Why Are We Doing This?
In the simplest terms, we created this website to provide people diagnosed with Microscopic Colitis, or who suspected they might have it, the information and resources they might need to regain their health and quality of life.
Who Are We?
First, there’s one thing that needs to be clarified. “We” and “Us” is actually “I” and “Me.” This is a one-woman show. My name is Daphne. I’m 48 years old (at the time of writing), and I live in a suburb of Dallas, Texas.
Where It All Started
Three years ago, I went to my primary care physician because I was achy and fatigued all the time. After doing blood work, he told me my Vitamin D levels were very low and prescribed high dose D3. He also gave me a prescription for Simvastatin because my cholesterol was a little high.
About six weeks later, I started having diarrhea. It was intermittent at first, but it quickly progressed to several times a day with UNBELIEVABLE levels of urgency. I was also getting painful cramping, and at times I was so bloated I looked pregnant.
I was afraid to eat because it felt like every time food touched my lips, I would have to race to the the bathroom. I began to lose weight, and my quality of life went down the toilet (pun intended).
My primary care physician seemed unconcerned, and told me to take over the counter antidiarrheals. Things just kept getting worse, so I went to a gastroenterologist.
He told me I had IBS-D before he ever got off of his chair to examine me. Literally. I almost got up and walked out right then. But he agreed to run a series of tests to rule out other causes. Everything kept coming out normal. But I knew this wasn’t normal.
After six months of him saying “you have IBS-D” quickly followed by “but let’s run these tests,” I felt like he was more interested in bleeding my insurance dry than he was in helping me. It was time to change doctors.
Game Changer
The new doctor listened to everything I said. Everything. I had taken extensive notes on what happened and when. What I had tried. What helped and what made things worse. The doctor took in every detail. Asked me questions. It was AWESOME!
She told me she had a feeling she knew what the culprit was, and that I needed a colonoscopy to see for sure what was going on.
A week after my colonoscopy, I had a name for my problem–Collagenous Colitis. Now I knew what I was dealing with. And if you know who your enemy is, then you know how to fight it. Or so I thought.
After The Diagnosis
The problem is there isn’t a lot of information and research out there about microscopic colitis. A lot of it is conflicting, and a good chunk of it is completely wrong. Even doctors don’t know a lot about it.
So, I had to learn everything I could about it. My doctor and I put our heads together to come up with treatment plans. Different medications. Different dosages. Diet changes.
It was frustrating as hell trying to sift though website after website trying to separate the useful from the garbage. I’m still no expert.
But that’s why I’m here. To try to make this journey easier for the next person.
I just hope this website helps you. See you in remission!
–Daphne