Feel free to discuss any topic of general interest, so long as nothing you post here is likely to be interpreted as insulting, and/or inflammatory, nor clearly designed to provoke any individual or group. Please be considerate of others feelings, and they will be considerate of yours.
Cristi wrote:I also wonder if my immune system was ramped up fighting the parasites and with them gone is now attacking my gut.
Could be. My feeling is that the immune system always focuses on the greatest perceived threat, and with the parasites out of the way, that would leave whatever triggered your MC reactions in the first place.
MC, and related issues can certainly cause neurological problems. For example, while I was reacting, something disabled my ability to feel hunger pangs, and that ability has never been restored. I eat out of habit, now, not because I'm hungry. It makes eating kind of tricky, because not only can I not tell when I'm hungry, but I can't tell when I'm full, either.
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.
I have the same thing. I just start to feel weak but no hunger pains like when I was healthy. I just eat 4 meals a day to keep my weight up and my strength up. I just got back from my Dr. office to check my fistula site...everything there is healing well. I asked her about the weird BM symptoms and she said IBS has many different "functional" problems and looks different for everyone. So, whatever IBS actually is, this symptom could fit. No solution other than muscle relaxants.
I am also looking into a new neurotransmitter protocol by Neuroresearch. Their philosophy is that food allergies and prescription drugs further deplete neurotransmitters causing disease and illness, including IBD and IBS. They don't treat the low levels of neurotransmitters but all of them with amino acids. They let the body do the balancing. Interesting.
Hi Everyone,
My computer is broken and it may take awhile to get it fixed. So I may not be around much for awhile. I think I may have finally figured out all my intolerances and food issues, so I'm very happy about that!!!!!
Gluten
Casein
Soy
Corn
Histamine-containing foods (includes yeast)
Histamine liberating foods (and medications)
Glutamates
Medium and High Oxalates (can tolerate low and low medium ones)
Hypoglycemia
Mast Cell reactions (probably to the above foods)
I made a list of what's left and came up with about 20 foods. Some I can only have in tiny quantities (like 1/4 cup carrots a day or 7 sprigs of cilantro) and others aren't always in season or available, so my diet is still limited but slightly expanded. I'm slowly testing my list of 21. With the help of the Gastrocrom, I'm doing fairly well with foods I haven't had for quite a long time like:
Lentils
White cabbage (cooked well)
Lettuce
Cucumber
Apple (only 1/2)
What I have clearly cannot be LC or I probably wouldn't be able to have all those fiber foods, unless LC is very different with C.
My body is really not likely large amounts of rice so I'm having to make adjustments. Next up on trial will be eggs. Being able to eat eggs would be pretty darn exciting!
I'm impressed that you are figuring out your intolerances. It is unusual that you are able to eat some known MC triggers, such as lettuce. I seem to recall that you've not had an MC diagnosis from a biopsy, so it is possible that you don't have it.
Gloria
You never know what you can do until you have to do it.
Thanks for the positive feedback. It's taken me 4 years to figure out all these intolerances with many sidetracks along the way!
I definitely had a positive biopsy for LC with 'mild' infiltration four years ago. My LC was never severe to begin with. I did not have major D., but more like loose stools and some urgency now and then. I suspect the biopsy caught it at an early stage and there may have only been sporadic patches, which is what my doctor thought. I was already gluten free and quickly went dairy free soon thereafter. I beleive some of my intolerances are due to other factors like my possible mast cells issues, particularly the histamine-related ones.
I now doubt that I am having a relapse of LC given the kinds of foods I can eat. I do have C, but perhaps that's due to another cause. I've only been able to start eating these foods now that I'm taking the Gastrocrom, but I only started that about 1-2 weeks ago.
My situation is such an enigma, but some of the pieces of the puzzle are falling into place!
Even cats have oxalate and mast cell problems! I guess there's not much in the human literature on oxalates and mast cells (yet!), but at least one researcher thinks there is a connection.
Tierarztl Prax Ausg K Klientiere Heimtiere. 1998 Nov;26(6):404-7.Links
[Extensive stomach ulcers due to Dieffenbachia intoxication in a cat]
[Article in German]
Müller N, Glaus T, Gardelle O.
Veterinär-Medizinischen Klinik, Universität Zürich.
Extensive gastric ulceration was diagnosed endoscopically and histologically in a two-year-old cat with haematemesis, anorexia and severe dehydration. Based on history (previous ingestion of leaf pieces of Dieffenbachia) and exclusion of another cause, intoxication with Dieffenbachia was diagnosed. The toxical effect of Dieffenbachia on mucous membranes is probably explained by ejection of calcium oxalate crystals leading to injury of mast cells and a massive histamine release. Supportive treatment including electrolyte infusions, ranitidine, sucralfate, and forced feeding using an endoscopically placed gastrostomy tube resulted in quick clinical recovery of this cat.
Here's a little update after seeing my doctor yesterday about my recent blood tests.
Regarding the elevated serum tryptase, it's his opinion that toxic exposure can damage mast cells, and he believes this is what happened in my case. He's given me a homeopathic treatment for the toxins, which I started a few weeks ago, and now a homeopathic treatment for the mast cell problem. It's a blend of homeopathic medicines for my particular configuration of problems, so it's not something that could be used for anyone else with mast cell problems. I will continue with the H1 and H2 antihistamines and the Gastrocrom he prescried while taking this treatment. He believes this can be healed. That would be terrific news, so I am game to try without a lot of hope and fear about it! I wouldn't be able to see a mast cell specialist till the Fall, so this is a good interim plan and, if it's successful, I may not need to see a specialist at all. It would mean that I don't have mastocytosis and the genetic mutation that comes along with it.
About the calcium oxalate crystals in my urine, he said this is indeed a problem. It means I am absorbing too much oxalate, which accumulates in the muscles, joints, and intestines and causes pain. It means avoiding the high oxalate foods at least, if not the full bore low oxalate diet.
About my thyroid (low T4, slightly elevated TSH), he thinks it's a low protein problem since l-tyrosine is required to make T4. Interestingly, my T3 is fine so he thinks I'm doing fine in terms of absorbing minerals. He's given me the essential amino acids in homeopathic form and now I've started eating aduki and mung beans. Small amounts but hope to increase slowly over time. They don't cause any significant intestinal problems, although I'm not totally gas free.
Life is very full for me right now. I probably won't be visiting here so much in the next few months, but I want to really thank everyone, especially Tex, for all the help and support. I'll definitely drop by if I have any hot mast cells news related to intestinal problems. I'm pretty certain my problems are mast cell related and not MC related; only a colonoscopy could say for sure. Seems like more people are getting diagnosed with mastocytic enterocolitis these days. But it seems mast cells can be increased in anyone with inflammation.
Here's a link to an article about Mast Cells and GI Motility Disease that was very interesting for us mast cell obsessives! Wm does research for the American Gastro Motility Association.
Thanks for the link to that article - very interesting.
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.
Visit the Microscopic Colitis Foundation Website
