Jump to content

  • Welcome to Celiac.com!

    You have found your celiac tribe! Join us and ask questions in our forum, share your story, and connect with others.



  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A1):

    Celiac.com Sponsor (A1-M):

  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Our Content
    eNewsletter
    Donate

Microscopic Colitis?

Rebecca92

By Rebecca92
in Related Issues & Disorders

Recommended Posts

Rebecca92 Apprentice
Rebecca92
Posted

I've been having some digestive issues lately so I decided to see a gastro doc. A little background info though: I was diagnosed with celiac through a blood test about three or four years ago, and she never did a biopsy to confirm the diagnoses.My symptoms have improved significantly with the gluten free diet so I do really think that it is celiac disease. but the symptoms haven't completely disappeared. Sometimes it is my fault because I accidentally contaminate myself (I live in a gluten eating household although they try their best to keep things safe) but sometimes I have done everything I can think of to make sure it's safe and I'm still having issues. Within the past couple of weeks I have been experiencing extreme nausea sometimes followed by vomiting, my stomach is really tender to the touch on the left side, my stools have often been yellow and thin with mucus or undigested bits of food (TMI I know I'm sorry!) and it often takes me 5-6 bowel movements to feel like I'm "empty" and sometimes it's just mucus that comes out when I try. This is different from when I get glutened because their isn't a whole lot of stomach pain (some but not the intense stabbing pain of glutening) The doc seems to think it could be Microscopic Colitis which is apparently another autoimmune disease that goes hand in hand with celiac. Does anybody else here have this? Were you having similar symptoms? 

He also mentioned a condition that effects about 3% of people with celiac. It quickly can cause a kind of cancer in the colon I think he said, but I can't remember the name of the condition to save my life, but he did say that if it turns to cancer that nobody survives. He says it's most likely not that but it could be. If anyone has any idea what I'm talking about I'd appreciate the name of it, I had so much information to take in from him at once the name has slipped my mind.

In august I had an endoscopy (done by a different doctor) that found inflammation in my stomach and a small mild ulcer in my stomach (probably caused from use of ibeprofen plus stress), they prescribed sucralate (which my new gastro doctor said wasn't a very good med to give for ulcers.) My new gastro doctor gave me dexilant (an acid blocker) to take for two weeks and see if that improves the symptoms. If it doesn't after those two weeks were going to do an endoscopy to get a biopsy of the duodenum and a colonoscopy to get a biopsy of the colon to check for microscopic colitis. I'm hoping this medication resolves it. I was under the impression that a endoscopy after you go gluten free is useless, but he told me that it is rare for someone with celiac disease (assuming they haven't been gluten free for a long long time) to have a completely healed intestinal tract and that he should still be able to see villi damage.  

This has been such a frustrating process, and I am getting so sick of not feeling good whether its diarrhea or extreme nausea it never seems to stop. I just want some for sure answers. I am hoping that someone here has had similar issues or if there's anyone here with microscopic colitis, and how they manage it all the information I found online said there was no real treatment... I'm sorry this is long and probably rambles quite a bit, but hopefully someone out there has had the same issues!

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):


mommida Enthusiast
mommida
Posted

Sorry I can't help you much.  You are at the bottom of new posts on my screen so

 

BUMP

 

if you aren't familiar with what that means, I have put your post back up to the top for ((hopefully)) that right person will take notice and answer. :)

 

Usually a gluten free diet is helpful for colitis

cahill Collaborator
cahill
Posted

The only thing I know about microscopic  colitis is that when I had my  colonoscopy my GI doc did a biopsy to check for it. He said it is sometimes a "complication" of celiacs . My biopsy was negative so I have done no further research

Have you considered the possibility of other  food intolerances ? or diverticulitis ?

I hope you find some answers soon .

cahill Collaborator
cahill
Posted

:D

  • 4 months later...
motheroftwins2010 Rookie
motheroftwins2010
Posted

Did you ever get an answer? I have a colonoscopy tomorrow because after being diagnosed with a biopsy with celiac  and most of my symptoms rapidly got worse and my weight dropped dramatically in the first 10 days and I haven't improved or maintained any weight gain since Jan 3. They are looking for microscopic colitis first and foremost but I'm very concerned about crohn's or ulcertive colitis or i guess less concerned but still thinking about cancer.

