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Got Second Opinion
Moderators: Rosie, Stanz, Jean, CAMary, moremuscle, JFR, Dee, xet, Peggy, Matthew, Gabes-Apg, grannyh, Gloria, Mars, starfire, Polly, Joefnh
Got Second Opinion
I faxed my reports to my old Gastro and he called me back and said he doesnt think the microscopic colitis needs as aggresive treatment as the other Gastro said. He asked if my stools were better on Entocort and I said yes kind of but the side effects are killing me. He also said to try to add more fiber into my diet. The doc who diagnosed me originally wants me to take Pepto, now Im really confused.(She is a new doc, prob in her 30's and my old Gastro is in his 50's.
Well, the old one is dead-wrong about the fiber, so I'd go with the new one. Not much else to go on. At least you will be able to do diet modifications on your own to conquer the MC in the long run, like so many of us have done. The Pepto will only work very briefly unless you are also eliminating your food intolerances.
Love,
Polly
Love,
Polly
Blessed are they who can laugh at themselves, for they shall never cease to be amused.
Lisa,
Your new doc is not perfect, obviously, but she appears to be better informed about the disease than your old doc, because as Polly pointed out, anyone who knows how to treat MC, knows better than to recommend increased fiber in the diet. That's an old IBS treatment, and it is definitely contraindicated for MC.
You have to make the decision yourself, about whether or not you want to take Entocort, because you are the one being treated, and ultimately, it's your decision. In general, it's not a good idea to take a drug that is causing you to feel sick, though sometimes people tolerate such a situation, in order to get the benefit of the treatment, (as with chemotherapy, for example). IOW, if the drug is working, then it might be worth the side effects, in order to receive the benefits, (or there might be fewer side effects at a lower dose). If the drug doesn't seem to be helping at all, though, after 2 or 3 weeks or so, you might be better off without it. As Polly suggests, if you continue to take Entocort, you probably should at least lower your dose, in order to minimize the side effects that you are having.
The diet will bring remission without any drug intervention, so long as you carefully avoid all the foods that you are sensitive to. It usually takes much longer to see remission, (without Entocort), but as your gut heals, your symptoms will go away. Entocort usually helps within 2 to 4 weeks, whereas without it, it will probably take 6 months or longer to achieve remission, (with diet alone).
Many of us here, including Polly and myself, eliminated our symptoms by diet alone - we have never taken a single Entocort capsule, nor any of the other drugs recommended for MC. I'm not saying that this is the only way, (or even the best way), to treat the disease - I'm just saying that it worked for us, and for many others.
Tex
Your new doc is not perfect, obviously, but she appears to be better informed about the disease than your old doc, because as Polly pointed out, anyone who knows how to treat MC, knows better than to recommend increased fiber in the diet. That's an old IBS treatment, and it is definitely contraindicated for MC.
You have to make the decision yourself, about whether or not you want to take Entocort, because you are the one being treated, and ultimately, it's your decision. In general, it's not a good idea to take a drug that is causing you to feel sick, though sometimes people tolerate such a situation, in order to get the benefit of the treatment, (as with chemotherapy, for example). IOW, if the drug is working, then it might be worth the side effects, in order to receive the benefits, (or there might be fewer side effects at a lower dose). If the drug doesn't seem to be helping at all, though, after 2 or 3 weeks or so, you might be better off without it. As Polly suggests, if you continue to take Entocort, you probably should at least lower your dose, in order to minimize the side effects that you are having.
The diet will bring remission without any drug intervention, so long as you carefully avoid all the foods that you are sensitive to. It usually takes much longer to see remission, (without Entocort), but as your gut heals, your symptoms will go away. Entocort usually helps within 2 to 4 weeks, whereas without it, it will probably take 6 months or longer to achieve remission, (with diet alone).
Many of us here, including Polly and myself, eliminated our symptoms by diet alone - we have never taken a single Entocort capsule, nor any of the other drugs recommended for MC. I'm not saying that this is the only way, (or even the best way), to treat the disease - I'm just saying that it worked for us, and for many others.
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.
Lisa,
If I had a dime for every doctor who told me to eat more fiber, I would have many dimes.
I agree with what the others have already said.
So few doctors have the knowledge of this board. Most importantly, except for Polly, I don't know of any physicians who have this problem. I wish my GI doc had MC (not really), as he would want to crawl out of his skin just like me and would be more diligent about finding a way to remiss it.
Polly, ever thought of becoming a GI doc :) ?
Rich
If I had a dime for every doctor who told me to eat more fiber, I would have many dimes.
I agree with what the others have already said.
So few doctors have the knowledge of this board. Most importantly, except for Polly, I don't know of any physicians who have this problem. I wish my GI doc had MC (not really), as he would want to crawl out of his skin just like me and would be more diligent about finding a way to remiss it.
Polly, ever thought of becoming a GI doc :) ?
Rich
"It's not what I believe. It's what I can prove." - A Few Good Men