Hello all,
I've been browsing through the message boards for a little while now, so I figure I might as well introduce myself. :) My name is Kristen. I'm 31 and have recently been diagnosed with MC. I think I've come at this whole thing from a slightly different angle than many who are newly diagnosed. I've been having digestive issues (mostly D; loud gurgling noises off and on) for the past couple of years, and since my mom has celiac, I started playing around with my diet some time ago. I've always been relatively healthy, but I've had one nagging issue since I was in college -- thinning hair! I shed way more hair than I should, and I've never been able to figure out why. My PCP checked my thyroid first and found that my TSH was close to 3. She put me on a low dose of Synthroid for a while, but my number stayed about the same regardless of the dosage, so she discontinued it. The hair issue has taken a backseat to the digestive stuff, but I still haven't figured it out. I wouldn't be surprised if it were all connected somehow.
In January of last year (after I'd tested negative on the "celiac panel" -- big surprise!), my PCP ordered IgG food sensitivity tests that covered quite a few foods. It wasn't until I got home from my appointment that I started researching IgG tests and saw a lot of people questioning their validity. Fantastic! (My doctor also failed to mention beforehand that my insurance probably wouldn't cover the test... and they didn't.) Anyway, the highest IgG reactions were to almond, wheat gluten, yeast (bakers), yeast (brewers), peanut and cheese. I went off of all of those foods for probably a good six months (including all dairy, not just cheese) with little to no improvement in my digestive issues. Since then, I've tweaked things a few more times and ended up on what basically amounts to a paleo diet, minus almonds. I've also gone short periods of time without eggs (egg yolk and egg white showed up as a moderate IgG reaction), but I had a hard time telling if it really helped or not.
I had my first colonoscopy and endoscopy this fall. Those showed some gastritis, as well as H. Pylori and MC. I had a round of antibiotics for the H. Pylori and have been taking Pepto since then. Things aren't quite back to normal in the bathroom yet, but it's definitely better than it was! I don't know whether that's a result of treating the H. Pylori, taking Pepto or a combination of factors. I'm still following a paleo-type diet. The GI seemed hesitant to give me the MC label -- I'm wondering if it was partly because I'm "too young," and partly because there isn't a surefire treatment method. He wanted to treat the H. Pylori first, and then see if my symptoms got any better. I haven't followed up with him since. I haven't had any compelling reason to do so yet. I'm a little tired of going round and round with tests and appointments that get me nowhere, as I'm sure many around here can relate. :)
Introduction :)
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Hi Kristen,
Welcome to our internet family. While we are all different in many ways, your experiences with your GI specialist are certainly familiar to many of us. Your hunches about why he hasn't pursued a treatment for the MC are probably right on target.
You are definitely on the right track with your diet changes. If you are not yet in remission, the odds are high that something in your diet is still causing problems. The last 1 or 2 can be tough to track down, sometimes.
Regarding your thinning hair/thyroid issues, I'm guessing that your doctor probably never checked your Free T4 and Free T3 levels. If she had, she might have been able to shed some light on the problem, but these days, most doctors only understand TSH, and nothing else means anything to them.
Again, welcome aboard, and please feel free to ask anything.
Tex
Welcome to our internet family. While we are all different in many ways, your experiences with your GI specialist are certainly familiar to many of us. Your hunches about why he hasn't pursued a treatment for the MC are probably right on target.
You are definitely on the right track with your diet changes. If you are not yet in remission, the odds are high that something in your diet is still causing problems. The last 1 or 2 can be tough to track down, sometimes.
Regarding your thinning hair/thyroid issues, I'm guessing that your doctor probably never checked your Free T4 and Free T3 levels. If she had, she might have been able to shed some light on the problem, but these days, most doctors only understand TSH, and nothing else means anything to them.
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.
Welcome Kristin, Thank you for posting. It sounds like you are on a good path now. Doctors often do a follow up check after a while to ensure that the H Pylori is gone. You are very young. I hope your age makes you an excellent candidate for a quick remission from your MC. Thumbs up to the doctor who ordered the biopsies of your intestines. She/He probably saved you many years of searching for answers.
Although the validity of the test has been questioned, your sensitivities align with the most common sensitivities of people with MC.
Did you get the book? It's very helpful.
DJ
my PCP ordered IgG food sensitivity tests that covered quite a few foods. It wasn't until I got home from my appointment that I started researching IgG tests and saw a lot of people questioning their validity.
Although the validity of the test has been questioned, your sensitivities align with the most common sensitivities of people with MC.
Did you get the book? It's very helpful.
DJ
Thanks for the warm welcome. :) My book should arrive tomorrow. I'm thankful to have such great resources -- here and through the book itself.
Very true -- that dawned on me as I was revisiting my results to write the post!DJ wrote:Although the validity of the test has been questioned, your sensitivities align with the most common sensitivities of people with MC.
Her focus was mostly on the TSH number. She did check some of the others when I asked her to. For some reason, she always checks Total T3 and Free T4. My last Free T4 was 1.4 (ref. range 0.8-1.8 ng/dL). It's generally been between 1.1 and 1.4. She also checked a couple of thyroid antibodies, but those were normal.tex wrote:Regarding your thinning hair/thyroid issues, I'm guessing that your doctor probably never checked your Free T4 and Free T3 levels. If she had, she might have been able to shed some light on the problem, but these days, most doctors only understand TSH, and nothing else means anything to them.
Yes, that's a good Free T4 level, so your thyroid appears to be OK.
A lot of medications can cause thinning hair. Severe or chronic stress is a common cause of hair loss. A deficiency of some of the "B" vitamins can cause the problem, also.
Tex
A lot of medications can cause thinning hair. Severe or chronic stress is a common cause of hair loss. A deficiency of some of the "B" vitamins can cause the problem, also.
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.
Welcome Kristin. You are on the right track and I'm hoping that time will heal you completely . If not, you might want to do the C panel with Enterolab to see if one of your proteins is giving you a problem. Some people here have intolerances to chicken, beef, pork….. but often, it's just time that we need.
Keep us posted on your progress
Leah
Keep us posted on your progress
Leah