• Welcome to Crohn's Forum, a support group for people with all forms of IBD. While this community is not a substitute for doctor's advice and we cannot treat or diagnose, we find being able to communicate with others who have IBD is invaluable as we navigate our struggles and celebrate our successes. We invite you to join us.

Is MC Auto-Immune?

New to group and to introduce myself: Dx with breast cancer in '05, chemo and radiation. Started auto-immune issues in '08 (PMR, Hashimotos, Anti-Phospholid, Esophagitis, etc.) All pretty well controlled by '11. Dx last July with Microcopic Colitis after losing 30+ pounds in 2 years. Haven't got it controlled yet, but still learning. So happy to have found this site. Now I have intelligent questions for the Dr. I'm stubborn so resistant to major changes in diet, but I'm starting to moderate my worst offenders (Diet Pepsi, coffee, scotch). I KNOW it's an auto-immune. How do we treat the overactive immune system without resorting to steroids? In the last months, I've tried budesonide, cholestyramine (bloated me horribly), and prednisone. All work until I stop taking it, and then it comes back in spades. What can I take for long-term maintenance?
 

my little penguin

Moderator
Staff member
The typically steriod spairing meds for Crohns are
Immunosuppressants such as 6-mp or imuran or methotrexate
Next level would be biologics such as remicade or humira
A history of cancer complicates the use of either type of drug
 
Last edited:
Thx, boss. I will survive this, as I have survived all before. It is such a pain in the b..t, however. :) I blame everything on chemo! I have made a note to discuss these meds with my doctor. Should I return to my rheumatologist or stick with my gastro-enterologist for dealing with the auto-immune issues? Soooo complicated. Still on 10mg prednisone (5 isn't holding for me), so doing pretty well for now. Saludos, Elizabeth
 
Sorry about all that you have been though. That's more than one should have to deal with.

I have MC also. I went through a good deal of weight loss for a long while. For about a decade I was down around 40lbs, and always greatly sick to the stomach. I'm better today. My doctors, and I saw many GI specialists, never were a help to me with my condition. Ultimately what has helped me the most have been exploring different diet changes.

I've been working on my diet for a long while, and while I wish a quicker solution was at hand the dietary changes have made an improvement in my condition. I'm not well, but I'm not nearly as sick as before. I've put on the lost weight plus some. Here of late I'm experiencing some nice healthy days.

I've been writing what I've been up to with the diet in another section on this sight. Basically I'm doing many things. I'm unsure what is helping the most. The main items being avoided in my diet are pork, synthetic vitamins directly and indirectly and soy directly and indirectly. What I mean by indirectly is, if eating an animal food and the animal was fed an item I'm avoiding I'm assuming the allergen will show up in the animal food. As an example, if chickens are fed soy meal I'm assuming soy allergens will appear in their eggs.

I think we are all different on what helps and what doesn't. Good luck. Hope you find something that improves your condition.

Thought you mention, there is another web sight dedicated to discussing MC. It is called Persky farm. You can do an internet search for it. I have found the sight interesting. Sometimes helpful information is mentioned. Most others with MC are following different dietary ideas and experiencing different levels of success with improving their stomach condition and the fatigue that often goes with it. Some take the medication LDN and have found it beneficial.
 
Top