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@gingerm

Hello, I am new to this group. As a teen, I was told I had a spastic colon, later, they started calling it IBS-D. In 2006 I was diagnosed with GERD, a hernia and the bottom "flapper" of my esophagus no longer worked so I underwent a Nissan Fundoplication. That procedure wraps a portion of your stomach tightly around the esophagus to keep the acid from going back into the esophagus. On the down side, I now have difficulty swallowing and must periodically have a balloon dilatation to stretch it back out. For that, I take Pantoprazole SOD 40mg twice a day. In October of 2016, after several months of watery, explosive diarrhea 10-12 times a day, a colonoscopy was done specifically to look for Microscopic Colitis. I was diagnosed with Lymphocytic Colitis. I was started on Budesonide 3mg caps x3 a day. That stopped the watery, frequent diarrhea but my skin became very fragile and thin. I was changed to Lialda 1.2Gm 2 tabs twice a day. These are horse pills and very difficult to swallow. It has slowed the diarrhea to 3-4 times a day, depending on what I eat but the bowel consistency is very soft to loosely formed. Silly me, I thought I was going to get back to relatively normal bowel movements. I have arthritis in my neck, back & hands. My hands started swelling and hurting. I couldn't make a fist. My internist sent me to a rheumatologist because I had a high-ish ANA test. More tests and more drugs. While I don't specifically have rheumatoid arthritis or lupus, she believes it is an autoimmune thing related to the Lymphocytic Colitis. She has me on Cymbalta 60mg for the pain, Predisone 5mg & Plaquenil 200mg twice daily for the inflammation. My hands are much better but I am having severe hot flashes. I have gone from taking 4 meds a day to all of this stuff. I was told to consider the Mediterranean diet but, because of the IBS, there are no leafy vegetables that I can tolerate, several fruits and nuts that are triggers as well. I had an endoscopy Monday to dilate my esophagus and take a few biopsies and my doctor (I regularly see his most excellent PA) told me that the way my bowels are now are my new normal. I am okay with that but I hate taking all of these meds. I worry what they're doing to my body. It's nice to find people who understand and are going through this as well. Thanks for listening.

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Replies to "Hello, I am new to this group. As a teen, I was told I had a..."

Hello @gingerm, have you tried taking a probiotic? My mom.. just turned 90 was having the diarrhea problem for months and her doctor did all sorts of test and came up with no reason (she did have her gallbladder out years ago. So could have been something she was eating. I tried to get her to do a food diary to figure out if certain foods triggered it, but she would not do it.) I bought her Align probiotics and she was back to normal within a few days after taking them. I have been taking them myself since about 2008 after my husband's cousin suggested them. I had tried cheaper ones, but they did nothing for me. My son tried the Align and they gave him bad stomach cramps. Try and see what works seems to be the thing to do. Just adding yogurt (with live cultures) may be enough to help. My brain has gone blank on other food probiotics. Adding a probiotic may actually help you eliminate other meds you are taking. Diarrhea can be a side effect of many medications. You might check side effects of the ones you are taking and talk to your doctor about alternatives. I hope you find something that helps you.
Zaroga

This is my life. Had a nissen fundoplication and hiatal hernia repair in December got c-diff from the hospital. Had 3 good weeks. Non stop diarrhea for over 7 months. In the meantime was diagnosed with Lupus (had a blood clot in 2016 was trying to get off blood thinners because Arthritis was so bad and I couldn’t take anything due to being on thinners). Finally had colonoscopy revealed lymphocytic colitis. I feel like I should have just kept eating tums my whole life and took my chances getting cancer instead of having the nissen. I’m sure having lupus and not being diagnosed till 47 didn’t help but that surgery feels like the start of all things bad in my life. I am forever changed and not for the better. Getting a hysterectomy in September. Who knows if that is connected to all the madness. Thank you for sharing your story.