My life

[barbaranoela]

GREETINGS BELLYUP~~~ like the old saying saying--Belly up to the bar!!!!

tis a crappy road to have to travel--isnt it!!! and we all have been there and back---and YES---I know *where is the bathroom* scare~~~~ and what a relief it is when we have located each and every one-where ever we go~~~

I wish U the best of *healing* and I know U will be well educated here---added to what U already have discovered!!

I am a *mended-OLDBEE* thankfully----but have other issues due to back surgery--but can manage this annoyance--

Barbara

[Rosie]

Glad you found us, bellyup. It's a wonderful supportive group, no matter what road you take toward healing. I am 62 years old and was diagnosed in June after a colonoscopy. Looking back, like most people I could see symptoms for a number of years. I went dairy free about 5 years ago without knowing I had MC and did fairly well for about 3 years, and then started getting progressively worse. I thought I had IBD, but everything that was supposed to make IBD better just made me worse. It was actually a relief to finally get the MC diagnosis, and so getting that diagnostic colonoscopy is important. Then you can work with your doctor and perhaps try some of the medications that can help calm the inflamation, like Entocort.

I found this Forum in June, and now am under control with diet only. I would really encourage you to get the Enterolab testing, as it can really shorten the healing process to know what to eliminate from the beginning. Since I was diagnosed within 2 months of my flare and didn't seem as sick as many of those on the Forum, I thought that it would just be gluten and dairy for me. Unfortunately the Enterolab testing revealed soy and yeast intolerance too, so I eliminated them. I feel sooooo much better, that I don't mind the restrictions of the diet. I eat very well at home, but like many others find it frustrating to eat out.

You are starting the process toward healing!

Rosie

[faithberry]

Welcome Bellyup,

Histamine has a role in gut motility and in your allergies, hives, runny nose. So no wonder D seems worse when you have the other symptoms.

Glad you found us.

Faith

[bellyup]

Welcome Bellyup,

Histamine has a role in gut motility and in your allergies, hives, runny nose. So no wonder D seems worse when you have the other symptoms.

Glad you found us.

Faith

It is cold and rainy here today, wet leaves everywhere, my allergies are going wild
I sounded like a canadian goose honking all day. I had one huge episode of D this morning
in spite of the PB, looking back on yesterday's diet I ate

Wheat toast with peanut butter

pork roast with roasted onions and peppers, mashed potatoes.

chocolate chip bars

water, coffee

The Pepto is still making things better than they would normally be on a day like today, I'd have been in the restroom,
10 or more times instead of only 3.

[faithberry]

Chocolate is a high-histamine food. Wonder if that could be a culprit... It is a common trigger for hives.
Then there's the wheat, which could be a gluten issue, since most of us with MC have gluten issues.

Good luck on tracking the culprit.

[teagirl]

Welcome, bellyup ... great name!

I was only dx'd in the late spring but I have done very well controlling my MC (LC) with diet. I'm gf, df, as sf as I can get, and I avoid raw veggies and, like you, cooked broc, brussels etc. Juice is a no-no, and choc does me no good at all.

Through advice and the links folks post here I have learned such a lot and it has had a really good effect in how I interact with my GI. I'm no longer cowed by his knowledge of the intestinal tract - I'm sure I now know more than he does about MC, and I talk to him him with confidence. He has opened up quite a bit, I feel, about the disease, my case, and what to do next. I no longer feel he's talking down to me, and I am quite happy to disagree with him. He's even agreed that diet plays a part. Read as much as you can, and be confident that you know facts - your GI doesn't have the disease. You do; we do. We live it, kind of like learning by doing!

What I've learned overall is that I have probably had MC for quite a few years but thought it was bad luck with food poisoning or allergies. I moved to lactose free milk; gave up onions; then green and red peppers; then spicy food. Every 4-6 months it seemed I was giving up something else, and not going somewhere because I had 'tummy trouble'.

What seems to have contributed to it worsening is

• HRT over quite a few years
  starting Prevacid for GERD 3 months before the D and the pain got really bad
  more NSAIDS than normal
  dreadful stress when my MIL fell ill with C Diff (she had end stage dementia) and we did 24 hr care for weeks before she passed away

and then there's heredity - my mum was like this, and was in hospital for a probable bowel resection when she died (aged 88).

I went from low level trouble right into 20+ bouts of D, many explosive. It didn't occur to me I might have a disease, even with the maternal history. I felt like a whiner constantly going to my PCP saying I kept getting D. It wasn't until I ran twice from the room whilst she was examining me and then almost pooped on her examining table that I felt she got the point.

Many doctors hate patient self diagnosis for obvious reasons, but as advised earlier, tell your PCP you have the symptoms of MC and maybe celiac and you want the tests done. Don't ask, tell. If you don't, they'll keep you on Imodium and Pepto and your gut won't heal.

[bellyup]

Well, after 1 week on the high dose PB as well as being aggressive in making sure
to take my claritin, I'm coughing less, my nose has stopped running, my face isn't swollen
anymore. I'm also no longer running to the restroom 10 times a day. I'm down to 1-3 times per day
usually about 1 hr after eating which is normal. Stool isn't totally normal looking yet but it's close.
What is really odd is that I am now sleeping MUCH better, I've never been awakened by the need to run
an have an episode of D but now I sleep 7-8 hours and wake up feeling rested. My stomach is a lot less
bloated as well.

I've started cutting stuff from my diet, no more soy, no more brussel sprouts, broccoli or beans, no
more chocolate. I'm also trying to avoid bread, having cooked potato or rice as my starch instead.

[JLH]

Giving up chocolate is the pits........I couldn't tolerate the "everything" free micro mini chocolate chips.

Tex said I might be able to eat them some day. When I reminded him, he said he hoped he knew what he was talking about! Me, too.

[bellyup]

Giving up chocolate is the pits........I couldn't tolerate the "everything" free micro mini chocolate chips.

Tex said I might be able to eat them some day. When I reminded him, he said he hoped he knew what he was talking about! Me, too.

I remember reading some place that people with food allergies often crave the very foods that make them ill.
I suspect there is something to that thought as I'm craving chocolate and bread. However, I don't crave them enough
to run to the restroom 10x a day or to deal with the bloating and constant gas that occurs when I eat them.

I was going thru my records and such, it appears to me that I've been experiencing gut issues since approximately Jan 07
with things finally reaching totally intolerable status this fall.

[tex]

That's definitely good news.

I hope that your progress continues.

Tex

[bellyup]

I really appreciate all the info and support here!

By the time I started trying to figure out what might be wrong with
me I was convinced I was crazy. There is something wrong and it's
not 'all in my head" I'm not "neurotic" or a hysterical old woman.

Now to find a decent GI in the greater Boston area who will actually listen to me
and not just dismiss what I'm saying.

[ant]

I still crave...... hot, freshly baked, chocolate croissants. Lets see, thats loads of butter, gooey flour and tons of sugar --- pure poison!

Best ant