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I asked a question of the list about the doctor's insistence on biopsies
with a colonoscopy in view of the fact that he hadn't even seen my colon
yet. I underwent colonscopy because of 6 months of almost steady
diarrhea with some stomach pain. Proton inhibitor pills had not helped,
pepto bismol had not, and other home remedies. My tTG was almost zero
so gluten contamination did not seem to be the issue. I was eating
melons, lettuce and spinach last summer when they had recalls on these
products because of e-coli and other bacteria but the doctor refused to
do any cultures.
Thank you to everyone who responded; I received 38 replies. What an
amazing group of people you are :) The vast majority said I should
just do the scope and let the doctor biopsy. Because my blood pressure
is very salt sensitive I asked to not use the MooviPrep which has 2500mg
of sodium, or the Gatoraid prep with Miralax. I ended up using Miralax
with clear fruit juice and I had very little discomfort. As it turned
out my colon looked normal except for one teeny tiny polyp which proved
to be benign. iFLORA has even stopped colitis attacks for my daughter
so after the scope I took half a bottle of iFLORA probiotic to put good
bacteria down in my digestive tract.
Right after the scope, I gave up nightshades (tomato, pepper, potato,
eggplant) because I noticed my stiffness and joint pain were much worse
when I ate these foods and there is alot of rheumatoid arthritis in my
mother and father's families. I remember eating spareribs and chili and
other things with tomato gave me loose bowels so I thought maybe that
was a contributing factor. I am not 3 weeks down the line and the
diarrhea has not returned. So either the probiotic or perhaps the diet
changes have helped.
Summary of replies to my question:
1) At least half my replies said that biopsies are routine in every
colonoscopy, particularly of any tissue that looks inflamed or abnormal
in anyway, or for anyone who has reported symptoms like you are reporting.
2) One person suggested "Have you been checked for small intestinal
bacterial overgrowth via a hydrogen breath test? That would be one
option. Eliminating dairy is also very good. You might have another
allergy. . . As for testing, you could choose to do a tablet endoscopy.
. .But before doing that, I would probably try getting tested for
SIBO/SBBO."
3) "My guess would be they are looking for microscopic colitis. .
.Totally understand the cold sterilization thing, with they would find a
better way."
4) "I don't have an opinion on the biopsies, but one "fix" that works
well for me is konjac glucomannan. You can get this as a powder ... it's
a bit pricy, but a pound lasts a LONG time since you only take maybe 1/4
tsp. with meals. Anyway, it regulates the gut biota and kind of just
sets everything right. It also encourages the butyrate-producing
bacteria, which are just kind of magic. Butyrate kills cancer cells, and
also is an anti-inflammatory. It is extermely healing for a number of
gut conditions.
You can sprinkle a little bit on your food and mix it in, or take a PGX
tablet (yes, they are marketed for weight loss, but that's not actually
what they do). You might get a little more gas at first, as the bacteria
get regulated. But it's an easy fix, if it works, and the stuff has been
used in recipes for 1,000 years or so in Asia (and is approved as a food
additive here too)."
5) A few wrote to make sure I knew that the test for celiac is upper
endoscopy and that gluten contamination would probably show up in my
small intestine rather than colon.
6) I was encouraged to try to minimize stress, eat a bland diet, take
probiotics and pray all of which do help me at various times.
7) Several reminded me that a colonoscopy is considered standard for a
baseline once you are past 50. (I am 55).
8) Someone suggested a second opinion from another gastroenterologist.
9) One person siad she was taking doubel doses of Prilosec and it turned
out her problems were due to LOW stomach acid, not high, and that pain
can be the same. It can cause loose stools, gas, bloating etc - a lot
like celiac disease. She went to a naturopath and was treated for
SIBO-small intestinal bacterial overgrowth. Because of a previous bad
experience with colonscopy pain due to scar tissue from other surgery,
she encourage me to try other things before the scope.
10) Another suggestion was I could be malabsorbing fat and need to take
fat digesting enzymes.
11) One person said her husband also took metformin and no longer had
digestive problems from it once he took it after10:30 in the morning and
at bedtime instead of earlier in the day. I tried it with and without
food at various times and was never able to tolerate more than one 500mg
dose a day without diarrhea and pain. Metformin also depletes B12 and
my face and arms had gone numb or tingled. I had to take a whole bottle
of B12 before that symptom went away. I conclude Metforming is not for
me and finally threw the pills out, gave up soda, ice cream, candy and
other sugars and my blood sugar is pretty much normal as long as I stay
off these foods.
12) One person had a similar episode and discovered she could no longer
tolerate corn, soy, chicken or potatoes anymore.
13) One other suggestion was that I might be malabsorbing fat which can
cause loose stools, etc. I keep my gluten-free diet quite low in fat or
take fat-digesting enzymes if I eat out.
Thank you to everyone who reached out me and I hope this summary is a
help to others.
Paula in PA
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