New Member

[CatherineWhitehouse]

Hello everyone,
I’m based in the UK and looking forward to hearing how others cope, particularly with nausea & tiredness & Azathioprine
Background: I’m 58 years old and was diagnosed with Lymphocytic Colitis age 49 but have suffered with stomach pains and tiredness from childhood, things just ramped up in my 30s & 40s until D and urgency was a constant. I have been on and off Budesonide for 8 years until I became extremely underweight & constantly ill 12 months ago, with the added annoyance of nausea. In December I was finally put back on Budesonide at 9mg.
My consultant is adamant that Colitis has nothing to do with diet and flippantly suggested I had IBS. So off my own back I’ve just completed 3 months on the LowFODMap with an IBS dietician who diagnosed IBS C &D. My diet is quite limited but knowing my triggers has brought D down to occasional but I’m still left with Nausea & tiredness. I can’t take vitamin tablets as they cause high levels of nausea and I take Omerprazole to cope with the Budesonide
Next: as I have been on 9mg Budesonide for 6+ months my consultant has told me I’m moving to Azathioprine but I’m not happy about this for several reasons. He also advised me there is nothing he can give me for the nausea. Dreading the drug move

Catherine

[tex]

Hello Catherine,

Welcome to the group. Nausea is a listed side effects of Omerprazole. That's probably true because Omerprazole depletes magnesium, and nausea is a common symptom of magnesium deficiency. But the disease itself, and budesonide, also deplete magnesium, making it very likely that your nausea is due to a chronic magnesium deficiency. Furthermore, for many of us, Omerprazole triggers our colitis, so we have to wean off of it if we hope to put the disease into remission.

I agree with you — Azathioprine Is a poor choice for treating microscopic colitis.

I hope this helps.

Tex

[CatherineWhitehouse]

Thank you Tex for your warm welcome and really helpful reply. I had no idea about magnesium. and that omeprazole could cause nausea and aggravate colitis. I’ll read the info on magnesium on this site; I’ll need to find a non tablet form because the vitamin D3 & calcium, and multi vitamin tablets give me severe nausea.
I’m on a mission to avoid the Azathioprine. I’ve no idea what will happen when I say no to the IBD nurse team next week, I’ve never had any contact with them before.
All the best.
Catherine

[tex]

Regarding magnesium, many of us who can't tolerate oral magnesium, use magnesium oil or magnesium lotion rubbed onto our skin several times per day. Another option is to the use foot soaks in which Epsom salts have been dissolved. Some of us even soak for 15 or 20 minutes in bathwater in which Epsom salts have been dissolved. Using these techniques, we can absorb a reasonable amount of magnesium without negative effects on our digestive system. I'm sure you'll come across information on those suggestions in various other posts on the site.

I hope this helps,

Tex

[CatherineWhitehouse]

Thank you Tex, that’s a great help.
All the best. Catherine