Hello,
I joined the group in 2014.
Following Wayne's recommendation I ordered the EnteroLab test back in 2014 and found what my food triggers were. I avoided all of them for 6 months and after I reintroduced eggs and chicken. It seems like I was fine with what I was eating for five years.
I have been in remission from MC from 2014 to 2019. Almost forgot I had this affliction and was concentrating on Hashimoto's until
the MC hit me hard twice in one year (never happened before) in 2019.
The second time around it was so severe that I had to go on Entocord for 8 months. I was traveling by car from Florida after a long 8 months stay there.
I have just been off of the steroid since December 6, 2019.
In February I had a bad case of the flu. Stayed in for the whole month of February.
After the flu I started having signs of another colitis flair up coming on.
Extreme fatigue, pain under my shoulder blade, lots of bloating and gas, loose and explosive stools, joint pains, muscle pains. My TSH shot up to 5.4 and I was put on Armour Thyroid for the first time since the diagnosis of Hashimoto's.
Today the diarrhea started. Another flair up!
I have been on low FODMAP and low histamine diet for the past week after my functional medicine doctor has sent me to a dietitian. They think I have SIBO so thought this diet would ease my digestive distress. I think somehow it made things worst and I lost 2 lbs in one week. My weight is down to 115 lbs (lowest ever) , I am 5'7".
My questions are:
can the flu virus trigger MC?
once you test with EnteroLab do you avoid those foods forever?
how often do you retest? It's been 5 yrs for me.
should I retest now when the diarrhea is active?
can SIBO trigger MC?
I had H. Pylori but managed to get rid of it with herbs
Is Saccharomyces Boulardi helpful in stopping diarrhea for us?
I have very weak digestion and very low pancreatic enzymes as well as very low HCL so I am taking 4 digestive enzymes before each meal and at least 2 HCLs after.
Could there be something in Armour Thyroid that maybe a trigger?
Anyone has issues with SBD oil and MC?
I am avoiding gluten since 2007, dairy since 2014, corn, soy, all alcohol, sugar, tuna, walnuts, everything fermented as well.
flu and other reasons for flair up
Moderators: Rosie, Stanz, Jean, CAMary, moremuscle, JFR, Dee, xet, Peggy, Matthew, Gabes-Apg, grannyh, Gloria, Mars, starfire, Polly, Joefnh
Hi Anna,
I think the stress of our news right now can cause a flareup particularly the corona virus updates and shortages of toilet paper.
I had regular flu right after New Years Eve and was down for 2 weeks and weak for 4 months after that.
I think our regular flu (not corona) was particularly strong earlier this season.
I'm not really sure about the rest of the questions.
Welcome back and hopefully you feel better.
I think the stress of our news right now can cause a flareup particularly the corona virus updates and shortages of toilet paper.
I had regular flu right after New Years Eve and was down for 2 weeks and weak for 4 months after that.
I think our regular flu (not corona) was particularly strong earlier this season.
I'm not really sure about the rest of the questions.
Welcome back and hopefully you feel better.
Hi Anna,
I'll try to address your questions. You say the diarrhea started today. When did you start the Armour?
Functional doctors and naturopaths often think we have SIBO. I agree. In fact I think that virtually all of us have SIBO when our MC is active. But I don't believe that SIBO is the cause of our inflammation and MC reaction. Rather, I believe that SIBO is a consequence of our poor digestion when MC is active, and our diet changes to treat the MC. Our gut bacteria profile changes whenever our diet or our digestion changes. Consequently SIBO does not cause MC — MC caues SIBO. And the SIBO will disappear when our digestion improves. Treating SIBO is usually a waste of time and money because that will not resolve the MC.
Yes, the flu can cause an MC reaction, because the flu causes intestinal inflammation.
Most food sensitivities that EnteroLab finds are permanent, with the exception of yeast and (for some people) chicken eggs.
I retest if I seem to have a new food problem, or if I begin to react and I don't understand why.
For example, my initial test result for soy was negative, but a few years later, it was positive. I retested because I reacted to peanuts (a legume).
The lab can handle diarrhea, a long as your sample size is sufficient.
A pathogenic infection can trigger MC, but my personal opinion is that ordinary SIBO isn't normally a problem.
