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Hi, I'm Georgia. I've had this problem for 3 years. Three years of knowing exactly where every bathroom in the area is located. Trying not to eat so I wouldn't have to go, but hungry all the time. Being soooooo tired. Gas and cramps became my middle name. Planning things around my potty problem and the list goes on, as you all probably know.
I had a double mastectomy in May because of cancer (won that one), and I became so tired that I just knew something wasn't right. I brought up my potty problems AGAIN. I was put on Imodium and scheduled for a colonoscopy. The Imodium worked fine, I had no cramps and didn't feel bloated, no emergency running, and didn't feel like I had to live in the bathroom. Life was better, but when it wore off, YIKES!
So the biopsy came back and I have MC. I was so relieved to finally know what was wrong. I'm finding out that just because I know what it is doesn't mean there's a magic cure or relief. I have no idea which type of MC it is. I'll probably find that out at my next apptmnt. They have also scheduled a blood draw. I'm on Asacol, two tablets, three times a day. I've stopped eating lactose, on docs orders, too. It helped at first, but now it doesn't seem to help much at all, maybe worse. Maybe it takes time to work, again. I'm learning so many things my head is spinning. I see my dr. on the 5th of next month. I was really glad to find this place in my search for info. I'll be poking around. Any advice welcome.
Hi, a new potty person
Moderators: Rosie, Stanz, Jean, CAMary, moremuscle, JFR, Dee, xet, Peggy, Matthew, Gabes-Apg, grannyh, Gloria, Mars, starfire, Polly, Joefnh
, Georgia. You will find great information and support right here.
Hi Georgia,
Welcome to the site. I poked around as a guest for a while before I joined. There is lots of great information here and folks to answer questions.
I didn't do well as Asacol (or it's relative Colazol). These are sulfa drugs and I found out I'm allergic to sulfa.
Good luck on your quest for information and relief.
Jan
Welcome to the site. I poked around as a guest for a while before I joined. There is lots of great information here and folks to answer questions.
I didn't do well as Asacol (or it's relative Colazol). These are sulfa drugs and I found out I'm allergic to sulfa.
Good luck on your quest for information and relief.
Jan
Hi Georgia,
Welcome aboard. Sorry to hear that it took so long to get a diagnosis. GI docs almost always have a hard time "handling" this disease. More of them are learning how to diagnosis it now, but very, very few are able to treat it effectively. Unfortunately, MC can't be cured, but there are ways to control the symptoms, so you definitely can get your life back.
If you've done much reading here, you have probably already noticed that there are basically three ways to control the symptoms of this disease - meds, diet, or a combination of meds and diet. All but a very few GI docs are unaware of the fact that MC can be controlled by diet, though, so if you bring it up with your doc, expect him to laugh, and argue that there is no conection between MC and diet.
Actually, there are at least five or six different types of MC, three common versions, and several very uncommon forms. It doesn't matter which type you have, though, because the symptoms and the treatment are the same. Again, most GI docs are unaware that there are more than two forms of the disease.
It's kind of funny the way that many doctors don't do their homework. For example, some of them will advise a patient to stop eating lactose, and then turn around and prescribe a drug that contains lactose, (such as Asacol). If you are truly intolerant of lactose, there is enough in those pills to cause problems for you, but I'm sure your doctor would probably argue against that, (because most GI docs can do no wrong - in their own eyes, at least). LOL.
It does take time for any treatment to contol the symptoms of MC, whether meds or diet are used, because the inflammation has to be stopped, and the gut has to heal, which can take anywhere from weeks to a year or more, depending on how long the reaction has been going on, and how much damage has been done to the intestines. Some treatments start showing results sooner than others, however, and we are all different in our response times. Meds often take six to eight weeks, whereas the diet, (alone), usually takes about twice as long, but its impossible to pin an accurate estimate on it, for any particular individual.
Please feel free to ask any questions, and keep us posted on how you are doing. Again, welcome to the board.
Tex
P S If you can survive cancer, you can certainly lick MC.
Welcome aboard. Sorry to hear that it took so long to get a diagnosis. GI docs almost always have a hard time "handling" this disease. More of them are learning how to diagnosis it now, but very, very few are able to treat it effectively. Unfortunately, MC can't be cured, but there are ways to control the symptoms, so you definitely can get your life back.
If you've done much reading here, you have probably already noticed that there are basically three ways to control the symptoms of this disease - meds, diet, or a combination of meds and diet. All but a very few GI docs are unaware of the fact that MC can be controlled by diet, though, so if you bring it up with your doc, expect him to laugh, and argue that there is no conection between MC and diet.
Actually, there are at least five or six different types of MC, three common versions, and several very uncommon forms. It doesn't matter which type you have, though, because the symptoms and the treatment are the same. Again, most GI docs are unaware that there are more than two forms of the disease.
It's kind of funny the way that many doctors don't do their homework. For example, some of them will advise a patient to stop eating lactose, and then turn around and prescribe a drug that contains lactose, (such as Asacol). If you are truly intolerant of lactose, there is enough in those pills to cause problems for you, but I'm sure your doctor would probably argue against that, (because most GI docs can do no wrong - in their own eyes, at least). LOL.
It does take time for any treatment to contol the symptoms of MC, whether meds or diet are used, because the inflammation has to be stopped, and the gut has to heal, which can take anywhere from weeks to a year or more, depending on how long the reaction has been going on, and how much damage has been done to the intestines. Some treatments start showing results sooner than others, however, and we are all different in our response times. Meds often take six to eight weeks, whereas the diet, (alone), usually takes about twice as long, but its impossible to pin an accurate estimate on it, for any particular individual.