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing

  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Celiac.com:
    Join eNewsletter
    Donate
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A17):
    Celiac.com Sponsor (A17):



    Celiac.com Sponsors (A17-M):



  • Recent Activity

    1. knitty kitty
      - knitty kitty replied to lizzie42's topic in Post Diagnosis, Recovery & Treatment of Celiac Disease
      2

      Son's legs shaking

      @lizzie42, You're being a good mom, seeking answers for your son. Cheers! Subclinical thiamine deficiency commonly occurs with anemia. An outright Thiamine deficiency can be precipitated by the consumption of a high carbohydrate meal. Symptoms of Thiamine deficiency include feeling shakey or wobbly in the legs, muscle weakness or cramps...
    2. Scott Adams
      - Scott Adams replied to Paulaannefthimiou's topic in Gluten-Free Foods, Products, Shopping & Medications
      2

      Bob red mill gluten free oats

      Oats naturally contain a protein called avenin, which is similar to the gluten proteins found in wheat, barley, and rye. While avenin is generally considered safe for most people with celiac disease, some individuals, around 5-10% of celiacs, may also have sensitivity to avenin, leading to symptoms similar to gluten exposure. You may fall into this...
    3. knitty kitty
      - knitty kitty replied to SamAlvi's topic in Celiac Disease Pre-Diagnosis, Testing & Symptoms
      6

      High TTG-IgG and Normal TTG-IgA

      @SamAlvi, It's common with anemia to have a lower tTg IgA antibodies than DGP IgG ones, but your high DGP IgG scores still point to Celiac disease. Since a gluten challenge would pose further health damage, you may want to ask for a DNA test to see if you have any of the commonly known genes for Celiac disease. Though having the genes for Celiac...
    4. trents
      - trents replied to SamAlvi's topic in Celiac Disease Pre-Diagnosis, Testing & Symptoms
      6

      High TTG-IgG and Normal TTG-IgA

      Currently, there are no tests for NCGS. Celiac disease must first be ruled out and we do have testing for celiac disease. There are two primary test modalities for diagnosing celiac disease. One involves checking for antibodies in the blood. For the person with celiac disease, when gluten is ingested, it produces an autoimmune response in the lining...
    5. SamAlvi
      - SamAlvi replied to SamAlvi's topic in Celiac Disease Pre-Diagnosis, Testing & Symptoms
      6

      High TTG-IgG and Normal TTG-IgA

      Thank you for the clarification and for taking the time to explain the terminology so clearly. I really appreciate your insight, especially the distinction between celiac disease and NCGS and how anemia can point more toward celiac. This was very helpful for me.
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):

  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      132,868
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748
    LMGarrison
    Newest Member
    LMGarrison
    Joined
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):

  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      121.5k
    • Total Posts
      1m
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):

  • Upcoming Events

  • Posts

    • knitty kitty
      Son's legs shaking

      By knitty kitty · Posted

      @lizzie42, You're being a good mom, seeking answers for your son.  Cheers! Subclinical thiamine deficiency commonly occurs with anemia.  An outright Thiamine deficiency can be precipitated by the consumption of a high carbohydrate meal.   Symptoms of Thiamine deficiency include feeling shakey or wobbly in the legs, muscle weakness or cramps, as well as aggression and irritability, confusion, mood swings and behavior changes.  Thiamine is essential to the production of neurotransmitters like serotonin and dopamine which keep us calm and rational.   @Jsingh, histamine intolerance is also a symptom of Thiamine deficiency.  Thiamine is needed to prevent mast cells from releasing histamine at the slightest provocation as is seen in histamine intolerance.  Thiamine and the other B vitamins and Vitamin C are needed to clear histamine from the body.  Without sufficient thiamine and other B vitamins to clear it, the histamine builds up.  High histamine levels can change behavior, too.  High histamine levels are found in the brains of patients with schizophrenia.  Thiamine deficiency can also cause extreme hunger or conversely anorexia.   High carbohydrate meals can precipitate thiamine deficiency because additional thiamine is required to process carbohydrates for the body to use as fuel.  The more carbohydrates one eats daily, the more one needs additional thiamine above the RDA.  Thiamine is water soluble, safe and nontoxic even in high doses. Keep in mind that gluten-free processed foods like cookies and such are not required to be fortified and enriched with vitamins and minerals like their gluten containing counterparts are.  Limit processed gluten-free foods.  They are often full of empty calories and unhealthy saturated fats and additives, and are high in histamine or histamine release triggers.  It's time you bought your own vitamins to supplement what is not being absorbed due to malabsorption of Celiac disease.  Benfotiamine is a form of Thiamine that has been shown to improve intestinal health as well as brain function. Do talk to your doctors and dieticians about supplementing with the essential vitamins and minerals while your children are growing up gluten free.  Serve nutritionally dense foods.  Meats and liver are great sources of B vitamins and minerals. Hope this helps!  Keep us posted on your progress!
    • Scott Adams
      Bob red mill gluten free oats

