Famotidine the Culprit?
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Famotidine the Culprit?
Hello, Really pleased to find this forum. (Please provide any helpful feedback to me as I try navigating here.) After almost a year of increasing potty episodes and several trips to my GI doc, I suspect I have MC. We’ve tried eliminating/adding specific items from my diet and meds. The definitive ‘scoping and biopsy are scheduled for a month from now. But meanwhile I’d prefer to try something on my own. Here’s my question: Just discovered that my Famotidine (taken for years to treat very mild GERD prior to diarrhea onset) may be the culprit. If I stop taking it (and use Tums temporarily), approximately how long until there is likely to be a noticeable reduction in diarrhea?
Re: Famotidine the Culprit?
Hi,
Welcome to the group. How long it will take to see any improvement after stopping Famotidine will depend on whether it has provoked your immune system to cause any food sensitivities. If you don't have any food sensitivities, you should see results within a day or two after stopping it. But if it has provoked your immune system to begin producing antibodies against certain proteins, then you would also have to avoid the foods that contain those proteins in order to see any improvements, and it would probably take at least several weeks for that antibody production to decline sufficiently that the reactions would stopit's. The most likely food sensitivities would be gluten and casein, but there could also be others, depending on how much damage it has caused.
If I were in that situation, I would discontinue the Famotidine and cross my fingers, hoping that the diarrhea will stop without any additional interventions.
Again, welcome aboard, and I hope this helps,
Tex
Welcome to the group. How long it will take to see any improvement after stopping Famotidine will depend on whether it has provoked your immune system to cause any food sensitivities. If you don't have any food sensitivities, you should see results within a day or two after stopping it. But if it has provoked your immune system to begin producing antibodies against certain proteins, then you would also have to avoid the foods that contain those proteins in order to see any improvements, and it would probably take at least several weeks for that antibody production to decline sufficiently that the reactions would stopit's. The most likely food sensitivities would be gluten and casein, but there could also be others, depending on how much damage it has caused.
If I were in that situation, I would discontinue the Famotidine and cross my fingers, hoping that the diarrhea will stop without any additional interventions.
Again, welcome aboard, and I hope this helps,
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.
Re: Famotidine the Culprit?
Hi Tex,
Many thanks for your response. Maybe my GI guy's Physician's Assistant shares your insight, since she has given me an order for a Food Allergy Panel to run this week. As you pointed out, I never thought to connect the Famotidine directly with my immune system. Here's hoping....
Many thanks for your response. Maybe my GI guy's Physician's Assistant shares your insight, since she has given me an order for a Food Allergy Panel to run this week. As you pointed out, I never thought to connect the Famotidine directly with my immune system. Here's hoping....
Re: Famotidine the Culprit?
My GI did the biopsies and the result is that I have collagenous colitis. It was caused by taking nexium (and the generic version) for about thirty years due to my hiatal hernia and GERD. Doctor told me to take Famotidine instead of nexium. I cannot get through a day without acid reflex, how can I get rid of GERD and the collagenous colitis if I keep poisoning myself with the medicine that caused it in the first place.
I have changed my diet, no caffeine, I only drink water. I eat rice, chicken and mushy vegetables. I do not drink soda or have any artificial sweeteners. I tested negative for gluten so I do eat crackers and bread.
I eat bananas to get the potassium and iron to help bind me up. I do eat eggs as well to get protein and bind me up.
Should I stop the famotidine and what I can I have to help with the GERD? I tried ginger tea and that made it worse.
I cannot find a nutritionist who is familiar with collagenous colitis.
I have changed my diet, no caffeine, I only drink water. I eat rice, chicken and mushy vegetables. I do not drink soda or have any artificial sweeteners. I tested negative for gluten so I do eat crackers and bread.
I eat bananas to get the potassium and iron to help bind me up. I do eat eggs as well to get protein and bind me up.
Should I stop the famotidine and what I can I have to help with the GERD? I tried ginger tea and that made it worse.
I cannot find a nutritionist who is familiar with collagenous colitis.
Re: Famotidine the Culprit?
Hi,
Welcome to the group. You're caught in the iatrogenic trap unintentionally set by doctors. Your problem is gluten. We're all sensitive to gluten, despite claims by well-intentioned, but misguided clinicians. Most of us have non-celiac gluten sensitivity, and the healthcare system has no approved test that will detect non-celiac gluten sensitivity. Therefore their claim that you are not gluten sensitive after testing negative to their celiac screening blood tests, is totally incorrect. Even their celiac screening blood tests have been shown by published research to be so insensitive that they are capable of detecting only about one in 20 celiacs. The rest of them suffer without a correct diagnosis.
After you change your diet to avoid every trace of gluten, it will probably take a month or more to get your antibody level back down to a more normal level so that your immune system reactions against gluten will stop. This is because gluten antibodies (antigliadin antibodies) have a 120 day half-life. That may or may not stop the GERD, but probably not, because once it starts, GERD is difficult to terminate. So in order to get rid of the GERD, follow the guidelines in the article at the following link (to an article on the Microscopic Colitis Foundation website).
https://www.microscopiccolitisfoundatio ... 112716.pdf
This should solve your problem. Again, welcome aboard, and please feel free to ask anything.
Tex
Welcome to the group. You're caught in the iatrogenic trap unintentionally set by doctors. Your problem is gluten. We're all sensitive to gluten, despite claims by well-intentioned, but misguided clinicians. Most of us have non-celiac gluten sensitivity, and the healthcare system has no approved test that will detect non-celiac gluten sensitivity. Therefore their claim that you are not gluten sensitive after testing negative to their celiac screening blood tests, is totally incorrect. Even their celiac screening blood tests have been shown by published research to be so insensitive that they are capable of detecting only about one in 20 celiacs. The rest of them suffer without a correct diagnosis.
After you change your diet to avoid every trace of gluten, it will probably take a month or more to get your antibody level back down to a more normal level so that your immune system reactions against gluten will stop. This is because gluten antibodies (antigliadin antibodies) have a 120 day half-life. That may or may not stop the GERD, but probably not, because once it starts, GERD is difficult to terminate. So in order to get rid of the GERD, follow the guidelines in the article at the following link (to an article on the Microscopic Colitis Foundation website).
https://www.microscopiccolitisfoundatio ... 112716.pdf
This should solve your problem. 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.