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When you have C all the time, how do you know what foods you are reacting to? Do you base it on other symptoms like, gas, bloating, abdominal pain and cramping?
I guess it's rare to have C-Dominant LC, meaning chronic C, but I would appreciate insights from anyone who has had to contend with this. Thanks!
When you have C...
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faithberry
- Adélie Penguin
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When you have C...
Faith
LC (in remission)
LC (in remission)
I have C occasionally, but not often.
I notice that if I cheat and have a little shredded cheese, like on a homemade taco or salad, the next morning I have C..
Tex, had to go back to work, but I know he'll pick up on your post later.
I would think the gas & bloating is from the food sitting in the intestine too long.
Took the Zantac this morning, and no burning. Will take another before my dinner tonight.
I still need to refresh my memory before I go for my endoscopy next Thursday on the mast cells and histamine. And the high histamine foods. Honestly, all new to me!!! So glad that you brought this to my attention.. Thank You!!
Dee~~
I notice that if I cheat and have a little shredded cheese, like on a homemade taco or salad, the next morning I have C..
Tex, had to go back to work, but I know he'll pick up on your post later.
I would think the gas & bloating is from the food sitting in the intestine too long.
Took the Zantac this morning, and no burning. Will take another before my dinner tonight.
I still need to refresh my memory before I go for my endoscopy next Thursday on the mast cells and histamine. And the high histamine foods. Honestly, all new to me!!! So glad that you brought this to my attention.. Thank You!!
Dee~~
"What the heart gives away is never gone ... It is kept in the hearts of others."
Forgot to ask you!
Do you think I should switch to Pepcid since you stated about Zantac & MC???
I'm doing so good with the Zantac right now controlling the upper tummy discomfort and the hives, I kinda hate to switch.
Dee~~~
Do you think I should switch to Pepcid since you stated about Zantac & MC???
I'm doing so good with the Zantac right now controlling the upper tummy discomfort and the hives, I kinda hate to switch.
Dee~~~
"What the heart gives away is never gone ... It is kept in the hearts of others."
Faith,
To be honest, I don't recall noticing any other symptoms, along with C. I have connected it with dairy products, (in my own situation), because I notice that when I cut dairy out of my diet for a week or so, the C disappears, and I don't seem to develop C from any other foods. In my case, this could be due to something other than MC, though, because C has been reported as a rather common symptom of drinking milk, especially in kids.
I guess what I'm trying to say, is that I don't know the answer to your question.
Tex
To be honest, I don't recall noticing any other symptoms, along with C. I have connected it with dairy products, (in my own situation), because I notice that when I cut dairy out of my diet for a week or so, the C disappears, and I don't seem to develop C from any other foods. In my case, this could be due to something other than MC, though, because C has been reported as a rather common symptom of drinking milk, especially in kids.
I guess what I'm trying to say, is that I don't know the answer to your question.
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.
Dee,
It may be a pretty good trick to convince your doctor that mast cells and histamines are capable of causing the symptoms that you have/had, especially if you will be trying to convince a GI doc.
Love,
Tex
It may be a pretty good trick to convince your doctor that mast cells and histamines are capable of causing the symptoms that you have/had, especially if you will be trying to convince a GI doc.
Good question. Just because Zantac has been shown to cause MC for some individuals, doesn't mean that it will cause problems for you. We are all different. Hopefully, if the day were to arrive, when it should trigger MC, switching products at that point, should end the reaction. Remember, though, this is just a WAEG.Dee wrote:Do you think I should switch to Pepcid since you stated about Zantac & MC???
I'm doing so good with the Zantac right now controlling the upper tummy discomfort and the hives, I kinda hate to switch.
Love,
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.
Sooooo, if the GI isn't going to have a clue about the mast cells & histamine, what doctor will????
I figure the GI is working for me, and if I request that along with whatever he wants the pathologist to check for, I also want the pathologist to check for mast cells, and I want the GI to have my histamine levels checked.
