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Hello! 27 Year Old Mom just diagnosed
Moderators: Rosie, Stanz, Jean, CAMary, moremuscle, JFR, Dee, xet, Peggy, Matthew, Gabes-Apg, grannyh, Gloria, Mars, starfire, Polly, Joefnh
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windsey728
- Posts: 7
- Joined: Sun Apr 26, 2009 5:09 pm
- Location: Small town in Texas
Hello! 27 Year Old Mom just diagnosed
Hello everyone, I am a 27 year old stay at home mom with two kids. I had a colonscopy/edg done last month and was diagnosed with MC and gastritis. I have other autoimmune diseases as well...Sjogrens and Thyroid disease. I also have been diagnosed with firbromylagia and PCOS. I struggle with chronic pain due to arthritis by the Sjogrens and stomach pain. I get horrible stomach cramps and pain all the time. I have found this disease to be very disabling for me. There isnt much out there about it and doctors cant really tell me much because they dont know much either. I am currently taking Asacol and Librax but dont see that much of a difference. I have also been gluten free that does help a little....Glad to find this group!:)
windsey WOW, you do have a platefull!!!!!
I hope you will find some help and perhaps guidance here. I do know there is a lot of experience here.
I have hypothyroidism as do several others here. I know how I feel with my two or three problems and here you are with more plus 2 children, husband and home to care for. I'm sure you must feel that you have absolutely no time to take care of you.............. but that is something you really need.
Please don't be shy about posting, asking questions, etc. You can pretty well bet we've already heard it all.
Is the Librax supposed to be because of your MC? I am more familiar with the Asacol and if that's all you have taken so far it's no wonder you don't have control of the symptoms yet. I maintain on Asacol but I doubt I could have achieved control with Asacol alone.
A lot find that about a 6 month course of Entocort does wonders for the MC. Some doctors don't care to prescribe it for that long but the short courses don't give you time to heal. Of course, that is just an opinion since none of us are doctors (except Polly) and she controls her MC with diet. She and several others on this board have exceptional will power.
I haven't gotten there yet.I hope you will feel right at home here and utilize this site to the maximum.
Shirley
When the eagles are silent, the parrots begin to jabber"
-- Winston Churchill
-- Winston Churchill
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barbaranoela
- Emperor Penguin
- Posts: 5394
- Joined: Wed May 25, 2005 6:11 pm
- Location: New York
Greetings Windsey---
Asacol didnt work for me---MCC---what did the healing process was---the dreaded Pred.(which did the job) and then a switch over to Colazal--which I had been maintained on for about 4years-----
Now I am off everything--Xcept all the meds. that are needed for blood pressure etc.
I also have a hyperthyroid--which includes meds for that too----just had another scan and in another week the usual chat with my Endo<--
U surely have been over loaded--dont lose hope---cus there is help----and as U keep your *eye* on the posts --peoples will be poppin in with questions---and perhaps *other things* to do to get a life back--
And U R right---this is some heck of a room---so grab that cuppa
--grab a seat and stay tuned in-- 
PS. and we say things as we feel them---so anytime U have to *scream* just let her rip!!!
Barbara
Asacol didnt work for me---MCC---what did the healing process was---the dreaded Pred.(which did the job) and then a switch over to Colazal--which I had been maintained on for about 4years-----
Now I am off everything--Xcept all the meds. that are needed for blood pressure etc.
I also have a hyperthyroid--which includes meds for that too----just had another scan and in another week the usual chat with my Endo<--
U surely have been over loaded--dont lose hope---cus there is help----and as U keep your *eye* on the posts --peoples will be poppin in with questions---and perhaps *other things* to do to get a life back--
And U R right---this is some heck of a room---so grab that cuppa
--grab a seat and stay tuned in-- PS. and we say things as we feel them---so anytime U have to *scream* just let her rip!!!
Barbara
the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness and self-control
Hi Windsey,
Wow, your medical experience sounds like mine in a lot of ways. I was (mis)diagnosed with PCOS when I was 18 after I stopped menstruating for 10 months (don't think I would have ever started back had I not been put on the pill to solve that). I say misdiagnosed because I have never had any other symptoms, and I'm convinced that the amenhorrhea (spell check on that one!) was an early sign of celiac.
I was diagnosed with hypothyroid at 23 (my mom has it, so I was being screened regularly). The MC symptoms (abdominal pain and diarrhea) started when I was 21, and I finally got a diagnosis last summer after being told I had IBS for years. I was diagnosed with celiac at the same time.
