I am looking for others diagnosed with microscopic colitis

Hi @billie3, welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect and the Digestive Health group. You'll notice that I moved your message to this long-standing and active discussion group called "Colitis – Microscopic/Lymphocytic/Ulcerative." I did this so that you can meet other members who are living with colitis, like @washalien @petepat3234 @astaingegerdm @spectec @dval and @guener.

Click VIEW & REPLY to see the past posts.

You may also be interested in these discussions:
- Lymphocytic Colitis https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/lymphocytic-colitis/
- Ulcerative colitis - worried about medications https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/ulcerated-colitis/

Billie, do you have microscopic, lymphocytic or ulcerative colitis? Do you currently take any medications or avoid particular foods?

@billie3 - Do you know what type of colitis you have? Also, how long have you had it, what are the symptoms and are you taking medication now?

thank you for asking, Colleen. I was asking on behalf of an older (83) sister who isn't too techie (not that I am). She wouldn't know how to register/login or even find this wonderful Mayo Clinic Connect community. I will ask her if she knows what type of colitis she has. I do know that she had gall bladder surgery a few yrs ago and (from reading others' comments) that might have, unfortunately, been a cause for her horrible bouts of colitis.

Thank you for asking, Ingegerd. Pls see my reply to Colleen.

I am waiting for the results of biopsies for microscopic colitis. Would like to hear about I can expect in regards to treatment and what I can expect long term . I am a 75 year old female.

Hi @turtlegalsandy, Welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect! You'll notice that I moved your message to this active discussion group called "Colitis – Microscopic/Lymphocytic/Ulcerative." The advantage to grouping these discussions is to help you meet members that have the same or similar conditions and can offer insight to what you can expect from this diagnosis. Can you tell us a little bit about your journey? When did you start displaying symptoms?

I have had intermittent bouts of diarrhea for most of my adult life and most could be contributed to specific foods. In the last nine months it has become much worse. It started with pain under my ribs on the left side and bloating. In late January 2020, My gastroenterologist related my problem to diet and bacteria in my bowels. He had me start taking a probiotic and recommended the lowFODMAP Diet. Mid February I saw my primary doctor for flu- like systems. Test for flu was negative . After my flu symptoms began to reside, I began having nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea and the pain in my left abdomen increased. I messaged my gastroenterologist and he prescribed antibiotics. The antibiotics caused severe diarrhea and bad abdominal cramping. After 5-6 days he said to stop taking the antibiotics and ordered Cdiff test. The stool result was negative.
My primary ordered more stool tests in May. All were negative or within the normal range except for Calprotectin which was 171. Lab recommended the test be repeated in 4-6 weeks. This was not done. The gastroenterologist recommended having a flexible sigmoidoscopy with biopsies. I had this done on July 9 and the examined portion appeared normal. I now await the results of the biopsy.

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I cannot take antibiotics and have similar issues that you have. I have found no relevant medication to ease my problems and am now turning to herbal remedies.

@turtlegalsandy - What an ordeal you have been through!
I also had a sigmoidoscopy some years ago for severe diarrhea. The biopsy showed collagenous colitis - about same as lymphocytic colitis.
I was treated with weekly injections of Metothrexate for a month. The diarrhea disappeared. I was told that it might return. Not yet. It can also be treated with steroids.

Did you ever have a full colonoscopy and endoscopy? CT scans or MRIs?
I hope you can be treated shortly.
Please follow up with us!

I have had several colonoscopies over the years. And had both colonoscopy and endoscopy in December 2018. I had had some benign polyps. An ultrasound was done in October 2019 after I had increased abdominal girth and pain. Nothing remarkable was shown in Pancreas, liver, spleen, gallbladder. On January 22, 2020 I thought I was having a heart attack...severe pain radiating to to my jaw. Because I had previously had abnormal EKG, the cardiologist had me carry nitroglycerin tablets. I put one of the tablets under my tongue and in a few minutes the pain went away. My husband took me to the nearest clinic affiliated with the doctors that we use. They had me transported to the hospital. After most of the day in the ER with several EKGs taken and blood work, they determined that I had not had a heart attack and was released. 2019 and 2020 have not been kind to me. In January 2019 some malignant cells were found in my right breast. I had a lumpectomy and followed with radiation treatments. All follow up exams and mammograms have been normal. Looking forward to a diagnosis and a better fall and winter.