If he shakes his head no, like I don't know what I'm talking about, that will be his first mistake.
I remember what it was like when I wanted to try the Entocort and he said no. I went to my PCP, and she prescribed it for me. So, my next appt. with the GI, I told him that the Entocort was working great!!! He said he didn't prescribe it. I told him, I know!! I had my PCP write script for it!!!
End of story!!!!
Love
Dee~~~
I figure the GI is working for me, and if I request that along with whatever he wants the pathologist to check for, I also want the pathologist to check for mast cells, and I want the GI to have my histamine levels checked.
If he shakes his head no, like I don't know what I'm talking about, that will be his first mistake.
I remember what it was like when I wanted to try the Entocort and he said no. I went to my PCP, and she prescribed it for me. So, my next appt. with the GI, I told him that the Entocort was working great!!! He said he didn't prescribe it. I told him, I know!! I had my PCP write script for it!!!
End of story!!!!
Love
Dee~~~
"What the heart gives away is never gone ... It is kept in the hearts of others."
Dee,
You don't pull any punches when you deal with doctors, do you.
Good for you.
I could be completely wrong about your GI doc not being acquainted with how mast cells can be involved with GI issues, and particularly with MC, but that's a fairly recent discovery, (based on the fact that any significant amount of relevant information about this connection has only fairly recently been added to the medical knowledgebase, (during the past 3 or 4 years), and most GI docs don't seem to spend a lot of time trying to keep up with new developments, (based on their obsolete treatment methods for MC). Still, he might surprise us - who knows?
If you strike out there, it's certainly possibile that an allergy specialist might be helpful, but again, it might depend on how well they keep up with new developments in their field, and whether or not they are willing to think out of the box, because this is probably going to be "out of the box" topic, for most doctors, in just about any area of specialization, I would think. An allergy specialist is going to be much more familiar with histamine reactions than most GI docs, but the question is whether they will be able to extend their knowledge to what happens in the gut.
Love,
Tex
You don't pull any punches when you deal with doctors, do you.
Good for you.I could be completely wrong about your GI doc not being acquainted with how mast cells can be involved with GI issues, and particularly with MC, but that's a fairly recent discovery, (based on the fact that any significant amount of relevant information about this connection has only fairly recently been added to the medical knowledgebase, (during the past 3 or 4 years), and most GI docs don't seem to spend a lot of time trying to keep up with new developments, (based on their obsolete treatment methods for MC). Still, he might surprise us - who knows?
If you strike out there, it's certainly possibile that an allergy specialist might be helpful, but again, it might depend on how well they keep up with new developments in their field, and whether or not they are willing to think out of the box, because this is probably going to be "out of the box" topic, for most doctors, in just about any area of specialization, I would think. An allergy specialist is going to be much more familiar with histamine reactions than most GI docs, but the question is whether they will be able to extend their knowledge to what happens in the gut.
Love,
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.
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faithberry
- Adélie Penguin
- Posts: 246
- Joined: Wed Mar 04, 2009 7:40 am
Dee,
Whether you switch to Pepcid is really a personal choice. I too loved the Zantac and it seems to work great for a lot of people. I just didn't want to take the chance since my body is so out of whack right now. I also want to see how well I can manage without it.
When someone has hives they typically see a dermatologist. A dermatologist or an allergist will be much more familiar with mast cells and histamine and the skin. Mast cells are not a new discovery in relation to hives by any means. If you look on the International Chronic Urticaria Site, they have a list of tests that are normally used for hives. You can just copy down the name of the tests, depending upon which ones you think will help you and ask your doctor if he can do them, and if not, what type of doctor you should see to have them done. There is the 24-hour urine histamine metabolite test and a regular blood test for histamine levels, but then there are also autoimmune type tests. The list is very complete on the site. I think your best bet is to see a dermatologist or allergist so you can get the correct testing done, after you sort out what's happening in your gut. However, it's possible the hives are acute and not chronic so you might also want to give it some time.