Many of us here have multiple autoimmune diseases. Joint pain/fibromyalgia/general aching seems to go along with MC, and many people find that a lot of the pain resolves once they get their MC into remission. I'm not there yet, but here's hoping! I think a good half of us have thyroid conditions.
I so understand your frustration with the lack of information and the ignorance of doctors. You will find many a sympathetic shoulder to lean on on this board. Hang in there--better days are coming. You will get your life back.
Courtney
Wow, your medical experience sounds like mine in a lot of ways. I was (mis)diagnosed with PCOS when I was 18 after I stopped menstruating for 10 months (don't think I would have ever started back had I not been put on the pill to solve that). I say misdiagnosed because I have never had any other symptoms, and I'm convinced that the amenhorrhea (spell check on that one!) was an early sign of celiac.
I was diagnosed with hypothyroid at 23 (my mom has it, so I was being screened regularly). The MC symptoms (abdominal pain and diarrhea) started when I was 21, and I finally got a diagnosis last summer after being told I had IBS for years. I was diagnosed with celiac at the same time.
Many of us here have multiple autoimmune diseases. Joint pain/fibromyalgia/general aching seems to go along with MC, and many people find that a lot of the pain resolves once they get their MC into remission. I'm not there yet, but here's hoping!
I think a good half of us have thyroid conditions.I so understand your frustration with the lack of information and the ignorance of doctors. You will find many a sympathetic shoulder to lean on on this board. Hang in there--better days are coming. You will get your life back.
Courtney
Hypothyroid 05/05
LC/CC 07/08
Celiac 07/08
LC/CC 07/08
Celiac 07/08
Hi,
And welcome to our internet family. You've already received some great responses, and I can only say that I totally agree with everything said.
Shirley is quite correct about Asacol, it works fairly well as a maintenance med for many MC patients, after they are in remission, but there is a much better choice, (Entocort, as she mentioned), for achieving remission, in the first place. Entocort can allow you to achieve remission much faster than by the GF diet, alone, and then the dosage can be tapered, after the intestines have healed, so that you may be able to maintain remission by diet alone, or by a lower dose of either Entocort, or one of the 5-ASA meds, (such as Asacol), if you prefer.
Many GI docs consider MC and IBS to be similar, and they tend to prescribe drugs commonly used for IBS, for MC patients. They also recommend more fiber in the diet for MC patients, because it supposedly helps IBS patients. Fiber is definitely contraindicated for MC, and until our intestines heal, the less fiber we ingest, the better off we are, as a rule.
Librax is sometimes prescribed for IBS, because it is an antispasmotic, (a central nervous system depressant), and one of it's side effects is constipation. I'm not sure that it's a very good choice for your diagnoses, though, nor for your symptoms, (especially thyroid disease). I'm guessing that you're hypothyroid, but if you happen to be hyperthyroid, for example, Librax will probably undesirably increase your heart rate, and if you're hypothyroid, it may adversely affect your treatment with thyroid hormone supplements. One of the problems with meds, is that sometimes they don't play nice together, and many doctors tend to underestimate the risk's involved.
The diet works, but most of us who use it, find that we also have to remove all dairy products from our diets, and about half of us are intolerant to soy. Some of us have other food intolerances, but gluten, dairy, and soy, are the three most common problems.
Again, welcome aboard.
Tex (another small town resident of Texas).
And welcome to our internet family. You've already received some great responses, and I can only say that I totally agree with everything said.
Shirley is quite correct about Asacol, it works fairly well as a maintenance med for many MC patients, after they are in remission, but there is a much better choice, (Entocort, as she mentioned), for achieving remission, in the first place. Entocort can allow you to achieve remission much faster than by the GF diet, alone, and then the dosage can be tapered, after the intestines have healed, so that you may be able to maintain remission by diet alone, or by a lower dose of either Entocort, or one of the 5-ASA meds, (such as Asacol), if you prefer.
Many GI docs consider MC and IBS to be similar, and they tend to prescribe drugs commonly used for IBS, for MC patients. They also recommend more fiber in the diet for MC patients, because it supposedly helps IBS patients. Fiber is definitely contraindicated for MC, and until our intestines heal, the less fiber we ingest, the better off we are, as a rule.
Librax is sometimes prescribed for IBS, because it is an antispasmotic, (a central nervous system depressant), and one of it's side effects is constipation. I'm not sure that it's a very good choice for your diagnoses, though, nor for your symptoms, (especially thyroid disease). I'm guessing that you're hypothyroid, but if you happen to be hyperthyroid, for example, Librax will probably undesirably increase your heart rate, and if you're hypothyroid, it may adversely affect your treatment with thyroid hormone supplements. One of the problems with meds, is that sometimes they don't play nice together, and many doctors tend to underestimate the risk's involved.