      By Scott Adams · Posted

      Oats naturally contain a protein called avenin, which is similar to the gluten proteins found in wheat, barley, and rye. While avenin is generally considered safe for most people with celiac disease, some individuals, around 5-10% of celiacs, may also have sensitivity to avenin, leading to symptoms similar to gluten exposure. You may fall into this category, and eliminating them is the best way to figure this out. Some people substitute gluten-free quinoa flakes for oats if they want a hot cereal substitute. If you are interested in summaries of scientific publications on the topic of oats and celiac disease, we have an entire category dedicated to it which is here: https://www.celiac.com/celiac-disease/oats-and-celiac-disease-are-they-gluten-free/   
    • knitty kitty
      High TTG-IgG and Normal TTG-IgA

      By knitty kitty · Posted

      @SamAlvi, It's common with anemia to have a lower tTg IgA antibodies than DGP IgG ones, but your high DGP IgG scores still point to Celiac disease.   Since a gluten challenge would pose further health damage, you may want to ask for a DNA test to see if you have any of the commonly known genes for Celiac disease.  Though having the genes for Celiac is not diagnostic in and of itself, taken with the antibody tests, the anemia and your reaction to gluten, it may be a confirmation you have Celiac disease.   Do discuss Gastrointestinal Beriberi with your doctors.  In Celiac disease, Gastrointestinal Beriberi is frequently overlooked by doctors.  The digestive system can be affected by localized Thiamine deficiency which causes symptoms consistent with yours.  Correction of nutritional deficiencies quickly is beneficial.  Benfotiamine, a form of thiamine, helps improve intestinal health.  All eight B vitamins, including Thiamine (Benfotiamine), should be supplemented because they all work together.   The B vitamins are needed in addition to iron to correct anemia.   Hope this helps!  Keep us posted on your progress!
    • trents
      High TTG-IgG and Normal TTG-IgA

      By trents · Posted

      Currently, there are no tests for NCGS. Celiac disease must first be ruled out and we do have testing for celiac disease. There are two primary test modalities for diagnosing celiac disease. One involves checking for antibodies in the blood. For the person with celiac disease, when gluten is ingested, it produces an autoimmune response in the lining of the small bowel which generates specific kinds of antibodies. Some people are IGA deficient and such that the IGA antibody tests done for celiac disease will have skewed results and cannot be trusted. In that case, there are IGG tests that can be ordered though, they aren't quite as specific for celiac disease as the IGA tests. But the possibility of IGA deficiency is why a "total IGA" test should always be ordered along with the TTG-IGA. The other modality is an endoscopy (scoping of the upper GI track) with a biopsy of the small bowel lining. The aforementioned autoimmune response produces inflammation in the small bowel lining which, over time, damages the structure of the lining. The biopsy is sent to a lab and microscopically analyzed for signs of this damage. If the damage is severe enough, it can often be spotted during the scoping itself. The endoscopy/biopsy is used as confirmation when the antibody results are positive, since there is a small chance that elevated antibody test scores can be caused by things other than celiac disease, particularly when the antibody test numbers are not particularly high. If the antibody test numbers are 10x normal or higher, physicians will sometimes declare an official diagnosis of celiac disease without an endoscopy/biopsy, particularly in the U.K. Some practitioners use stool tests to detect celiac disease but this modality is not widely recognized in the medical community as valid. Both celiac testing modalities outlined above require that you have been consuming generous amounts of gluten for weeks/months ahead of time. Many people make the mistake of experimenting with the gluten free diet or even reducing their gluten intake prior to testing. By doing so, they invalidate the testing because antibodies stop being produced, disappear from the blood and the lining of the small bowel begins to heal. So, then they are stuck in no man's land, wondering if they have celiac disease or NCGS. To resume gluten consumption, i.e., to undertake a "gluten challenge" is out of the question because their reaction to gluten is so strong that it would endanger their health. The lining of the small bowel is the place where all of the nutrition in the food we consume is absorbed. This lining is made up of billions of microscopically tiny fingerlike projections that create a tremendous nutrient absorption surface area. The inflammation caused by celiac disease wears down these fingers and greatly reduces the surface area needed for nutrient absorption. Thus, people with celiac disease often develop iron deficiency anemia and a host of other vitamin and mineral deficiencies. It is likely that many more people who have issues with gluten suffer from NCGS than from celiac disease. We actually know much more about the mechanism of celiac disease than we do about NCGS but some experts believe NCGS can transition into celiac disease.
    • SamAlvi
      High TTG-IgG and Normal TTG-IgA

      By SamAlvi · Posted

      Thank you for the clarification and for taking the time to explain the terminology so clearly. I really appreciate your insight, especially the distinction between celiac disease and NCGS and how anemia can point more toward celiac. This was very helpful for me.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

NOTICE: This site places This site places cookies on your device (Cookie settings). on your device. Continued use is acceptance of our Terms of Use, and Privacy Policy.