Hi Josiecat,
I am glad you found this website. The people here are amazing. I am a newbie too and this is a place where you can feel you belong. Hope you feel better very soon. Connie
Newbie Here - Love the humor
Moderators: Rosie, Stanz, Jean, CAMary, moremuscle, JFR, Dee, xet, Peggy, Matthew, Gabes-Apg, grannyh, Gloria, Mars, starfire, Polly, Joefnh
Re: from Jodi Dave Barry's colonoscopy
I haven't laughed this hard in months!
Thank-You !!!
Tried removing dairy, no luck. Off wheat right now, doesn't seem to help either, yet.mbeezie wrote:Welcome Josiecat,
We've all experienced the embarrassment in one way or another.
Just curious - what diet changes have you tried in addition to meds?
Mary Beth
Dr. wants me to try going off my Paxil. I don't want to. I've been on it for 5 yrs for anxiety & mood swings. I hate mood swings, my Paxil has been a lifesaver.
Tried removing caffeine, not much luck. Have to be so careful with other drinks as so many have artificial sweeteners and any of those give me D, always have.
Frustration!
Thank You all...
I so appreciate the welcome. I think I'm gonna like it here. May take me awhile to learn to get around the site. I'm sometimes technologically challenged.
Was on facebook this a.m. For fun I hit the "Psychic Anita" thing. Psychic Anita said, "Darling, there will be a lot of movement in your life!"
OMG so, so funny!!! Yes, Anita, in my colon and back & forth to the bathroom!!!
My hubby is wonderful. He's retired Army with a wonderful sense of humor. When I express embarrassment in front of him he says, "Babe, I was in the Army for 20 + yrs, all over the world. There is NOTHING I haven't seen and Nothing will gross me out." The Asacol is making me gassy. DRY GAS, YEAH! Hubby has trouble with gas too. Makes for some fun laughs around our house! He'll say, "that sounded like a girl fart, try harder next time."
Anyway, Have a great day all and Thank you so much again. I look forward to getting to know you.
Was on facebook this a.m. For fun I hit the "Psychic Anita" thing. Psychic Anita said, "Darling, there will be a lot of movement in your life!"
OMG so, so funny!!! Yes, Anita, in my colon and back & forth to the bathroom!!!
My hubby is wonderful. He's retired Army with a wonderful sense of humor. When I express embarrassment in front of him he says, "Babe, I was in the Army for 20 + yrs, all over the world. There is NOTHING I haven't seen and Nothing will gross me out." The Asacol is making me gassy. DRY GAS, YEAH! Hubby has trouble with gas too. Makes for some fun laughs around our house! He'll say, "that sounded like a girl fart, try harder next time."
Anyway, Have a great day all and Thank you so much again. I look forward to getting to know you.
Hi Josiecat,
FYI, you doctor is right - Paxil is a known cause of microscopic colitis, for some people. All of the SSRIs are suspect, and have either been directly linked with MC, or are in the process of having case studies accumulate against them. There are other medical risks as well. I'm not an authority on anti-depressants, but one that seems to have a minimum amount of side effects for most people, is Wellbutrin - of course, like all anti-depressants, it doesn't work for everyone. Have you tried it?
For most people, discontinuing the use of a drug that triggers MC, will allow the symptoms to subside, and your intestinal inflammation should completely resolve, if the Paxil is the cause of it. Some people are not that fortunate, however, because when MC is triggered, the genes that cause food intolerances are often triggered, also, and so the removal of those foods from the diet, is necessary for resolution of symptoms. In some cases, corticosteroids can suppress the symptoms, without diet changes, but in many cases, diet changes are necessary, even with the use of a corticosteroid. The most effective drug treatment for MC is Entocort EC, and it is by far the safest corticosteroid to use, with minimal side effects for most people, and minimal long-term risks, (when compared with the other corticosteroids).
