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    Default Gastro. Issues - Others?

    Diagnosed surprisingly by endoscopy, of chronic gastritis and esophageal stricture requiring dilation. However, it was the lab-biopsy results from stomach polyps that gave the diagnosis. The Gastro. inquired if I had sinus issues (which is one of my major health symptoms for years alongside asthma). Apparently, respiratory issues eventually can affect the gastro region, when it's not taken care of. I'm trying to understand, and very frustrated to be developing more progressive health issues I don't want. I cannot determine the cause, but know this all seem to have originated in my sinuses & skin rashes.

    Problem? Told again, "See an ENT to get this addressed". I mentioned in prior threads, this has been a major struggle for so long. Even with this dx, I'm still unable to, as it seems no one in the ENT field is familiar with this, even with chronic sinus disease and debilitating ear symptoms etc. Seems tied altogether. However, I am currently not "in distress" requiring E.R., but just constantly feeling unwell and very weak.

    Do others have gastro. problems with their symptoms?
    Suggestions of what I should do next to get help, since I can't from the Otolaryngology field. Thx -H.
    Last edited by Helen; 02-16-2018 at 08:46 PM.

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    Default Re: Gastro. Issues - Others?

    Please try to get an appointment with a rheumatologist who specializes in wegs. You can find a list on the Vasculitis Foundation’s website. I think you’ll find they (1) know more about the disease and (2) are better able to understand your body as a complete system.
    Pete
    dx 1/11

    "Every day is a good day. Some are better than others." - unknown

    "Take your meds as directed and live your life as fully as you can." - Michael Chacey, MD

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    Default Re: Gastro. Issues - Others?

    I agree with Pete get a rheumatologist who is a specialist with GPA
    Here is the link fron Vasculitis foundation of doctors https://www.vasculitisfoundation.org...l-consultants/
    or https://www.vasculitisfoundation.org/map-2/

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    Default Re: Gastro. Issues - Others?

    I am sorry, Helen, that you suffer from more issues. WG alone is sure enough.

    I have in addition to WG a second rare AI disease, collagenous colitis. After seeing about 7 gastro docs I have found a decent one who gave me a good treatment.

    Try to make a diary of your nutrition to check which foods are related to your symptoms. Dairy free for example makes me feel much better.

    I know how hard it is to be both sick and searching for a decent dr. Dont give up. Eventually you will find. Sending you prayers. Please update us.
    Alysia
    dx 2008


    Here, in this forum, I have found my sweet eternal love, my beautiful Phil.. :
    https://www.wegeners-granulomatosis.com/forum/threads/4238-pberggren-memorial-thread
    "You are my sunshine", he used to sing to me... "you make me happy, when skies are grey" I still answer him.
    Rest in Peace, my brave Batman and take care of your weggies from heaven, until we meet again.

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    Default Re: Gastro. Issues - Others?

    Quote Originally Posted by Alysia View Post
    I am sorry, Helen, that you suffer from more issues. WG alone is sure enough.

    I have in addition to WG a second rare AI disease, collagenous colitis. After seeing about 7 gastro docs I have found a decent one who gave me a good treatment.

    Try to make a diary of your nutrition to check which foods are related to your symptoms. Dairy free for example makes me feel much better.

    I know how hard it is to be both sick and searching for a decent dr. Dont give up. Eventually you will find. Sending you prayers. Please update us.
    Can the medications we are taking to control GPA cause gastritis and other ailments?

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    Bing505z is offline Banned for being a douchebag
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    Default Re: Gastro. Issues - Others?

    Quote Originally Posted by seied View Post
    Can the medications we are taking to control GPA cause gastritis and other ailments?
    Prednisone. Just google pred' and gastro and see what pops up. You probably could live longer with a heroin addiction than continuing to pop prednisone pills like M&M's.

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    Default Re: Gastro. Issues - Others?

    Quote Originally Posted by seied View Post
    Can the medications we are taking to control GPA cause gastritis and other ailments?
    Good question. In my colitis group many friends have developed their microscopic colitis as a result of long term use of some meds. They didnt mention our meds, as far as I remember, but others. I know that cellcept might cause some kind of colitis although temporary. I wondered which med caused my colitis but I am not sure. Maybe the omperadex which I took with higher preds ? It was mentioned in my colitis group as a possible cause. What I also saw in that group is that many friends have more then one AI disease.
    Alysia
    dx 2008


    Here, in this forum, I have found my sweet eternal love, my beautiful Phil.. :
    https://www.wegeners-granulomatosis.com/forum/threads/4238-pberggren-memorial-thread
    "You are my sunshine", he used to sing to me... "you make me happy, when skies are grey" I still answer him.
    Rest in Peace, my brave Batman and take care of your weggies from heaven, until we meet again.

