Collagenous colitis and mucus

[Jenny1113]

My mom (78) was diagnosed with collagenous colitis several months ago after having diarrhea for many months, sometimes sporadically.  She had a colonoscopy and the diagnosis was made from biopsies of the colon.  After taking Pepto-Bismol for at least 30 days (I think 16 pills/day), she got better.  Now she has diarrhea again and PB doesn't seem to be resolving it.  She has mucus with this episode and doesn't remember having that before.  I believe she did have it before, but I live in a different state and haven't seen the dr. with her.  Is mucus sometimes a part of the diarrhea that comes with collagenous colitis?  I know it comes with IBS, but she was definitely given the cc diagnosis and successfully treated with PB.
Thanks for your help.
Jenny1113


This discussion is related to mucus in diarrhea.

[CalGal]

CC is essentially a form of inflammatory bowel disease and it should be treated as such. She needs to talk with her doctor about the use of IBD medications to tamp down the inflammatory pattern and she should also look into the use of a gluten-free and diary-free diet to see if it's of help in her case. Many with microscopic colitis find that a change in diet can be greatly beneficial - although many docs haven't caught on to the idea yet. So please don't let the doc dissuade her from trying elimination diets.

[Jenny1113]

Thanks for your input.  Nothing I've read suggested gluten-free, but I've read about dairy several places.  Also, fat seems to be a concern during episodes like Mom is having now.  I'm also wondering if fresh fruit is causing her any troubles now, since she ate a substantial amount prior to the onset of this.  (It's summer and she loves fresh fruit!)
Jenny 1113

[CalGal]

Jenny, try finerhealth.com. Its a site run by a gastro guy with a great track record in 'straight' information. If you also read through abstracts on pubmed.com you'll find several references to gluten-free diets for MC.