Re: Collagenous Colitis

[Guest guest]

> Is this similar to Dr.

>Fine's Pepto regimen for CC? Is this to help stop all of the food

>reactions? It just makes more sense to go after the cause instead of

>trying to avoid every food there is!

>

I got the idea from Dr. Fine ... it was for someone I know (who doesn't like

to be quoted on the net). I have no idea of this person had CC or not, just

a lot of strange gut problems. The Pepto diet cleared up the problems,

but they also had to cut down on some other foods.

As far as anyone knows, IgA gluten reactions don't go away. They can easily

be masked, the *symptoms* go away pretty easily, but when they test

for gut damage on people who say they are " cured " ... the damage is still

occurring. It can take years for the damage to show though, and more

years to heal it. The IgA gluten reaction is pretty much genetic .. that is,

some people seem to be pre-programmed to react to part of the gliadin

molecule as if it were a virus. THAT reaction sets of a cascade of autoimmune

reactions that is rather nasty and insidious. You don't know if THAT is the

reaction you are having without a blood test, but at this point you would test

negative because you have been GF so long (unless gluten is sneaking into

your diet, in a drink or pill or from contamination).

However, folks who have the IgA gluten reaction often develop " side "

allergies, or just intolerances because they often lack digestive

enzymes or because the gut lining is damaged, and THOSE allergies

often go away, they are " learned " as opposed to " built in " . What

seems to help people on the celiac list are:

1. Avoiding other IgA allergens (dairy, corn, soy, yeast usually).

2. Taking enzymes/HCL

3. Taking probiotics

4. L-glutamine and/or butyrate

It seems to be something of a journey for a lot of people. Other

people get better by just giving up gluten.

-- Heidi

[Guest guest]

On the original ALCAT test, I tested highly reactive to wheat, rye,

soy, pears, broccoli, chocolate, aspartame, garlic, corn, pork and

tuna. I gave them all up for two years. Since I never used aspartame

and rarely used soy or ate pears, those weren't hard. But the garlic,

broccoli and chocolate were another story! I stuck by my guns, and

when I could try them back, I did so one at a time. I found out that

wheat was still a no-no(made me extremely fatigued),as was

soy(fatigue, again). Garlic was OK to a certain tolerance level, as

was pork. I learned to rotate my OK foods so I wouldn't react. But,as

time went by, I started reacting to not only these foods, but others.

I had a constant aching in my left abdominal area.

I family doctor(who is worthless) kept insisting there was nothing

wrong. And because I was packing on the pounds, even when I developed

the CC symptoms, he could not believe it was a problem. He did finally

refer me to a GI doc. It took me forever to get in to see this doctor,

several months, then when they did a colonoscopy, all I got as a

diagnosis was a piece of paper in the mail with a prescription.

Doctors around here are awful! The holistic doctor I talked about is

very good, but it is quite a drive to see him and, since my insurance

won't cover most of the good things he does for me, I can't afford

him. So, I'm pretty much left on my own. Enough, just thought I would

give you some background on me.

> I got the idea from Dr. Fine ... it was for someone I know (who

doesn't like

> to be quoted on the net). I have no idea of this person had CC or

not, just

> a lot of strange gut problems. The Pepto diet cleared up the

problems,

> but they also had to cut down on some other foods.

>

> As far as anyone knows, IgA gluten reactions don't go away. They can

easily

> be masked, the *symptoms* go away pretty easily, but when they test

> for gut damage on people who say they are " cured " ... the damage is

still

> occurring. It can take years for the damage to show though, and more

> years to heal it. The IgA gluten reaction is pretty much genetic ..

that is,

> some people seem to be pre-programmed to react to part of the

gliadin

> molecule as if it were a virus. THAT reaction sets of a cascade of

autoimmune

> reactions that is rather nasty and insidious. You don't know if THAT

is the

> reaction you are having without a blood test, but at this point you

would test

> negative because you have been GF so long (unless gluten is sneaking

into

> your diet, in a drink or pill or from contamination).