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    Bing505z is offline Banned for being a douchebag
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    Default Re: Gastro. Issues - Others?

    Quote Originally Posted by Helen View Post
    Diagnosed surprisingly by endoscopy, of chronic gastritis and esophageal stricture requiring dilation. However, it was the lab-biopsy results from stomach polyps that gave the diagnosis. The Gastro. inquired if I had sinus issues (which is one of my major health symptoms for years alongside asthma). Apparently, respiratory issues eventually can affect the gastro region, when it's not taken care of. I'm trying to understand, and very frustrated to be developing more progressive health issues I don't want. I cannot determine the cause, but know this all seem to have originated in my sinuses & skin rashes.

    Problem? Told again, "See an ENT to get this addressed". I mentioned in prior threads, this has been a major struggle for so long. Even with this dx, I'm still unable to, as it seems no one in the ENT field is familiar with this, even with chronic sinus disease and debilitating ear symptoms etc. Seems tied altogether. However, I am currently not "in distress" requiring E.R., but just constantly feeling unwell and very weak.

    Do others have gastro. problems with their symptoms?
    Suggestions of what I should do next to get help, since I can't from the Otolaryngology field. Thx -H.
    In 2016 I had a pain in my lower right stomach that had me rear up and drive to the ER. I went in and they did tests, dyes and scans and yada yada yada. Well they told me diverticulitis and gave me some pain meds, had a Gastro Doc with the facility come and meet up with me and we set up a follow up the following week. So, I go to see the Gastro Doc (oh my god, I did not go see my Rheumatologist…shocking!!!!) and he tells me that I do not have diverticulitis and from what he seen of the images and lab tests that it was just some inflammation, and since he seen in my reports that I have GPA, it was common. I scheduled a follow up 4 weeks later and images showed no inflammation and was sent on my way. I had the Gastro Doc send a report to my GPA Doc and he followed up with me and agreed with the Gastro and told me with GPA inflammation could pop up anywhere. Prednisone was not needed, and in fact he told me it could make it worse, and of course…I did not need a crutch to lean on. Cheers! Onward and Upward!

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    Default Re: Gastro. Issues - Others?

    Quote Originally Posted by Bing505z View Post
    In 2016 I had a pain in my lower right stomach that had me rear up and drive to the ER. I went in and they did tests, dyes and scans and yada yada yada. Well they told me diverticulitis and gave me some pain meds, had a Gastro Doc with the facility come and meet up with me and we set up a follow up the following week. So, I go to see the Gastro Doc (oh my god, I did not go see my Rheumatologist…shocking!!!!) and he tells me that I do not have diverticulitis and from what he seen of the images and lab tests that it was just some inflammation, and since he seen in my reports that I have GPA, it was common. I scheduled a follow up 4 weeks later and images showed no inflammation and was sent on my way. I had the Gastro Doc send a report to my GPA Doc and he followed up with me and agreed with the Gastro and told me with GPA inflammation could pop up anywhere. Prednisone was not needed, and in fact he told me it could make it worse, and of course…I did not need a crutch to lean on. Cheers! Onward and Upward!
    How exactly did they treat the inflammation? Wait 4 weeks?

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    Bing505z is offline Banned for being a douchebag
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    Default Re: Gastro. Issues - Others?

    Quote Originally Posted by seied View Post
    How exactly did they treat the inflammation? Wait 4 weeks?
    Yup, that is exactly what they ordered to heal me, wait 4 weeks and then they crossed their arms and blinked their eyes and poooof my inflammation went away. Yawwwwnn. Seriously, lol, the ER said it was diverticulitis and I stayed one day in while they gave me antibiotics by IV and pain meds and I began a liquid diet (treating for diverticulitis). The staff Gastro at the facility met up with me and we set an appointment the following week. At the appointment he said it was not diverticulitis and at that time I was feeling good, and Doc decided to follow up in 4 weeks. In 4 weeks, images showed no inflammation. I believe my body did what it was supposed to do. Just because I have vasculitis doesn’t mean my body’s ability to fight inflammation goes to zero.

    As to Helen’s original post, the Gastro asking about the sinus, and determining what caused what. Well I asked my Doc the same, I had major nose/sinus issues and soon after found a huge mass in my right lung, and lost my right upper lobe, and I asked well what caused what??? He said no doctor knows this, and the arguments are similar, and he said it was like the chicken and the egg argument, lol, which came first??? For me, was it the granuloma mass in my lung or what was going on with my nose?? Well I believe they both developed at the same time, I just noticed one faster than the other. The pain from one showed up before the other.