In terms of mast cells in the gut, a GI doctor may be aware of the possibility, but consider it extremely rare. It's probably unlikely you have extra mast cells in the small bowel, but who knows! So the simple thing is just to ask him if he can have the biopsy tested for increased mast cells using the special tryptase stain that's just recently available. You will have to check the food doc blog for the name of the stain; it's listed in one of the articles on mastocytosis. But this is so new, that it might not be possible. Many labs may not yet do it. The food doc mentions gipath.com as one lab that does do it. But testing for mast cells may not be easy to get done at this point in time. Just see what your doctor says. As Tex says, he may surprise you!
I was thinking about your breakfast the other morning and wondering if you happened to have bananas, kiwi, or pears. They can stir up histamines; lots of fruits do. Also the additives BHT and BH something else are also histamine liberators.
If hives continue to be a problem for you, I think you can get your best answers from the people on the International Chronic Urticaria Society yahoo group. There's a link from their site or you can just look it up on yahoo. It's a very active forum and people are very generous in sharing information. If this is an ongoing problem for you, then it will take some study and learning over time, just like MC!
Good luck!
Whether you switch to Pepcid is really a personal choice. I too loved the Zantac and it seems to work great for a lot of people. I just didn't want to take the chance since my body is so out of whack right now. I also want to see how well I can manage without it.
When someone has hives they typically see a dermatologist. A dermatologist or an allergist will be much more familiar with mast cells and histamine and the skin. Mast cells are not a new discovery in relation to hives by any means. If you look on the International Chronic Urticaria Site, they have a list of tests that are normally used for hives. You can just copy down the name of the tests, depending upon which ones you think will help you and ask your doctor if he can do them, and if not, what type of doctor you should see to have them done. There is the 24-hour urine histamine metabolite test and a regular blood test for histamine levels, but then there are also autoimmune type tests. The list is very complete on the site. I think your best bet is to see a dermatologist or allergist so you can get the correct testing done, after you sort out what's happening in your gut. However, it's possible the hives are acute and not chronic so you might also want to give it some time.
In terms of mast cells in the gut, a GI doctor may be aware of the possibility, but consider it extremely rare. It's probably unlikely you have extra mast cells in the small bowel, but who knows! So the simple thing is just to ask him if he can have the biopsy tested for increased mast cells using the special tryptase stain that's just recently available. You will have to check the food doc blog for the name of the stain; it's listed in one of the articles on mastocytosis. But this is so new, that it might not be possible. Many labs may not yet do it. The food doc mentions gipath.com as one lab that does do it. But testing for mast cells may not be easy to get done at this point in time. Just see what your doctor says. As Tex says, he may surprise you!
I was thinking about your breakfast the other morning and wondering if you happened to have bananas, kiwi, or pears. They can stir up histamines; lots of fruits do. Also the additives BHT and BH something else are also histamine liberators.
If hives continue to be a problem for you, I think you can get your best answers from the people on the International Chronic Urticaria Society yahoo group. There's a link from their site or you can just look it up on yahoo. It's a very active forum and people are very generous in sharing information. If this is an ongoing problem for you, then it will take some study and learning over time, just like MC!
Good luck!
Faith
LC (in remission)
LC (in remission)
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faithberry
- Adélie Penguin
- Posts: 246
- Joined: Wed Mar 04, 2009 7:40 am
Thanks for the C feedback. I don't eat dairy so that can't be the problem.
I know I may have been exposed to toxic chemicals and mold at a few points in my life. I'm beginning to think the C may be an autonomic nervous system problem and maybe not MC. It's difficult to know. I'll proceed with my next treatment step and see what the effect is.
I know I may have been exposed to toxic chemicals and mold at a few points in my life. I'm beginning to think the C may be an autonomic nervous system problem and maybe not MC. It's difficult to know. I'll proceed with my next treatment step and see what the effect is.
Faith
LC (in remission)
LC (in remission)