2 weeks and 2 days....GRRRR....and halleluya!

Lesley · Post by **Lesley** » Tue May 22, 2012 8:59 pm

Yep, 16 days later and at least a ton of stool softeners and other stuff, and FINALLY! Khaki colored sort serve all day today. 7 or 8 times today, and counting.
Maybe tomorrow I will have a relief day. Problem is I go back to C and son on and so forth.

Which leads me to GRRR..
I live in a huge complex with 7 buildings. My building has had a dodgy elevator since I moved in, but for the past 5, nearly 6 months our elevator has been out of order. The management (INCOMPETENT!) went along with their chosen company for 3 1/2 of those months, then fired them, suing them, and got a different company, which has been trying to fix it for the last nearly 2.
Why don't they get a new elevator you ask? Who knows?

They are supposed to have security guards in the garage to help those of us who need it. Coming back from picking up my meds and doing some shopping I felt a khaki soft serve revving up, so I called the office to request someone meet me and help me.
I waited 15 minutes. You guys understand what that means. I was about to abandon everything and get to the potty as fast as I could when the guard came along to help. But I already had mess in my pants, beginning to run down my legs.
Yes, we are pursuing a class action to get some redress from the management to those who ask, but nothing will help me with the laundering s**t out of my clothes. What value that?

And Halleluya - my GI called me! To be fair he sounded terrible, sad he has been sick for 6 days.
He said the first thing to do is to reduce the inflammation and thus the pain by taking Nexium 2x a day for 3 months. According to him the cells in the walls of my esophagus are damaged, and acid is leaking through, much like leaky gut. This is something that Nexium cannot cure it any more than entocort cures MC.
I asked him if he thinks I will be able to reduce the Nexium. He is doubtful, but I know I will.

He doesn't believe older people, who have less acid production, should be trying to increase the acid because there is enough acid in the stomach for food digestion, and everything left over is passed out through the gut. PH, he says, should be at around 5.

He also prescribed 200 mgs Theophylline 2x a day. It is an asthma drug, used to relax smooth muscles, and he said it's been used successfully in esophagitis like mine. I am a reluctant to take another med, but I am reaching desperation.

I haven't really decided yet whether to take it, but I am thinking about it.

My hands are not working well tonight so typing is a chore.

Post by **tex** » Tue May 22, 2012 9:51 pm

Hmmmmm. The pH of a normally-functioning stomach should be about 2; 3 at the most. The pH of the small intestine should be about 5.5 to 6.5, and the pH of the colon should be about 6.5 to 7.2.

If I understand Theophylline correctly, if it works in the esophagus the same way that it works in the airways, it will probably dilate the esophagus (making swallowing easier), but it will also almost surely worsen the reflux problem by further weakening the functioning of the lower esophageal valve.

Tex

Lesley · Post by **Lesley** » Tue May 22, 2012 11:11 pm

And PH of the esophagus? Maybe I misunderstood him. He was coughing pretty badly. I didn't want to keep him on too long.
I am worried about a diarrhea side effect, apart from the valve issue. Thinking.....
I don't want to take more meds if I don't have to. I so didn't want to have to go back onto PPIs, but I haven't slept well in days because of the pain. And that's with omeprazole, which doesn't help that much.

I think I will try with Nexium, and see how it goes. I will ask the doc about the valve issue and see what he says.

Thanks Tex.

kitty16 · Post by **kitty16** » Wed May 23, 2012 3:32 am

Dear Lesley,

Even though my MC presents with D I can understand the roller coaster you are on. Why can't they figure this out for us.

Hope you get m any good days.

Hugs,
K

nancyl · Post by **nancyl** » Wed May 23, 2012 6:42 am

Lesley,
I can't offer any advise, but want you to know that I'm thinking of you, wishing all this would turn around so you can feel better.

Hugs,
Nancy

Post by **tex** » Wed May 23, 2012 7:52 am

Lesley wrote:And PH of the esophagus?

Ideally, the pH of the esophagus should be near 7.0 (neutral), but it will dip lower at times if reflux occurs.

The number he quoted for the stomach would be a bit high even for a stomach that has been empty for a while (the stomach produces acid upon demand, as required for digesting food). A pH of 5 might be the case for someone who is taking a PPI to limit acid production, but that's way too high for good digestion (and for good bacteria control). The numbers I listed apply to normal conditions when a meal is being digested.

Tex

Lesley · Post by **Lesley** » Wed May 23, 2012 9:38 pm

I think he meant for the esophagus. Next time I will question more closely and take notes if I can. This time, as I said, he was coughing, and I didn't want to make him talk.
I think I will write down ALL my questions, check them with you, and then send them in an email, although the emails will only allow 1000 letters.

I really want to understand what is happening to me, and to "happen to it" if you see what I mean. While I realize that MC is not something we can totally control I would like to be in the driver seat, and know what to do when I get a flare.