    As for Seied’s question about meds, here are some things to read up on:

    - Doctors are quick to write scripts for antibiotics and prednisone..the go to drugs, in fact they over do it and their patients are paying the price. “Over the four decades I’ve been in health care, one of the most challenging obstacles I’ve faced with patients has been medically prescribed corticosteroids. At times when interviewing a new patient, I feel that I can simply assume they have been on steroids as the frequency of usage among patients we see is so great. Other common drugs used include extensive use of antibiotics, antacids, synthroid and anti-depressants… all making a patient’s journey back to health more difficult and complex. The use of corticosteroids, including prednisone, are almost universally prescribed by medical physicians of every variety…general practitioners, family practitioners, internists, dermatologists, rheumatologists, gastroenterologists, urologists, etc. Corticosteroids are prescribed for numerous conditions that involve inflammation and/or allergic reactions including asthma, eczema, dermatitis, ulcerative colitis, crohns disease, sinusitis, iriditis, ear inflammation, bronchitis, nephritis, arthritis, bursitis, neuritis, carditis, thyroiditis and virtually every other medical condition including some cancers. It is the go to drug for medical physicians, along with antibiotics, as it will suppress virtually any type of symptom…but at what cost?”

    http://www.goldbergclinic.com/blog/2...ith-prednisone


    - Your bodys digestive tract, gut and all, “is one of the core disease-fighting systems”, and prednisone can destroy your gut flora:

    "Steroid drugs such as prednisone are commonly prescribed for patients with Crohn’s disease to suppress the immune system and reduce intestinal inflammation.Like antibiotics, long-term use of steroid drugs can negatively affect the gut flora.
    Already, intestinal bacterial are involved in the metabolism of steroids which are transported to the liver and excreted into the gut through bile acids. After these bacteria metabolize the steroids, the metabolites are reabsorbed into the body.
    With long-term steroid intake, the intestinal bacteria responsible for the breakdown of steroids start to dominate over the other probiotics in the gut flora. This changes the composition of the gut flora and reduces its effectiveness in providing other benefits.
    Besides directly changing gut flora, steroid drugs are immunosuppressants. By suppressing the immune system, steroids reduces the body’s ability to quickly and effectively eliminate pathogenic microbes.
    In fact, prolonged administration of steroid drugs can increase the population of candida in the gut. This pathogenic yeast has been repeatedly proven to contribute to the development of Crohn’s disease."

    http://www.progressivehealth.com/cer...our-crohns.htm


    - The use of prednisone and other corticosteroids has led to the formation of gastric ulcers
    "
    Gastro-intestinal: The use of prednisone and other corticosteroids has led to the formation of gastric ulcers. When there are infections present in the GI tract steroids will exacerbate them. Steroids also lead to thinning of the gut lining which ironically can make the individual more susceptible to the very allergic reactions that they were given steroids for."

    http://www.goldbergclinic.com/blog/2...ith-prednisone



    - The Pros and Cons of Taking Steroids for Ulcerative Colitis

    “Steroids can reduce inflammation but they don’t heal the inside,” says David Hudesman, MD, medical director of the inflammatory bowel disease center at NYU Langone in New York City. “They’re like a Band-Aid.”

    When Not to Take Steroids
    But what if symptoms recur months after you’ve tapered off steroids?
    “The response shouldn’t be to go back on prednisone,” Hudesman says. “You shouldn’t be on multiple courses of steroids, even two courses, within a year.”

    Instead, talk to your doctor about changing your maintenance medication, or adding an immunosuppressant or biologic agent. “Whatever is a reasonable time for maintenance medication, we try to give it,” Hudesman says. “If you’re not getting there, then we consider moving medications, or make sure something else isn’t complicating your disease.”

    https://www.everydayhealth.com/ulcer...ative-colitis/



    So as I read about prednisone's ability to kill a man's sperm (and after 60 years of prednisone being used, doctors are not really sure what it does to a woman's fertility..yikes), cause infections, etc. etc., well it sounds almost like a carcinogen, I wanted nothing to do with pred'. From what I read from the above web links, lets say a Patient John Doe is newly diagnosed with vasculitis with no stomach issues at all, just the normal sinus and lung stuff. He is pounded with prednisone and cytoxan in the beginning to get things under control, and let's say the game plan was to keep him on a low dose of pred' for awhile, but then his lazy ass doctor ups the dose with every single ailment over and over again for the next 3 to five years. From what I have read, John Doe will probably have issues with his digestive track, and probably in a lot other areas. We all know people react differently, so you know how that goes......Onward and Upward! Cheers!!!
    Last edited by Bing505z; 02-27-2018 at 05:18 PM.

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