The diet works, but most of us who use it, find that we also have to remove all dairy products from our diets, and about half of us are intolerant to soy. Some of us have other food intolerances, but gluten, dairy, and soy, are the three most common problems.
Again, welcome aboard.
Tex (another small town resident of Texas).
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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MaggieRedwings
- King Penguin
- Posts: 3865
- Joined: Tue May 31, 2005 3:16 am
- Location: SE Pennsylvania
Welcome Windsey,
Boy do you have a full plate and I must say that you can ask anything here and take the time to really investigate the site and you will see that many of us have been here for quite a while and nothing is too embarassing to ask or say.
Again Welcome, Maggie
Boy do you have a full plate and I must say that you can ask anything here and take the time to really investigate the site and you will see that many of us have been here for quite a while and nothing is too embarassing to ask or say.
Again Welcome, Maggie
Maggie Scarpone
___________________
Resident Birder - I live to bird and enjoy life!
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Resident Birder - I live to bird and enjoy life!
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windsey728
- Posts: 7
- Joined: Sun Apr 26, 2009 5:09 pm
- Location: Small town in Texas
Thank you everyone for your replies! I am so glad to have found this site and looks like a great group of people. Thank you so much Tex for the suggestions on the medications! I did try some prednisone to help with the inflammation but I also have gastritis which that pred burned up my stomach! Not fun! I am supposed to go see a GI specialist tomorrow at a bigger hospital at Baylor Dallas that my regular GI recommended for me to see....We shall see how that goes tomorrow.
The side effect risks of Prednisone are the reason why I suggested Entocort, (budesonide). Entocort is encapsulated, so that it does not become activated until it reaches the lower third of the small intestine and the colon. Because of that, it targets the region of the intestines where it is needed the most, and only about 10 to 15 % of it is absorbed into the bloodstream. Therefore, it has only about 10 to 15 % of the main side effect risks of the other corticosteroids, such as Prednisone. It should not affect your stomach, since it will remain encapsulated until it has traveled down your GI tract at least 12 to 15 feet past your stomach.
Dr. Kenneth Fine, (arguably the foremost MC researcher in the US), started at Baylor, and then went on to found Enterolab, in Dallas. You might find some of the information on his site to be very helpful.
http://www.finerhealth.com/
Here's his discussion on microscopic colitis:
http://www.finerhealth.com/Educational_ ... c_Colitis/
Good luck with the new GI doc. Be sure to ask him or her about testing for H. pylori, since H. pylori is a major cause of gastritis, and it can be difficult to diagnosis. The most reliable way to diagnose it is by means of analysis of biopsy samples taken, (during an upper endoscopy exam), from the pyloric antrum, (the lower portion of the stomach), because this is where H. pylori normally hides.
Tex
Dr. Kenneth Fine, (arguably the foremost MC researcher in the US), started at Baylor, and then went on to found Enterolab, in Dallas. You might find some of the information on his site to be very helpful.
http://www.finerhealth.com/
Here's his discussion on microscopic colitis:
http://www.finerhealth.com/Educational_ ... c_Colitis/
Good luck with the new GI doc. Be sure to ask him or her about testing for H. pylori, since H. pylori is a major cause of gastritis, and it can be difficult to diagnosis. The most reliable way to diagnose it is by means of analysis of biopsy samples taken, (during an upper endoscopy exam), from the pyloric antrum, (the lower portion of the stomach), because this is where H. pylori normally hides.
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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windsey728
- Posts: 7
- Joined: Sun Apr 26, 2009 5:09 pm
- Location: Small town in Texas
You're most welcome. Yes, it would definitely be good to know if they checked for H. pylori, while they were exploring.
I hope the new GI doc is a winner.
Tex
I hope the new GI doc is a winner.
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.
Welcome Windsey!! 
You've come to the right place for information on MC. Please don't hesitate to ask any questions - we're here to do our best to answer them.
I'm sure you've begun reading past posts already. There is a wealth of information in them and you can learn from our successes and mistakes.
Gloria
You've come to the right place for information on MC. Please don't hesitate to ask any questions - we're here to do our best to answer them.
I'm sure you've begun reading past posts already. There is a wealth of information in them and you can learn from our successes and mistakes.
Gloria
You never know what you can do until you have to do it.