A few members swear by Saccharomyces Boulardi, but for most of us, it's just as likely to make things worse as it is to help.
Weak digestion and low pancreatic enzymes are common problems for most of us when we are reacting.
I take Armour. The sickest I've ever been was when I tried a high-priced digestive enzyme product. One tablet made me sick for four days.
When did you start taking the digestive enzymes?
You're already avoiding all the major food sensitivities. If it were me, I would be looking at the other things that I was ingesting. You might need to stop all supplements in order to stop the reaction.
Tex
I'll try to address your questions. You say the diarrhea started today. When did you start the Armour?
Functional doctors and naturopaths often think we have SIBO. I agree. In fact I think that virtually all of us have SIBO when our MC is active. But I don't believe that SIBO is the cause of our inflammation and MC reaction. Rather, I believe that SIBO is a consequence of our poor digestion when MC is active, and our diet changes to treat the MC. Our gut bacteria profile changes whenever our diet or our digestion changes. Consequently SIBO does not cause MC — MC caues SIBO. And the SIBO will disappear when our digestion improves. Treating SIBO is usually a waste of time and money because that will not resolve the MC.
Yes, the flu can cause an MC reaction, because the flu causes intestinal inflammation.
Most food sensitivities that EnteroLab finds are permanent, with the exception of yeast and (for some people) chicken eggs.
I retest if I seem to have a new food problem, or if I begin to react and I don't understand why.
For example, my initial test result for soy was negative, but a few years later, it was positive. I retested because I reacted to peanuts (a legume).
The lab can handle diarrhea, a long as your sample size is sufficient.
A pathogenic infection can trigger MC, but my personal opinion is that ordinary SIBO isn't normally a problem.
A few members swear by Saccharomyces Boulardi, but for most of us, it's just as likely to make things worse as it is to help.
Weak digestion and low pancreatic enzymes are common problems for most of us when we are reacting.
I take Armour. The sickest I've ever been was when I tried a high-priced digestive enzyme product. One tablet made me sick for four days.
When did you start taking the digestive enzymes?
You're already avoiding all the major food sensitivities. If it were me, I would be looking at the other things that I was ingesting. You might need to stop all supplements in order to stop the reaction.
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.
Thank you for your comments Wayne.
I have been taking digestive enzymes for at least 10 years now and was told that I may need them forever.
But recently I switched to a new brand when I started seeing a naturopathic doctor (about 6 months ago.)
The doctor also added Dipan-9 pancreatic enzymes after GI Map showed very low score for those enzymes (Elastase 62 and it should be more than 200). She had me do a HCL challenge and I went up to 6 HCL capsules without any burning sensation so I started taking 2 HCLs after each protein meal. So I ended up taking 4 capsules of enzymes before eating and 2 after. I hate doing it. Is low HCL also common for people with MC?
Is GI Map a test of help to us? My latest one showed that my Secretory IgA was low (238 where the normal range is 510-2010 ug/g.)
The GI Map test also showed a disbiosis in my microbiome. No surprise there but nobody seems to know how to fix that.
I think you maybe right that I am taking too many supplements. Stop them all?
Has lowFODMAP diet been of help to anyone?
Is there a way to retest just eggs and chicken at EnteroLab?
Has anyone tried "Physician's Elemental Diet" meal replacement for a few days when flare up occurs?
Very grateful for all your suggestions. Thank you again.
I have been taking digestive enzymes for at least 10 years now and was told that I may need them forever.
But recently I switched to a new brand when I started seeing a naturopathic doctor (about 6 months ago.)
The doctor also added Dipan-9 pancreatic enzymes after GI Map showed very low score for those enzymes (Elastase 62 and it should be more than 200). She had me do a HCL challenge and I went up to 6 HCL capsules without any burning sensation so I started taking 2 HCLs after each protein meal. So I ended up taking 4 capsules of enzymes before eating and 2 after. I hate doing it. Is low HCL also common for people with MC?
Is GI Map a test of help to us? My latest one showed that my Secretory IgA was low (238 where the normal range is 510-2010 ug/g.)
The GI Map test also showed a disbiosis in my microbiome. No surprise there but nobody seems to know how to fix that.
