Visit the Microscopic Colitis Foundation Website
Please don't feel that you've done anything wrong. Most of us are willing to do almost anything to get our health back, and if something sounds reasonable, we try it, especially if it's recommended by someone we trust. We've all been in situations that we regret. We learn from them, and move on.
Connie wrote:Tex, I know you did tell me about the Pepto Bismo problem but just as you said the Doctor was very stern with me and said "get back on it" and she said don't mess with my medication. I have been very weak and shaky. The doctor said it was anxiety. She said my problem was that I thought I could cure myself with my diet.
I don't know what your doctor's motives are, but none of what she said makes any sense, considering your situation. If you haven't had any significant D for weeks, you certainly don't need the Pepto. Taking Pepto-Bismol when you don't have D, is asking for trouble. It will probably take a while for the symptoms to go away, after you stop taking the Pepto, because Bismuth is a heavy metal, and it can take as long as about 12 weeks for your levels to normalize.
Let's review the symptoms of Pepto-Bismol toxicity again. Bismuth toxicity can cause symptoms such as these:
weakness and fatigue, depression, anxiety, irritability, insomnia, unsteady gait, motor incoordination, loss of memory, and jerky movements.
Salicylism has been reported in patients who ingest too much bismuth subsalicylate. Common complaints include:
vertigo, diminished hearing, lethargy, CNS dysfunction, confusion, tinnitus, vomiting, and abdominal pain
CNS dysfunction refers to Central Nervous System issues, (which you are experiencing).
Taking Entocort to treat MC is OK. Taking Pepto-Bismol to treat MC is OK. Taking them together, is not OK. It can be counterproductive, and risky, because either one of them can cause neurological problems, and it's possible that if one causes neurological problems, the other might mask the symptoms. You're having serious neurological symptoms, and if your doctor is willing to ignore those symptoms, and demand that you continue to use a drug that is causing neurological issues, she is not fit to be advising you. Such irresponsible behavior borders on malpractice.
Please do yourself a favor, and find a doctor who is concerned about your health and safety, rather than her own ego. It appears that she is willing to risk your health, in order to prove who's the boss - it's an ego thing that some doctors have, and GI docs are especially prone to having it. To be honest, it sort of sounds as if she is trying to punish you, for being so bold as to presume that you could "cure yourself with your diet". I have little respect for doctors who play those dangerous games. I realize that good doctors can be hard to find out in remote areas of the country, but we only have one body, and when something goes wrong with it, we have to try to take care of it, as best we can.
Is this your PCP, or your GI doctor? If you really don't want to leave her, maybe you should take your husband along with you, the next time you visit her. Some women in positions of power, like to intimidate other women - it's how they get their kicks, and female doctors with such an attitude, sometimes show a pattern of antagonistic behavior toward female patients, that they would never show toward a male patient.
The herbalogist who told you that you have cancer, is not looking out for your best interests, either. It sounds as though he, and probably the buddies he recommended for further treatment, are just in it for the money. If you had a colonoscopy only 7 months ago, the chances of them missing cancer in the colon are extremely low. Cancer doesn't develop overnight. If I were in your shoes, I would forget about it, and just write it off as a bad dream. With your history, the normal cancer-screening interval for colonoscopies, is 5 years. GI docs make good money from doing those exams, so trust me, if they thought they could find any reason to justify scheduling colonoscopies more frequently, they would do so.
With Entocort, and fine tuning your diet, you'll be OK, after the bismuth wears off. And yes, your ferritin level may be low enough to be causing hair loss problems. Low thyroid function is a common cause of hair loss, also, and just because your TSH might be in the normal range, does not mean that you do not have a thyroid deficiency. Most doctors are hung up on TSH, but that doesn't work for everyone. Your free T4, needd to be in an acceptable range, also.
Tex
Actually, it isn't the least bit funny.
About.com was just the first site that came up when I Googled. 