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Thanks, G'ma Mary! Good to have your input. Since I'm fairly new to the GF diet, I'm always afraid I'll forget about something or assume something is GF (like Chocolate bars). I'm learning to check everything I put in my cart.
I also like to bake, although I don't have much time to do it. Since I've discovered I also have an issue with dairy, I will be doing much more of that, though.
Were you able to go into remission on the GF diet alone or did you use meds? I've been on 9mg of entocort for about 7 weeks now, and I don't see much improvement If I can figure out all my intolerances and manage to eliminate them from my diet, I'd like to eventually control it that way. I'm encouraged by success stories
I have to agree that there is much more knowledge and good advice here than any doc has. Thought I had one of the best GIs until my last visit and now I may have to look for another. Agree that Pepto did nothing for me and the only thing I have found that is a relief is Entocort and for me that does not always work. Also have to be very strict on how much I take since it seems to make me dizzy and I definitely don't want to be dizzier than I already am.
Stick around and nothing is off limits to ask re: this disease.
Maggie
Maggie Scarpone
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Resident Birder - I live to bird and enjoy life!
I'd been diagnosed for approximately 8 months when I finally went GF. I'd tried the Pepto route and had some relief from it but had to stop it due to the possibility of toxicity (no symptoms, just had taken it the recommended amount of time). Since that was the only relief I'd had, I was upset. My dr had not recommended any other meds at all.
Approx 3 months after I began the diet, I saw my first formed stool! What a joy! I continued to have D on occasions until approx 6 months after starting GF living, when I realized I was having no more D!!! What a joy!
The only problems I've had in the 7 yrs since that time was a month ago when I came back to this site. I still don't know what that was, but I'm better now and happy about that.
Keep up the spirits! You'll see remission before you know it!
G'ma Mary
Those who are not part of the solution, are part of the problem.
Greetings All,
Again, I wanted to thank everyone who has been so kind and helped me get on the right path. I'm still in the "denial" phase I think because I took one to many chances over the weekend when I was starting to feel a tad better. Needless to say I am starting over this morning after an all nighter in the bathroom. I was just so hungry from weeks of not eating! I see now that I AM THE PROBLEM.
My sis came to visit yesterday and presented me with "Eating For IBS". She laughed at my growing bathroom library collection and asked that I please don't take it there. (sorry had to share ;)
Welcome Kat, There is some great advice here in these posts. I have little to add except that we all know your pain and are wiling to help with ANY issues you have. So ask any questions that come to mind.
The Enterolab site is also very helpful and I would incourage you to strongly consider using their services. They are expensive, but for me, it has been worth every penny to know "for sure" what exactly my food sensitivities are. I'm starting to see some positive results after 4 months of eliminating my food sensitivities, as detailed by my tests. YMMV
Sorry to hear about the "all nighter". Sooner or later, that happens to most of us, and it does help to make us more dedicated in our efforts to find solutions. The "IBS diet" book may have some good ideas, but when you get to the part where they recommend eating more fiber, please disregard that, and eat less fiber, instead. Until our intestines have sufficient time to heal, fiber can be very irritating, for someone with MC. Also, the book may recommend eating more grain, which usually is not a very good idea, either, for someone with MC, since some grains contain a lot of fiber, and many of us are intolerant of the gluten in wheat.
I hope you're feeling better by now.
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.
It was too late for my thyroid as I didn't do the diet thing til a year after it was removed. My overall condition including MC was at it's worst the entire year after that surgery. I think the thyroid tends to be really bad at the same time as the MC oftentimes.
I had no way to evaluate, since my gland was already gone when I started the diet, but if I'm not mistaken, there were some here who actually were able to lower the amount of thyroid hormone they were on (those who still had their gland, obviously) once they removed the gluten. Of course this has to be done under a doctor's care with periodic blood checks, etc. Of course, if the glands are in pretty bad shape already, it just could be that the diet won't improve that particular gland, but if you indeed are gluten sensitive, there are other serious conditions that can result from staying on gluten -- many so-called autoimmune diseases.
I did not test for celiac disease with the blood test (find a GI who'll use Promethius lab if you can) or small bowel biopsy when I started on the diet, but, I've come to believe that it just may be best to rule out some other conditions in that area with endoscopy if necessary , just in case, and do it BEFORE one gets off of gluten very long. I know that I would never have agreed to do a 6 month challenge to re-damage my small bowel just to get accurate biopsy reports once I was feeling so much better off of that evil gluten. I did find that I reacted to gluten, dairy casein, soy, eggs, and yeast which I verified with Dr. Fine's stool tests even though I'd been off the gluten a shorter time period. I felt soooo much better after getting off that stuff that I would never, ever get back on it. Optimum would be to test with both Promethius blood tests and Dr. Fine's as well. Real test will be how you feel once you've been off the gluten a while. By the way, if your blood test through a GI comes back normal, I doubt he'll send you for small bowel biopsies to look for the straight celiac disease. That's when you run the poop by Dr. Fine. He's also got a genetic test that just requires a cheek swab, but what's neat about his genetic testing is that it gives more than just the HDL-DQ 2 and DQ-8 results. We've found that there are other genes and combinations of genes that go along with other forms of gluten sensitivity and MC in particular.You might want to find out if your insurance will pay for Dr. Fine's genetic testing if your doc will give you and order, since genetic testing should be acceptible at an approved lab like his. Stool testing is a whole nother story, but for me, it was worth it.
I'll be gone again for a long while, most likely, but just happened across this post.
Best wishes to you.
Luce
Visit the Microscopic Colitis Foundation Website
If I can figure out all my intolerances and manage to eliminate them from my diet, I'd like to eventually control it that way. I'm encouraged by success stories 