I think you maybe right that I am taking too many supplements. Stop them all?
Has lowFODMAP diet been of help to anyone?
Is there a way to retest just eggs and chicken at EnteroLab?
Has anyone tried "Physician's Elemental Diet" meal replacement for a few days when flare up occurs?
Very grateful for all your suggestions. Thank you again.
Those digestive enzymes and HCL may be helping you, but the way you get out of a flare is to go back to what you did to reach remission originally. If you weren't taking the supplements then, stop taking them now. I trust HCl a lot more than I trust digestive enznyme products. HCL is pure and simple. Digestive enzyme products can have anything in them.
Assuming that you're asking about CBD oil (I don't know what SBD oil might be), almost everyone who is in remission should be able to tolerate CBD oil well. For an MC patient who is reacting, I have no idea whether it would be safe or not. That depends on the individual's immune system. When we're in a flare, almost anything can cause a reaction and that will cause the flare to continue. The fastest path to remission is to cut out any and all risky items.
Don't stop taking Armour. There's no guarantee, but as far as I know, it's safe. And you should never stop a thyroid treatment unless you have an alternative treatment in place. If you're still unable to get out of that flare after several more weeks, we may have to reassess the Armour. In the meantime assume the Armour is safe,until proven otherwise.
I'm not familiar with a GI Map test.
A low secretory IgA result simply means that the test results of any IgA-based test (such as the EnteroLab stool tests) will be a little lower than they would be for a person with a normal IgA production capability. So it becomes possible to receive a false negative result on borderline results.
A few members claim to have been helped by the low FODMAP diet, but the diet usually has to be modified to accommodate personal food issues.
I don't know about chicken, but you can certainly order an individual test on chicken eggs. If you are suspicious of chicken, eat turkey — no one reacts to turkey. And turkey is not a high-histamine food, (unlike chicken).
Here's the bottom line — if you're seriously trying to get out of a flare, why risk ingesting any food or supplement or anything else that might prevent remission? Doing so can only postpone or prevent reaching remission. Stop the supplements. If you feel that you need them, after you achieve remission, you can reintroduce them one at at a time, to see if they cause any problems. Always remember, when you're trying to get out of a flare, less is more. We stop reactions by putting only a few foods (that we know we can trust) into our mouths. Anything else we ingest might be the cause of our reaction. You can't get better by doing the same things that you were doing when you got sick.
Tex
Assuming that you're asking about CBD oil (I don't know what SBD oil might be), almost everyone who is in remission should be able to tolerate CBD oil well. For an MC patient who is reacting, I have no idea whether it would be safe or not. That depends on the individual's immune system. When we're in a flare, almost anything can cause a reaction and that will cause the flare to continue. The fastest path to remission is to cut out any and all risky items.
Don't stop taking Armour. There's no guarantee, but as far as I know, it's safe. And you should never stop a thyroid treatment unless you have an alternative treatment in place. If you're still unable to get out of that flare after several more weeks, we may have to reassess the Armour. In the meantime assume the Armour is safe,until proven otherwise.
I'm not familiar with a GI Map test.
A low secretory IgA result simply means that the test results of any IgA-based test (such as the EnteroLab stool tests) will be a little lower than they would be for a person with a normal IgA production capability. So it becomes possible to receive a false negative result on borderline results.
A few members claim to have been helped by the low FODMAP diet, but the diet usually has to be modified to accommodate personal food issues.
I don't know about chicken, but you can certainly order an individual test on chicken eggs. If you are suspicious of chicken, eat turkey — no one reacts to turkey. And turkey is not a high-histamine food, (unlike chicken).
Here's the bottom line — if you're seriously trying to get out of a flare, why risk ingesting any food or supplement or anything else that might prevent remission? Doing so can only postpone or prevent reaching remission. Stop the supplements. If you feel that you need them, after you achieve remission, you can reintroduce them one at at a time, to see if they cause any problems. Always remember, when you're trying to get out of a flare, less is more. We stop reactions by putting only a few foods (that we know we can trust) into our mouths. Anything else we ingest might be the cause of our reaction. You can't get better by doing the same things that you were doing when you got sick.
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.