Diagnosed with an inflamed stomach lining and sores in esophagus? Is this part of the whole MCAD complex or separate?

I have EEOC and inflammation with erosion throughout my G.I. tract.  I see one of the best G.I.'s; Dr. Miner, because of his experience with Mast Cell Mediated Disease.  Yet this has not been controlled.

3 or so years ago I had hoped Gastrocrom would rectify the issue as Dr. Miner has found evidence of increased involvement throughout the same areas along with eosinophilic involvement.  Just curious if anyone has found a med that might help.  Speculation is that the inflammation is a contributor to chronic diarrhea and malabsorption.  Life changing is the term that comes to mind if this could be controlled.

I've had a lot of relief taking 2 turmeric + bromelain capsules every other day.  Nancy Gould took 1 tsp. turmeric several times/week.  I also have found that probiotics have been extremely helpful with GI symptoms.  I take PB-8 (the vegetarian one), but any probiotic with a lot of different types of bacteria will work best.  Turmeric is anti-inflammatory.  It's been a miracle for me to help with pain and inflammation as well as the "ickier" symptoms.  So has cromolyn sodium.

Turmeric does contain salicylates, so I wouldn't recommend anyone who can't take aspirin or has salicylate sensitivity to take it.  It also thins the blood.  Even though I haven't had any problems with bleeding or bruising, I suppose that could be an issue for some people.  I do eat a lot of greens, though, and that may prevent those problems.  Definitely check with your  doctor first before trying turmeric.

Futurehope,

I am sorry for the delayed response.  I will gladly tell anyone ANYTHING about my circumstance as I struggle with how many of my issues are MAST CELL related or not - yet I do have significant involvement of mast cells throughout my GI system - EEOC is short for eosinophilic esophagitis - one of my doctors has it too and calls it EEOC for short.

I have mild reactions to smells and am more sensitive during high allergy seasons, but I have few major food reactions; have yet to find a medicine that I react to - other than as a child I was found to have an allergy to penicilin and keflex but successfully took a form of penicilin without reaction within the last year.

Dr. Aiken via email back in early 2011 after reviewing my labs and slides stated he felt that I had a "Limited Form" of Mastocytosis that may or may not progress.  Yet I have never had my throat swell to the point I could not breathe and my flushing is very random (I can go months at a time) - my ability to write on my skin is always there; but at times it does not hive up very bad or turn a deep red where other times it looks horribly severe.

For the first two years or so I tried to tell myself I really did not have this stuff; took my medicine like I was supposed to but fought to get off of everything but Gastrocrom and Ursodiol - which are the two primary medicines I take today.

Then last year I became very ill.  I did not have dental insurance at the time and within 6 months I had 3 very severe tooth infections that I had to go see my doctor for and fight with antibiotics.  It was shortly after my last one - which was by far the worst - the knot from the infection pushed the skin on the side of my face out by almost 1/2" - IT WAS PAINFUL...  Anyway as I was saying; it was shortly after this that I found myself on what I thought was my death bed - not being dramatic; honestly thought I was dying; it was HORRIBLE and when I had energy I started writing letters to my immediate family.  I could see no way back.  I lost almost 60lbs in around 60 days, sick at my stomach, could not eat, had extremely chronic pain in my upper right abdomen, random pain in the upper left that would often cause spasms.  I was suffering from sweats - especially at night that, malabsorption almost every day, could only sleep right at 90 minutes at a time, was tremoring horribly when I would start to fall asleep (found out later that was related to my heart rate dropping).  My legs were swelling from below the knee to the ankle - no blood clots - and I could barely walk; coupled with dehydration I could barely step on to a curb and even then had to use my arms to help lift my legs.  I lost my complexion almost altogether and turned very pale, and the list goes on.

A longer explanation that I have historically given outside of my physicians - but saying "I was sicker than I had ever been just does not seem to do it justice" - it took me 8 months to get back to some sort of normalcy and over a year later I am still dealing with unresolved issues.  If you have seen some of my other recent posts - it appears there is liver and pancreatic involvement - but it's an assumption - there have been no biopsies performed looking for mast cells.

This crap - whatever it is - Mastocytosis, MCAS, etc - I don't care what it is at this point, I just need to know what it's doing to me and a clearer understanding of how to control things.

Sorry for the long answer - if you have more questions or I did not answer something (I am bad about missing things); please reply or send me a PM.  I too am curious about others GI involvement since this seems to be where the majority of my problems are focused.

~Lucas

Futurehope,

I take NOW brand turmeric with bromelain.  I take 2 capsules, every other day.  The bromelain helps with absorption of the turmeric.  Turmeric is supposed to be better absorbed if taken with food, especially something with oil or fat in it.  It "only" treats symptoms, but it's helped a lot with pain and inflammation.  In fact, I usually don't have either.