>

> However, folks who have the IgA gluten reaction often develop " side "

> allergies, or just intolerances because they often lack digestive

> enzymes or because the gut lining is damaged, and THOSE allergies

> often go away, they are " learned " as opposed to " built in " . What

> seems to help people on the celiac list are:

>

> 1. Avoiding other IgA allergens (dairy, corn, soy, yeast usually).

> 2. Taking enzymes/HCL

> 3. Taking probiotics

> 4. L-glutamine and/or butyrate

>

> It seems to be something of a journey for a lot of people. Other

> people get better by just giving up gluten.

>

> -- Heidi

[Guest guest]

>Doctors around here are awful! The holistic doctor I talked about is

>very good, but it is quite a drive to see him and, since my insurance

>won't cover most of the good things he does for me, I can't afford

>him. So, I'm pretty much left on my own. Enough, just thought I would

>give you some background on me.

>

I'm not sure docs CAN do a lot for some of these things. It

generally boils down to changing your diet and maybe some

supplements. The supplements are mostly available OTC.

But most people do NOT want to change their diet, esp. not

to avoid the foods you mention!

One lady I met had colon problems until she started doing

butyrate enemas, which isn't something I'd have thought of.

You'd think there should be docs specializing in gut healing,

as many gut problems as there are nowadays, but mostly

it's just inventing more pills ...

-- Heidi Jean

[Guest guest]

I would think that trying things that fix general allergies might help.

http://www.westonaprice.org/askdoctor/ask_allergies.html

Personally, taking cod liver oil regularly has enabled me to stop

taking antihistamines and decongestants.

I don't know if allergies that manifest in colitis are governed by the

same processes as respiratory allergies. But if they are, then some

of those same things that help hay fever might help in your case.

> I was diagnosed with collagenous colitis last October and shortly

> thereafter, on my own, started a gluten free diet. It hasn't been that

> hard because I already know I had a problem with wheat. But my

> holistic MD had tested me several years ago and said I didn't have a

> problem with gluten, but I was sensitive to wheat and rye(plus a whole

> list of other foods, per an ALCAT test). Then a year and a half ago,

> I was tested using a different method(injection of antigen under

> skin). I was only tested for about 17 foods, but I was allergic to all

> but lettuce and rice! All grains, most meats, most of the more common

> vegetables. I quit going for tests after I tried diluted allergen

> drops under the tongue and noticed no difference.

>

> Anyhow, I was wondering if any of you have any info on collagenous

> colitis? I have found Dr. Fine's site and a support group. But I am

> interested in finding out how to get rid of all of these allergies. I

> still have a constant gut ache even though most of my symptoms are

> better. I notice a Pepto diet being mentioned. Is this similar to Dr.

> Fine's Pepto regimen for CC? Is this to help stop all of the food

> reactions? It just makes more sense to go after the cause instead of

> trying to avoid every food there is!

>

[Guest guest]

I have noticed that I have a chronic post nasal drip that makes it

hard to breathe at night in bed. This has been going on longer than

the colitis. I found out that I was allergic to caffiene and yeast in

the past and when I gave them up for several years, that went away.

But now it is back along with the colitis. I do also take cod liver

oil, when I remember!

> > I was diagnosed with collagenous colitis last October and shortly

> > thereafter, on my own, started a gluten free diet. It hasn't been that

> > hard because I already know I had a problem with wheat. But my

> > holistic MD had tested me several years ago and said I didn't have a

> > problem with gluten, but I was sensitive to wheat and rye(plus a whole

> > list of other foods, per an ALCAT test). Then a year and a half ago,

> > I was tested using a different method(injection of antigen under

> > skin). I was only tested for about 17 foods, but I was allergic to all

> > but lettuce and rice! All grains, most meats, most of the more common

> > vegetables. I quit going for tests after I tried diluted allergen

> > drops under the tongue and noticed no difference.

> >

> > Anyhow, I was wondering if any of you have any info on collagenous

> > colitis? I have found Dr. Fine's site and a support group. But I am

> > interested in finding out how to get rid of all of these allergies. I

> > still have a constant gut ache even though most of my symptoms are

> > better. I notice a Pepto diet being mentioned. Is this similar to Dr.

