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Hi!
I just got diagnosed with collagenous colitis after losing 20 lbs in less than 3 months unintentionally, having diarrhea and abdominal pain . I’m in my 30s. I’ve been placed on budesonide and I’ve done the Absorbplus elemental diet. While the Absorbplus totally stopped my diarrhea, I continue to have abdominal pain after eating nearly any solid food. It’s located in my epigastric/RUQ. My question is, why if my diarrhea has stopped, am I still having abdominal pain? Has anyone else had any this? Any tips to help? I’ve remained on a gluten-free, dairy-free, caffeine/alcohol free diet now for 3 weeks. The only solid foods I’ve challenged are chicken, rice, potatoes, bananas, avocado, smooth natural peanut butter, dairy free almond yogurt and eggs (but I’ve stopped eggs since reading on here it could be a trigger).
Also, I’ve been on sertraline now for 1.5-2 years. My symptoms started 9 months ago after giving birth, with significant worsening in past 3 months. I’ve read the link of LC and sertraline. But I’m weaning off in case it could have contributed to my CC? Does anyone have any thoughts on this? Any help is greatly appreciated!
Thank you!
Carly
Mid/upper and RUQ pain
Moderators: Rosie, Stanz, Jean, CAMary, moremuscle, JFR, Dee, xet, Peggy, Matthew, Gabes-Apg, grannyh, Gloria, Mars, starfire, Polly, Joefnh
Re: Mid/upper and RUQ pain
Hi Carly,
Welcome to the group. Here are my thoughts, based on experiences of many of us:
We're all different, but gluten antibodies (antigliadin antibodies) have a 120 day half-life. That means that gluten can still be affecting (dominating) our Immune system reactions for at least 2 to 3 months after we completely the eliminate gluten from our diet. The time varies, of course (because we're all different), but typically, the longer we've been reacting, the more intestinal damage we have, and the higher our antibody level has become. Consequently, the longer it takes to get the effects of gluten out of our system. For example, for many of us it takes 3 to 6 weeks, but the amount of time can be all over the place depending upon our individual situation. So you may just need more time for the symptoms to abate. Because of the neurological effects of this disease, and the epigenetic damage it does to the stem cells in our intestines, the actual healing process can take years (there's a Microscopic Colitis Foundation newsletter describing this particular issue). For your convenience, here's a direct link where you can download or read a copy of that newsletter:
https://www.microscopiccolitisfoundatio ... 864178.pdf
Because of this problem, some symptoms such as the fatigue and brain fog associated with MC often takes a couple of years to completely resolve, and it can take up to 10 years (especially for those of us who are getting up in age) for the histology of the cells in the epithelia of our colon to return to normal, so that examination of biopsy samples under the microscope will no longer show evidence of MC.
Pain in the area you described could be due to another issue, but based on your description, it may be due to gallbladder issues, especially if you can feel the pain in back of your body. Normally, gallbladder pain is close to the center of the body, rather than the right side, so I may be guessing wrong. MC, similar to Crohn's disease, can cause the inflammation of virtually any organ in the digestive system from lips to anus, and some organs outside of the digestive system. Unfortunately, many MC patients undergo the surgical removal of their gallbladder (based on the advice of their physician, before achieving control of this disease. As we gain control, and suppress the inflammation perpetuating the MC, "satellite" (or secondary) symptoms such as gallbladder inflammation, typically fade away. The pancreas also becomes inflamed in many cases, and as it does, the production of pancreatic enzymes is suppressed, resulting in many of the digestive system issues associated with MC, especially the digestion of fats. This too fades away in almost every case, as we coax our MC into remission.
Regarding the foods you chosen for your diet, some of us react to chicken (turkey or lamb, for example, are much safer choices). About two thirds of us react to soy, and most legumes, and that includes peanuts. Note that I'm not saying that peanut butter is a problem for you, it's only a problem if you react to soy.
I hope this helps. Again, welcome aboard, and please feel free to ask anything.
Tex
Welcome to the group. Here are my thoughts, based on experiences of many of us:
We're all different, but gluten antibodies (antigliadin antibodies) have a 120 day half-life. That means that gluten can still be affecting (dominating) our Immune system reactions for at least 2 to 3 months after we completely the eliminate gluten from our diet. The time varies, of course (because we're all different), but typically, the longer we've been reacting, the more intestinal damage we have, and the higher our antibody level has become. Consequently, the longer it takes to get the effects of gluten out of our system. For example, for many of us it takes 3 to 6 weeks, but the amount of time can be all over the place depending upon our individual situation. So you may just need more time for the symptoms to abate. Because of the neurological effects of this disease, and the epigenetic damage it does to the stem cells in our intestines, the actual healing process can take years (there's a Microscopic Colitis Foundation newsletter describing this particular issue). For your convenience, here's a direct link where you can download or read a copy of that newsletter:
https://www.microscopiccolitisfoundatio ... 864178.pdf
Because of this problem, some symptoms such as the fatigue and brain fog associated with MC often takes a couple of years to completely resolve, and it can take up to 10 years (especially for those of us who are getting up in age) for the histology of the cells in the epithelia of our colon to return to normal, so that examination of biopsy samples under the microscope will no longer show evidence of MC.
Pain in the area you described could be due to another issue, but based on your description, it may be due to gallbladder issues, especially if you can feel the pain in back of your body. Normally, gallbladder pain is close to the center of the body, rather than the right side, so I may be guessing wrong. MC, similar to Crohn's disease, can cause the inflammation of virtually any organ in the digestive system from lips to anus, and some organs outside of the digestive system. Unfortunately, many MC patients undergo the surgical removal of their gallbladder (based on the advice of their physician, before achieving control of this disease. As we gain control, and suppress the inflammation perpetuating the MC, "satellite" (or secondary) symptoms such as gallbladder inflammation, typically fade away. The pancreas also becomes inflamed in many cases, and as it does, the production of pancreatic enzymes is suppressed, resulting in many of the digestive system issues associated with MC, especially the digestion of fats. This too fades away in almost every case, as we coax our MC into remission.
Regarding the foods you chosen for your diet, some of us react to chicken (turkey or lamb, for example, are much safer choices). About two thirds of us react to soy, and most legumes, and that includes peanuts. Note that I'm not saying that peanut butter is a problem for you, it's only a problem if you react to soy.
I hope this helps. Again, welcome aboard, and please feel free to ask anything.
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.
Re: Mid/upper and RUQ pain
Thank you for your prompt reply! Your response is a tremendous help to me. I will stay the course with diet changes (and try without the chicken and peanut butter for awhile), and hope for improvement in time. This is all so new to me, and I’ve felt quite helpless the last few weeks. So your response means more than you know.
Thanks again!
Carly
Thanks again!
Carly