do.

Another possibility is that something in your diet is being cross contaminated with gluten because of a label change, or because an ingredient has become accidentally contaminated. Have you seen the newsletter that the Microscopic Colitis Foundation published a while back about all the cross-contamination risks in food these days? Here's a link where you can read or download a copy:

https://www.microscopiccolitisfoundatio ... d91296.pdf

I hope this helps.

Tex

[Jassy 2020]

Hello Tex, thank you for your thoughtful reply. I found that article on gluten cross contamination very interesting. Since I've cut out the dairy completely things have improved, and I really think that diet will be the answer for me if I can stick with it. RIght now I'm down to taking IModium after 5 days which is something I can live with, and hopefully this will continue to improve. Your encouragement and suggestions are appreciated. I hope to see more improvement. Thank you, this website and forum are a big help and comfort.