How long have you been eliminating wheat from your diet, and are you also avoiding all traces of gluten that are found in most processed foods, and many ingredients? Those of us who are gluten sensitive, are just as sensitive as celiacs, and many of us are even more sensitive to gluten than the average celiac, even though we test negative to the classic celiac blood tests. Even the tiniest amount of gluten, will cause us to have a reaction, and if we eat gluten somewhat regularly, (even in trace amounts), the reaction will tend to become chronic, of course, and we won't even be able to detect that gluten is the problem, because it will seem that we react to many, many things that we eat, due to the accumulated damage to our intestines.
The gluten-free diet usually requires at least several weeks to show any benefits, and for many of us, it takes much longer - up to a year or more, because gluten can cause a lot of damage to the intestines, and it takes much longer for that damage to heal, than the GI docs realize.
Your case is not unusual - many, many people with MC, are taking anti-depressants, or anti-anxiety meds. It seems to go with the turf.
Tex
FYI, you doctor is right - Paxil is a known cause of microscopic colitis, for some people. All of the SSRIs are suspect, and have either been directly linked with MC, or are in the process of having case studies accumulate against them. There are other medical risks as well. I'm not an authority on anti-depressants, but one that seems to have a minimum amount of side effects for most people, is Wellbutrin - of course, like all anti-depressants, it doesn't work for everyone. Have you tried it?
For most people, discontinuing the use of a drug that triggers MC, will allow the symptoms to subside, and your intestinal inflammation should completely resolve, if the Paxil is the cause of it. Some people are not that fortunate, however, because when MC is triggered, the genes that cause food intolerances are often triggered, also, and so the removal of those foods from the diet, is necessary for resolution of symptoms. In some cases, corticosteroids can suppress the symptoms, without diet changes, but in many cases, diet changes are necessary, even with the use of a corticosteroid. The most effective drug treatment for MC is Entocort EC, and it is by far the safest corticosteroid to use, with minimal side effects for most people, and minimal long-term risks, (when compared with the other corticosteroids).
How long have you been eliminating wheat from your diet, and are you also avoiding all traces of gluten that are found in most processed foods, and many ingredients? Those of us who are gluten sensitive, are just as sensitive as celiacs, and many of us are even more sensitive to gluten than the average celiac, even though we test negative to the classic celiac blood tests. Even the tiniest amount of gluten, will cause us to have a reaction, and if we eat gluten somewhat regularly, (even in trace amounts), the reaction will tend to become chronic, of course, and we won't even be able to detect that gluten is the problem, because it will seem that we react to many, many things that we eat, due to the accumulated damage to our intestines.
The gluten-free diet usually requires at least several weeks to show any benefits, and for many of us, it takes much longer - up to a year or more, because gluten can cause a lot of damage to the intestines, and it takes much longer for that damage to heal, than the GI docs realize.
Your case is not unusual - many, many people with MC, are taking anti-depressants, or anti-anxiety meds. It seems to go with the turf.
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.
DD#1 is finally using a light box after her doc suggested it. (Nevemind I suggested way before when I found out her Zoloft could be bad for her since she has one of my MC genes.) I don't know if the are good for anything other thn SAD or not.
DISCLAIMER: I am not a doctor and don't play one on TV.
LDN July 18, 2014
Joan
LDN July 18, 2014
Joan
Before I found this site, I tried drinking soy milk instead of cow's milk and I didn't see any change, either. I told my GI and his response was "I guess you're not allergic to dairy, then."Tried removing dairy, no luck. Off wheat right now, doesn't seem to help either, yet.
After I began reading here, and also saw my Enterolab test results, I realized that the reason I saw no improvement was because I not only am intolerant to dairy, but also to gluten, eggs, and soy. IOW, as long as we are eating any foods which are problematic, we'll continue to have problems. That's what makes determining our intolerances difficult, of course.
The best thing to do is to remove all common intolerances at the same time and then see if there is an improvement. It may take a couple of weeks, as Tex said.
I love your husband's sense of humor for this disease.
Gloria
You never know what you can do until you have to do it.
Excellent point, Gloria. That's something that most people seem to overlook, and because they're not aware of that, they make the same mistake as your GI doc, and falsely assume that they are not sensitive to something, just because removing it from the diet for a week or two did not bring any improvement.
Here's your gold star:
Tex
Here's your gold star:
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.