MICROSCOPIC COLITIS SUPPORT

Hi, I'm 54 and female,

After over 25 days of diarrhea, my biopsy came back positive for microscopic colitis. I have never had stomach or digestive issues. On May 1, the diarrhea started and fortunately I already had a colonoscopy scheduled for the 18th. Before the procedure, I told my GI about the diarrhea and she did a biopsy. My colon otherwise had no signs of any issues.

So, that was yesterday when the nurse called to give me the results. I started on probiotics. That has seemed to help as I actually had a somewhat normal stool today. I went yesterday to pick up the prescribed steroid, budesonide, and my co-pay was $994.92. I did not get it. I will wait until I see the doctor again before I commit to a thousand dollar steroid.

I have read up on WebMD and was encouraged that the MC symptoms could be temporary and that it may be the result of too much aspirin or some other irritant to the colon.

I then found this site where it seems that most are afflicted daily and have made life-altering changes. I admire your resilience.

I appreciate the ability to have a sounding board from others who have walked this road.

Thank you

Hi,

Welcome to our Internet family. We consider ourselves a family because no one truly understands this disease unless they actually have it.

It is true that when caught soon enough and corrected, sometimes stopping the use of a drug that caused the inflammation in the first place can put a drug-induced case of MC into remission and keep it there as long as that drug is avoided forever. Most of us are not so lucky, however. Many drugs are associated with triggering MC, including NSAIDs, antibiotics, PPIs, SSRIs, SNRIs, tricyclic antidepressants, statins, bisphosphonates, ACE inhibitors, BETA blockers and others. So if you are taking one of these, avoiding it is worth a try.

It's possible to order a generic form of budesonide known as Budez CR from an overseas pharmacy for pennies on the dollar if you want to try budesonide. Members who have no insurance or cannot afford the copay have found it to be at least as good as the name brand products sold in this country. Or, if your doctor will write you a prescription for a compounding pharmacy, you can have it custom made at a compounding pharmacy for pennies on the dollar. Obviously the pharmaceutical and insurance companies don't appreciate doctors doing that, though. The domestic price for budesonide was never really "cheap", but it has become ridiculously expensive since the advent of the so-called "Affordable Care Act".

Incidentally, probiotics are no longer recommended for treating MC. While a few members here have found that probiotics seem to help, most have found that probiotics tend to make their symptoms worse. In mid-December the American Gastroenterological Association Institute published new treatment guidelines and one of them says:

4. The association specifically does not recommend treatment with probiotics or Boswellia serrata, when attempting to induce clinical remission.

You can download a PDF of the complete guidelines at the following link:

http://www.gastrojournal.org/article/S0 ... 1625-X/pdf

Again, welcome aboard and please feel free to ask anything.

Tex

Hi, 10. Your story is much like mine. I was 53, always very healthy and one day the horrible D started. I also was scheduled for a colonoscopy at the time. My GI prescribed Pepto Bismol tablets - 6/day for 8 weeks. After about two weeks I cut the dose to 4/day because I was constipated. The Pepto was enough to stop the D and I have been able to control my symptoms by diet alone. Search the forums on here and I would recommend reading Tex's book with is in the upper right hand corner of this page. This group is awesome and has helped me to get my life back. I am pretty much "normal" and I feel good most days. Hang in there, it does get better.

Hi 10,
I just want to welcome you

There is light eventually in this MC world

Cheers
Erica