Hello!
I'm Scooter. I'm 26 and female and spent three years being told I had IBS before someone had the wit to do a biopsy. I got my diagnosis two months ago and cried all day out of relief.
I did a month of Asacol (nothing) and now a month of Entocort (started working in three days!), traded my SSRI for Wellbutrin, threw out the Advil, and am now ready to deal with the dietary changes I should be making. Looking around the forums, it looks like that's even more than I anticipated. I've been tested for celiac, but I guess I should be getting in touch with Enterolab when I can afford it.
I've also had chronic tendinitis-type pain for about three years. My orthopedist finally threw up his hands and referred me to pain management. I see from one of Tex's posts that gluten sensitivity can cause arthritis; I tested negative for rheumatoid, but I'm thinking I should look into it further. Can anyone tell me a little more about that?
My new gastroenterologist is really great, but he was quick to point out that he has very little experience with CC, so it's wonderful to find the resources on this forum... and, of course, to feel less alone.
-Scooter
hi! i'm new.
Moderators: Rosie, Stanz, Jean, CAMary, moremuscle, JFR, Dee, xet, Peggy, Matthew, Gabes-Apg, grannyh, Gloria, Mars, starfire, Polly, Joefnh
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MaggieRedwings
- King Penguin
- Posts: 3865
- Joined: Tue May 31, 2005 3:16 am
- Location: SE Pennsylvania
Hi Scooter and Welcome.
You are definitely not alone - we the Potty People are here in all stages of this disease. Glad to hear you have a good GI but you heard the same response I did and that was years ago. Hopefully, they will start to learn something about this disease.
Dietary changes were the biggest help in my healing and personally, I had little luck with meds until Entocort but I had to stop taking it due to side effects. Most people do not incur side effects but for me it ws negative.
Spend time here looking around and remember - no question is off limits around here. Collectively there is the best library of information here than anywhere else on the web. Probably more than anywhere else in medical journals.
Again Welcome.
Maggie
You are definitely not alone - we the Potty People are here in all stages of this disease. Glad to hear you have a good GI but you heard the same response I did and that was years ago. Hopefully, they will start to learn something about this disease.
Dietary changes were the biggest help in my healing and personally, I had little luck with meds until Entocort but I had to stop taking it due to side effects. Most people do not incur side effects but for me it ws negative.
Spend time here looking around and remember - no question is off limits around here. Collectively there is the best library of information here than anywhere else on the web. Probably more than anywhere else in medical journals.
Again Welcome.
Maggie
Maggie Scarpone
___________________
Resident Birder - I live to bird and enjoy life!
___________________
Resident Birder - I live to bird and enjoy life!
Hi Scooter,
Welcome to our online family. It appears that you are taking active control of the situation, and by all indications, you should soon have your life back in order. Good for you. It's certainly nice that the Entocort brought relief so quickly. That's a good sign, obviously.
Actually, the trigger for rheumatoid arthritis may be more than just a connection with MC. There is good evidence to suggest that RA can be triggered by food intolerances, independent of MC. If that's the case, then it would seem logical that MC would be likely to magnify the triggering effect, and as a result, cause the RA to present much sooner than it would, otherwise.
http://pmj.bmj.com/cgi/content/abstract/83/976/128
It sounds as though you may indeed have an above average GI doc. Virtually all of the GI docs in this country don't seem to know enough about MC to be able to adequately treat it, at this point in the game, but precious few of them will admit that fact. It's refreshing to see a doctor so candid, (honest). In all honesty, how could they be expected to be experts on the disease? Med school does not prepare them to handle it, (since it's still considered to be a rare disease), and most of the information about the disease, (or family of diseases), that's floating around, is either obsolete, or just plain wrong. We are very fortunate that so many "experts" on the disease, (those who have to live with it every day), are willing to come here and share information, so that we can all learn how best to develop our own treatment program, without having to waste so much time trying things that rarely, or never, help.
As Maggie mentioned, please feel free to ask anything that comes to mind, and again, welcome aboard.
Tex (Wayne)
Welcome to our online family. It appears that you are taking active control of the situation, and by all indications, you should soon have your life back in order. Good for you. It's certainly nice that the Entocort brought relief so quickly. That's a good sign, obviously.
Actually, the trigger for rheumatoid arthritis may be more than just a connection with MC. There is good evidence to suggest that RA can be triggered by food intolerances, independent of MC. If that's the case, then it would seem logical that MC would be likely to magnify the triggering effect, and as a result, cause the RA to present much sooner than it would, otherwise.
http://pmj.bmj.com/cgi/content/abstract/83/976/128
It sounds as though you may indeed have an above average GI doc. Virtually all of the GI docs in this country don't seem to know enough about MC to be able to adequately treat it, at this point in the game, but precious few of them will admit that fact. It's refreshing to see a doctor so candid, (honest). In all honesty, how could they be expected to be experts on the disease? Med school does not prepare them to handle it, (since it's still considered to be a rare disease), and most of the information about the disease, (or family of diseases), that's floating around, is either obsolete, or just plain wrong. We are very fortunate that so many "experts" on the disease, (those who have to live with it every day), are willing to come here and share information, so that we can all learn how best to develop our own treatment program, without having to waste so much time trying things that rarely, or never, help.
I hear you. I'll never forget my first thoughts, when I first came across the original support board, where I met Maggie, and most of our original members. I thought, "Wow! These people are all just like me!" Up until that point, I had never even heard of anyone else with the same symptoms, so I felt pretty isolated.Scooter wrote:... and, of course, to feel less alone.
As Maggie mentioned, please feel free to ask anything that comes to mind, and again, welcome aboard.
Tex (Wayne)
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.
