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new dr???
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new dr???
ok, i have been seeing a new gi dr. since march. said somethings off the bat that seemed logical, etc. switched my meds to lialda a while ago....things seemed to be going ok. went to see a naturopath who did some blood test (still not sure about it though) and the only thing that came back elevated was dairy, which i kind of thought anyway. have been trying real hard to stay away from all dairy, however i don't think it has made much of a difference. i still have some urgency, not sure what that is about. and most of my issues are either in the a.m. or right after lunch, never at night. so, i just got off the phone with my gi dr., giving him an update. he talked about prednisone for 2 months, but said to try 6-8 pepto for 6 weeks first....then if things don't get better to then try the prednisone and then if that does not work then immunosupresants.... during this conversation he asked if i take immodium. i told him i do if absolutely necessary, but i said to him that it does not seem normal or right to have to rely on that....that something is going on. i have been really trying hard to be gf....have been for 10 years, but was a little lax about it....since dec. i have been more diligent. after all of this, my question is should i try another dr.?? the question by him asking if i take immodium made me question things.....it does help but i should not have to rely on it.....i have thought about enterolab, but just lost my job, so that xtra $ to pay of the testing is not in the budget right now.....should have done it before....oh well.......
A lot of doctors recommend Imodium, and a lot of members here, (most of us, probably), take it, with good results, on those days when extra control, or extra "security" is needed. Also, a lot of members who control their symptoms without prescription drugs, find Imodium to be helpful while they're waiting for the diet to control their symptoms, or in the event they should accidentally be exposed to gluten in their diet.
Soooooooo, I wouldn't hold that against him. Imodium is certainly a lot safer to use than prednisone and/or immunosuppressants. Also, it would probably be difficult to locate a GI specialist who didn't recommend Imodium from time to time.
At least that's my opinion.
Tex
Soooooooo, I wouldn't hold that against him. Imodium is certainly a lot safer to use than prednisone and/or immunosuppressants. Also, it would probably be difficult to locate a GI specialist who didn't recommend Imodium from time to time.
At least that's my opinion.
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.
Willabec,
If you want to stay away from prednisone & immunosuppressants (great idea!), I would go super-hard-core on diet, to give Pepto and/or Imodium the best shot possible. You may have to spend some weekend time doing a little extra cooking to get you through the week, so you don't have to rely as much on restaurants or suspicious ingredients in packaged products. I find that a lot of GF commercial products don't agree with me as well as when I make my own... though I totally appreciate how important it is to have "convenience" foods. Once you're past this episode, you may be able to add a lot of those packaged things back, but right now - your number one priority is to get past this and heal. If your recent job loss was stressful - stress is also a factor, so be extra gentle and kind with yourself.
If you are reactive to dairy, it may take very little to trigger a reaction (ask me how I know... YUCK). Dairy makes me as sick as gluten, and quite dramatically, but the gluten reaction lasts longer, and I believe is more threatening in the long term, in terms of damage to other body systems (neurological, skin, etc). Since you are feeling lousy *and* list celiac in your profile, I would not take any chances.
Pepto Bismol really helped me when I was first sick. I hope it helps you, too. I started at 8/day, but reduce the number pretty quickly. I probably would have benefited from not rushing off it, to tell you the truth - but do know that if 8 seems like too many, maybe 5 or 6 could do the trick.
Like you, I also don't have symptoms at night these days - mornings have always been the worst. That is not uncommon. (When a crisis hits, it can be much less predictable - some people, including me, have had 24/7 symptoms.) No matter what I have eaten that day, or what time I have it, the symptoms seem to occur the next morning.
If you cannot bring things into line with diet and Pepto and/or Imodium, many people here have gotten enormous benefit from Entocort, which gives fewer steroid side effects than pred, because it's designed to operate directly in the gut.
Tex has explained in other topics that when we are reactive to a food, staying "mostly" away from it won't do the trick. If your body has an immune response to dairy, then even a very small amount of it will cause that reaction - just the way your body would ramp up the immune defenses if exposed to a disease that you had either had before or were vaccinated for (in which case - you have the antibodies). I am gently explaining to my friends that I am about as interested in "just a little" gluten or dairy as I am in "just a little" cholera or typhoid. For those of us with MC/celiac, we have an immune response to gluten by definition.
There are great food/recipe/shopping-guide resources on the Internet these days - so many people are doing diets that exclude gluten and dairy, and a lot of them post recipes and so forth. I've gotten some great ideas from Paleo/Primal type websites (though I can't eat eggs now, which is very much part of their typical regimen).
I don't mean to sound dire, but between the misery of symptoms and the risk of doing further damage to your system, I do think it's urgent that you feel better soon!
Please keep us posted,
Sara
If you want to stay away from prednisone & immunosuppressants (great idea!), I would go super-hard-core on diet, to give Pepto and/or Imodium the best shot possible. You may have to spend some weekend time doing a little extra cooking to get you through the week, so you don't have to rely as much on restaurants or suspicious ingredients in packaged products. I find that a lot of GF commercial products don't agree with me as well as when I make my own... though I totally appreciate how important it is to have "convenience" foods. Once you're past this episode, you may be able to add a lot of those packaged things back, but right now - your number one priority is to get past this and heal. If your recent job loss was stressful - stress is also a factor, so be extra gentle and kind with yourself.
If you are reactive to dairy, it may take very little to trigger a reaction (ask me how I know... YUCK). Dairy makes me as sick as gluten, and quite dramatically, but the gluten reaction lasts longer, and I believe is more threatening in the long term, in terms of damage to other body systems (neurological, skin, etc). Since you are feeling lousy *and* list celiac in your profile, I would not take any chances.
Pepto Bismol really helped me when I was first sick. I hope it helps you, too. I started at 8/day, but reduce the number pretty quickly. I probably would have benefited from not rushing off it, to tell you the truth - but do know that if 8 seems like too many, maybe 5 or 6 could do the trick.
Like you, I also don't have symptoms at night these days - mornings have always been the worst. That is not uncommon. (When a crisis hits, it can be much less predictable - some people, including me, have had 24/7 symptoms.) No matter what I have eaten that day, or what time I have it, the symptoms seem to occur the next morning.
If you cannot bring things into line with diet and Pepto and/or Imodium, many people here have gotten enormous benefit from Entocort, which gives fewer steroid side effects than pred, because it's designed to operate directly in the gut.
Tex has explained in other topics that when we are reactive to a food, staying "mostly" away from it won't do the trick. If your body has an immune response to dairy, then even a very small amount of it will cause that reaction - just the way your body would ramp up the immune defenses if exposed to a disease that you had either had before or were vaccinated for (in which case - you have the antibodies). I am gently explaining to my friends that I am about as interested in "just a little" gluten or dairy as I am in "just a little" cholera or typhoid. For those of us with MC/celiac, we have an immune response to gluten by definition.
There are great food/recipe/shopping-guide resources on the Internet these days - so many people are doing diets that exclude gluten and dairy, and a lot of them post recipes and so forth. I've gotten some great ideas from Paleo/Primal type websites (though I can't eat eggs now, which is very much part of their typical regimen).
I don't mean to sound dire, but between the misery of symptoms and the risk of doing further damage to your system, I do think it's urgent that you feel better soon!
Please keep us posted,
Sara