Colitis along with Gluten Intollerance
Fri, March 26, 2010 12:00 AM
I was diagnosed with Collagenous Colitis 2 years ago. I had the chronic diarhea, cramping, bloating, nausea, etc. Endocort helped to end the 6 weeks of diarrhea then over the next couple years I learned which foods to eat and which to avoid. I was going along doing rather well with short bouts of cramping which seemed to usually subside after 3-4 days but then about 3 months ago the cramping became more frequent in spite of a rigourous diet. My GI doctor along with 2 dieticians persuaded me to try a gluten-free diet. I would go gluten-free for 2-3 days and say "well it didn't help, guess it's not the wheat". Finally I decided to try gluten free for 2 entire weeks. It was extremely difficult to do, especially since I am a bread "junkie". Well guess what? After a couple weeks the cramping subsided. And I am now eating gluten/wheat free and feel MUCH BETTER! It took 2 weeks to get it all out of my system. Now my mother (who is a very uneducated person and doesn't trust doctors) has suffered for years from intestinal cramping and she went off of the wheat and is also feeling better. I encourage ANYONE with colitis to go on the website for Gluten Intollerance.com . You will not believe how many people have this. It can masquarade as cramping, bloating, rashes,and many other things. But it is worth a try to go gluten-free to see if this helps. Many people with colitis also have gluten intollerance. I do not have true Celiac Disease (had the tests) but gluten intollerance can be just as painful. I encourage everyone to give it a try. And NO it is not easy to do, but better than living in pain. Oh , and by the way, I also have Lactose Intollerance (for about 15 years). So I "do without" more than i can "do with".
nancytJoined Mar 26, 2010
Wed, April 21, 2010 12:00 AM
Reply posted for nancyt.
I've had collagenous colitis for 11/2 years. I'm still on entocort. I still have days of bad diarrhea, cramping and bloating. I can't really pinpoint it to foods I'm eating. My GI Dr. Just had me tested for celliac sprue. The genetic and antibodies blood work. He doesn't want to do endoscopy, because I perforated during the colonoscopy. Because of the damage to my mucosal lining of the colon.I'm also being tested for lactos intolerance. I recently had a bad flareup thet he treated with high dose steroids. I thought this was going to go away, obviously I was wrong. Are you still being treated, or are you in remission? There are not many people with collagenous colitis.
gg83Joined Nov 13, 2009