Newbie LC with C???

mturn2 · Post by **mturn2** » Wed Mar 09, 2011 12:25 pm

I have been reading on the forum for a few weeks now and finally decided to post. I haven't posted before because I seem to be different in that I don't have the problem with "d". Mainly it is "c". This started last Feb. 2010 with a case of d after taking Augmentin XR for a sinus infection. Had gastritis symptoms- nausea,bloating, extreme gas, d, vomiting,etc. Lasted 2 weeks and it seemed to resolve itself. (I should mention this was during a very stressful time in my life where my husband was in another state trying to sell our home, I was alone in a new state, new job, and no family, and to make matters worse, my beloved Golden Retriever was dying of cancer). After Beau, my retriever, passed away, husband sold house, found a job and moved to be with me but now came the time of buying another house. Lots of stress so same thing happened in April 2010. Sinus infection, Augmentin, and bam! Gastritis (so I thought) again. Flash forward to August 2010. After starting school year (I am a teacher) I started getting all of the symptoms with bloating and trapped gas with a little d. Then it seemed to turn to constipation with taking only 1/2 of immodium. Symptoms continued until I went to two different doctors that diagnosed me with IBS but with second dr. I insisted a referral to GI doc. GI doc did colonoscopy and endoscopy and I have gotten the dx of LC. Haven't been back to him to discuss results in person. That will happen in April. In the mean time I am 3 weeks into a GF, DF diet that I decided to try on my own from reading on this board. I haven't noticed any help yet. I still have the terrible bloating under my ribs and gas in my back almost constantly. I take gas-x and bentyl but gas-x doesn't help much. I have tried different things with my diet trying to get the inflammation to calm down but I am at my wits' end. It seems if I eat anything other than jello and soup, I bloat terribly and have trapped gas. I have had an abdominal ultrasound for gallbladder which was negative and tested negative for celiac. Not sure where to go from here. I don't really see too many posts regarding the trapped gas and bloating so I feel like a loner here. Maybe that just goes without saying with LC and I just don't realize it but I haven't had any "d" since last Oct. so mainly my symptoms are bloat, gas, and constipation. Anyone else like this or is this just IBS?

Post by **tex** » Wed Mar 09, 2011 1:42 pm

Hi,

Welcome to the board. I'm sorry to hear of your problems, but it's good to see you posting. I can assure you that stress plays a much larger role in this disease than the medical community realizes. Most doctors don't understand the disease very well at all.

Not everyone here has the problem, but gas and bloating, and loud gurgling noises are pretty much a "badge" of MC. IOW, most of us have to deal with it, until we manage to get our symptoms under control. It was a major problem for me, back when I was still reacting. We have several other members who have C-predominant MC, and quite a few who alternate between D and C, (including myself), so you are definitely not alone with that symptom.

For C-predominant MC, I doubt that any drugs will provide much benefit. The key to remission is diet, which you have already begun. The problem, of course, is that you have to eliminate all of your food sensitivities in order to achieve remission from symptoms. Just eliminating some of them is not sufficient - your symptoms will continue until you have eliminated them all, and your intestines have had some time to heal from the damage that they have accrued. Stool tests which can be ordered from Enterolab, in Dallas, Texas can be very helpful for tracking down food sensitivities, and they can save a lot of time and misery, which would otherwise be spent on trial and error experimentation. Most of us are sensitive to gluten and dairy products, and about half of us are sensitive to soy. Some members also have other sensitivities.

Successfully treating this disease requires dedication and patience, but you can definitely get your life back, if you are motivated to do what is needed, in order to achieve remission. Please be aware that "IBS" does not actually exist. A diagnosis of "IBS" by a doctor, simply means that he or she doesn't have the foggiest idea what is wrong.

Again, welcome aboard, and please feel free to ask anything.

Tex

mturn2 · Post by **mturn2** » Wed Mar 09, 2011 1:58 pm

Thanks Tex. I have certainly learned alot just from reading your posts along with all the other "regulars" on the board. Funny you mentioned loud gurgling noises because that is another symptom I have; just had forgotten it.

With the gf diet, any idea of how long to stay off before I would notice any benefits? As stated previously, I am going on 3 weeks gf and haven't noticed any difference.

Thinking about the lab testing; just hoping the gf diet would work so I didn't have to do the tests.

Sondra

JLH · Post by **JLH** » Wed Mar 09, 2011 2:16 pm

Please consider eliminating soy, too, to see if that helps.

Also, check your meds and vitamins for gluten, dairy and soy. Some of the anti-gas pills can give problems instead of prevent them.

Post by **tex** » Wed Mar 09, 2011 2:24 pm

A few people are lucky, and see some significant improvement within a few weeks, but for most of us, without adding medications to the treatment program, it usually takes at least several months to see much improvement, and in many cases, it takes from 6 months to a year, to see success. A drug such as Entocort can often help to stop the D in a matter of a couple of weeks, but for C-predominant MC, I would be afraid that it would simply make the C worse. That's why I feel that the diet will be your key to remission. Unfortunately, though, it takes a while for the diet to work, because the inflammation is rather slow to subside without help from a corticosteroid.

You can certainly achieve remission without any medical testing. If you don't see any noticeable improvement after a few months, or if your symptoms get better, but then get worse again, you might need to experiment with eliminating soy, or some other potential food sensitivity from your diet. As Joan suggests, it's always a good idea to eliminate soy from the diet until remission has been achieved. Then, you can always add it back into your diet, to see if you can tolerate it.