Please feel free to ask any questions, and keep us posted on how you are doing. Again, welcome to the board.
Tex
P S If you can survive cancer, you can certainly lick MC.
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.
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tamijoy2000
- Adélie Penguin
- Posts: 67
- Joined: Wed Oct 01, 2008 12:17 am
- Location: JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA
- Contact:
Welcome!
You have found the right place to join.
Keep reading and asking as you will continue to learn and grow with more knowledge than most GI's.
Take notes and you will be totally prepared for your next appointment.
Dee~~~
You have found the right place to join.
Keep reading and asking as you will continue to learn and grow with more knowledge than most GI's.
Take notes and you will be totally prepared for your next appointment.
Dee~~~
"What the heart gives away is never gone ... It is kept in the hearts of others."
Welcome!!!
Glad you found our little internet family, just keep reading those post, I have learned more here than from any of the many doctors we have been to over the years. Don't be afraid to ask questions, I have bugged Tex and everyone with all kinds of strange questions since joining.
And they always come up with an answer when the doc's would not.
Carrie
Glad you found our little internet family, just keep reading those post, I have learned more here than from any of the many doctors we have been to over the years. Don't be afraid to ask questions, I have bugged Tex and everyone with all kinds of strange questions since joining.
And they always come up with an answer when the doc's would not.Carrie
Hi Georgia, Your symptoms are exactly the same as mine, asacol didnt work for me, but Im still taking them as they give me a chance to find a loo. I am now going to ha ve a specimen of my stool taken over three days, its not a very pleasant thing to have to do, but the lab will see if I have Crohns desease, I lately have found a lot pf people who suffer the same or similar syptoms as myself, it seems more and more people have this.
I hope to one day soon be free of this and back to my usual self.
Chin up Georgia, you will find the answer to this embarrising problem.
You have joined a super network here.
Love Janet
I hope to one day soon be free of this and back to my usual self.
Chin up Georgia, you will find the answer to this embarrising problem.
You have joined a super network here.
Love Janet
jmg
I feel so welcome here, thanks! I'm thinking about the non-gluten diet, but I'm trying to give the Asacol a fair chance. To be very honest, sometimes I forget my last dose because I'm in bed and am just too tired to get back up. Very poor excuse, I know. I pay for it early morning. So tonight we're trying bottled water and a stash of pills by the bed. I'm determined to get this figured out. I'm continuing to read and feel like I'm not so alone. Thanks!!!!
SPRINKLES!
Georgia
Georgia
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MaggieRedwings
- King Penguin
- Posts: 3865
- Joined: Tue May 31, 2005 3:16 am
- Location: SE Pennsylvania
Welcome to the family Georgia! Keep poking around the site and you will discover a wealth of knowledge that you cannot find anywhere else on the internet. I used Asacol for 3 years and went no where with it and eventually my doc recommended Entocort but I had to stop using it due to side effects. Most people do not have this problem, but then again I have finally decided and settled with the fact that I am not most people. 
Maggie
Maggie
Maggie Scarpone
___________________
Resident Birder - I live to bird and enjoy life!
___________________
Resident Birder - I live to bird and enjoy life!
Hi Georgia -
Welcome! I hope you are able to garner some strength and support from the people here -it really is the most supportive place on the net! I began my MC journey in 2000, and I'm doing well using diet alone. I did take Asacol for 2 years, which helped some - but I feel better taking no meds at all. I went into total remission when I was pregnant in 2002. I'm convinced the hormones did it!
Speaking of hormones, are you taking Tamoxifen or an AI for your cancer? I was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2007 - so we have that in common. I also opted for a double mastectomy (I was very early stage - but have a strong family history...) - this allowed me to skip Tamoxifen - in the back of my mind I wondered if it would mess with my stomach - since pregnancy threw me into remission....
Welcome, and we are here to help you each step of the way - ask us anything - nothing is too personal
Mary
Welcome! I hope you are able to garner some strength and support from the people here -it really is the most supportive place on the net! I began my MC journey in 2000, and I'm doing well using diet alone. I did take Asacol for 2 years, which helped some - but I feel better taking no meds at all. I went into total remission when I was pregnant in 2002. I'm convinced the hormones did it!
Speaking of hormones, are you taking Tamoxifen or an AI for your cancer? I was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2007 - so we have that in common. I also opted for a double mastectomy (I was very early stage - but have a strong family history...) - this allowed me to skip Tamoxifen - in the back of my mind I wondered if it would mess with my stomach - since pregnancy threw me into remission....
Welcome, and we are here to help you each step of the way - ask us anything - nothing is too personal
Mary
Hi Mary!
They found 3 spots of cancer and one more in the biopsies. I am so very lucky, they found it so very early and I didn't need chemo, radiation or hormones. Last year, I had to have a hysterectomy along with 1 ovary removed. I was having MC problems even before that, but it got noticeably worse after the hysterectomy . . . maybe there is a correlation.
Continued good luck with the diet. Is it the gluten free?
They found 3 spots of cancer and one more in the biopsies. I am so very lucky, they found it so very early and I didn't need chemo, radiation or hormones. Last year, I had to have a hysterectomy along with 1 ovary removed. I was having MC problems even before that, but it got noticeably worse after the hysterectomy . . . maybe there is a correlation.
Continued good luck with the diet. Is it the gluten free?
SPRINKLES!
Georgia
Georgia