> > Fine's Pepto regimen for CC? Is this to help stop all of the food

> > reactions? It just makes more sense to go after the cause instead of

> > trying to avoid every food there is!

> >

[Guest guest]

Hi ,

You might check out what Dr. Tom Cowan has to say about chronic mucus

problems. His short article can be found at the Weston A. Price

Foundation web site under Ask the Doctor.

All my best,

Sheila

> > > I was diagnosed with collagenous colitis last October and

shortly

> > > thereafter, on my own, started a gluten free diet. It hasn't

been that

> > > hard because I already know I had a problem with wheat. But my

> > > holistic MD had tested me several years ago and said I didn't

have a

> > > problem with gluten, but I was sensitive to wheat and rye(plus

a whole

> > > list of other foods, per an ALCAT test). Then a year and a

half ago,

> > > I was tested using a different method(injection of antigen under

> > > skin). I was only tested for about 17 foods, but I was allergic

to all

> > > but lettuce and rice! All grains, most meats, most of the more

common

> > > vegetables. I quit going for tests after I tried diluted

allergen

> > > drops under the tongue and noticed no difference.

> > >

> > > Anyhow, I was wondering if any of you have any info on

collagenous

> > > colitis? I have found Dr. Fine's site and a support group. But

I am

> > > interested in finding out how to get rid of all of these

allergies. I

> > > still have a constant gut ache even though most of my symptoms

are

> > > better. I notice a Pepto diet being mentioned. Is this similar

to Dr.

> > > Fine's Pepto regimen for CC? Is this to help stop all of the

food

> > > reactions? It just makes more sense to go after the cause

instead of

> > > trying to avoid every food there is!

> > >

[Guest guest]

> > Re: Collagenous Colitis

> >

> >

> >I have noticed that I have a chronic post nasal drip that makes it

> >hard to breathe at night in bed. This has been going on longer than

> >the colitis. I found out that I was allergic to caffiene and yeast in

> >the past and when I gave them up for several years, that went away.

> >But now it is back along with the colitis. I do also take cod liver

> >oil, when I remember!

> >

>

>

> , I'm finding that a fast followed by an elimination diet is

helping

> the chronic bloating I've had for 5+ months. The bloating might be

due to

> some form of colitis, for which I'm taking pepto bismol a la Dr.

Fine. If

> you're sick and tired of being sick and tired, this type of protocol

might

> help you. Fasting certainly can help and you could probably find out

what

> foods are problematic with an elimination diet. In fact, I'm a mouth

> breather, but on the 3 days that I water fasted, I noticed I was

breathing

> through my nose when I went to bed. That was a nice little side benefit.

>

> Also if you have mercury amalgams, that could well be the root of your

> chronic issues, as I think mine are for me.

>

> Suze Fisher

> Lapdog Design, Inc.

> Web Design & Development

> http://members.bellatlantic.net/~vze3shjg

> Weston A. Price Foundation Chapter Leader, Mid Coast Maine

> http://www.westonaprice.org

>

> ----------------------------

> " The diet-heart idea (the idea that saturated fats and cholesterol cause

> heart disease) is the greatest scientific deception of our times. "

--

> Mann, MD, former Professor of Medicine and Biochemistry at Vanderbilt

> University, Tennessee; heart disease researcher.

>

> The International Network of Cholesterol Skeptics

> <http://www.thincs.org>

> ----------------------------

>

> >I have been on elimination diets in the past and also complete

fasts. I am sensitive to so many things that it is impossible to avoid

them all. And I tend to have days where I am more sensitive than

others. I also have pressure euticaria(pressure hives). I break out in

hives just by putting pressure on my skin. I have trouble with elastic

in underwear, ribbed knits orjust holding something heavy over my arm.

Rough sheets will break me out!

I do have colitis. And from what I've been reading, I am convinced

that the colitis is the source of my allergies and the sinus problem.

I also have fibromyalgia which I was diagnosed with 11 years ago.

That, too, comes from the CC. I feel the secret is getting my colon

healed. I have started the Pepto in an effort to do that. We'll see

what happens!