Unlike gluten, the body responds relatively quickly to diet changes involving other foods, but only after the production of antibodies to gluten have diminished to relatively low levels. It takes a long time to overcome the damage done by gluten, because the antibodies have a rather long half-life, so they are much more persistent than antibodies to other food sensitivities. Because of that, gluten tends to dominate the immune system reactions, until enough time has passed for it to be out of one's system.

Tex

Joefnh · Post by **Joefnh** » Wed Mar 09, 2011 2:37 pm

Hello mturn2 and welcome to the group from New Hampshire. I can't add too much to whats already been posted except that you have found some of the best people and information around for dealing with these conditions.

I look forward to reading your posts

--Joe

Gloria · Post by **Gloria** » Wed Mar 09, 2011 5:14 pm

WELCOME MTURN2!!

I'm happy you've decided to post. It sounds like you've been reading a lot and have already changed your diet. I didn't notice any changes after I went GF, either. Then I got tested through Enterolabs and found that I was also intolerant to casein, soy, egg and yeast intolerant. That helped explain why a GF diet wasn't giving me any relief. At that point, I decided to begin taking Entocort.

It sounds like you might not be a good candidate for Entocort if you are having C instead of D. You may want to consider the Enterolab tests to see if you have additional intolerances.

Gloria

mturn2 · Post by **mturn2** » Wed Mar 09, 2011 7:22 pm

Thanks for all of the messages. It is a help just to know there are others out there who understand this condition and are willing to offer suggestions based on their successes and/or failures with diet. I will keep up with the GF/DF and will add the SF to the elimination plan.

Still thinking about the getting the testing done.

Looking forward to further posts.

Sondra

MBombardier · Post by **MBombardier** » Wed Mar 09, 2011 11:10 pm

Hi MTurn2, and welcome!! I alternate between the D and C, and have the loud noises, bloating, and gas that almost feels like a baby moving around in there. One thing you may consider is cutting out fiber. I went gluten-free back in September, but it wasn't until I cut out fiber based on the advice of the fine people here that I actually started seeing a difference. I had a couple of months of honeymoon, then other food intolerances kicked in, but that's another story...

BTW, I was working for Beecham Laboratories when Augmentin was first developed and marketed. Clavulanic acid, one of the components, is quite volatile. Once there was a shipment waiting on the docks in England for transport to the U.S. which exploded and started a fire. In manufacture, the clavulanic acid is wrapped in amoxicillin to make it behave. No wonder a prescription of Augmentin means instant diarrhea.

ant · Post by **ant** » Thu Mar 10, 2011 3:11 am

Dear Sondra,

Just wanted to say welcome from Hong Kong. I seem to be a D type person, but can imagine C is just as bad.

Best wishes on your journey to remission, ant

irisheyes13 · Post by **irisheyes13** » Thu Mar 10, 2011 6:48 am

Hi Sondra

Sorry you aren't feeling well. I'm fairly new around here and am so glad to have found these wonderful people who have set me in the right direction to begin taking my life back after 10 years of suffering many of the same symptoms you have experienced. I have been to 3 different GI docs and the only thing I finally received from them was a diagnosis but no healing or direction.

After finding this forum I immediately ordered the tests from Enterolab. It took 3 weeks for the results and discovered I have multiple intolerances. I would highly recommend getting the testing done.

I went gluten free for 6 months several years ago with no change in my symptoms. Now I know it was because in addition to a gluten intolerance, I am also intolerant to casein, soy, eggs and yeast. I've begun to feel better already after a little over a week since receiving the test results. I, too, wish you success in healing and feeling better soon!

MaggieRedwings · Post by **MaggieRedwings** » Thu Mar 10, 2011 7:25 am

Morning Sondra and Welcome!

You have had great advice so far and I too would recommend the Entrolab tests since sometimes GF and DF and not the only factors. It seems you have read a lot on the board already but it is a wealth of information like no other.

Please keep us posted and I am also a type D personality and not C.

Maggie

Kari · Post by **Kari** » Thu Mar 10, 2011 7:46 am

Hi Sondra and

- glad you decided to post.

As I'm sure you've figured out by reading lots here, we learn from each other, so everyone contributes valuable information. Although I can relate to most of your problems, I'm a D person as well, but others here have predominantly C, so you're certainly not alone.

I will echo what others have said, to have yourself tested at Enterolab. Taking out some of the guesswork by getting confirmation of my diet suspicions, was an enormous relief for me. It is a lot easier to make sacrifices when you know you're on the right track.

Lots of luck to you in reclaiming your life and do keep us updated on your progress through posting here.

Love,
Kari

Linda in BC · Post by **Linda in BC** » Thu Mar 10, 2011 9:24 am

Welcome Sondra,
Sorry to hear you have this disease but I'm glad you found us, and I do hope your get some resolution to your condition soon.

I would add my support to the suggestion of getting the tests at Enterolab. My experience was that when I go the tests, I didn't get tested for eggs ( just casein, soy and gluten) and I continued to suffer for another 4 months because it turned out egg whites were also major problem for me. If you really don't want to get the tests, maybe you can try cutting out all of the potentially harmful foods ( gluten, casein, soy, eggs, corn and definitely raw veggies/fibre) and then, keeping a food diary, slowly add them back in one at a time and see if you react. Just an alternative suggestion.

All the best,

Linda

mturn2 · Post by **mturn2** » Thu Mar 10, 2011 10:00 am

Thanks to all of your replies. Helps so much just to know there is support out there.

Marliss- Just curious about your symptoms since you seem to have the same as me. With the gas and bloating; I hurt alot under my shoulder blades as well and wondered if maybe I shouldn't get the Hida-Scan for the gallbladder? Not sure if the colitis could be causing gas build up under both ribs and in my back. Any thoughts???

Sondra