Diagnosis

[tomchu]

I am a male, age 31. For the past several years I was suffering with a bladder infection which turned out to be epididymis. At that time I had no real signs of abdominal problems. I then began to suffer abdominal bloating. I had severe gas and have this continuous burping. It then progressed to a daily thing. I have these symptons all day long. I determined to goto a gastrologist. The first one said I am stressed out and am swallowing air. It was hard for me to believe that I just began swallowing air. I asked the doctor for some testing, he declined. He said there is nothing wrong with me. I proceeded to another doctor which again said I am stressed out and perscribed Zoloft. I asked him for testing to be done and he also declined. Its wonderful to know doctors say its stress and then leave it as that. I found a doctor on the internet that was well known and went to visit him. So I told him my situation and he acknowledged that before he makes such a judgement he will do all tests on me. We proceeded with blood work for EVERYTHING, which came back positive for elevated liver enzymnes. We also did a colonoscopy and a endooscopy. These tests came back normal. More blood work was done to see my liver enzymes which now came back normal the second time. A ultrasound was done and in fact I was told I have a fatty liver. Now I am begining to be concerned. What has caused my fatty liver. So I am trying to pinpoint my life style. So let me give you a rundown. Over the course of my college years offcourse I would party and drink. It mainly was a weekend thing, but we drank a lot. Sometimes I didn't drink for a month or two straight. As I got into my late 20's I drank less and less and offcourse am now married. I myself was concerned that my years of partying has played a toll on me, but my wife tends to think othwerwise because she feels there are many more people who drink/drank much more than I do. Over the course of this time I did gain weight to 215 pounds and I am 5'11. I didn't exercise much, but I blame it on work. So from drinking from time to time and lack of exercise I began to think it could be the cause, but I know so many people with worse lifestyles that feel fine. Then I said when did this start, a few years ago, well during those years I was being diagnosed for my bladder infection. I remember being perscribed CIPRO. Yes CIPRO for a while.. and VIOXX for another issue. Could Cipro have damaged my liver severily and caused this problem? So currently I am still suffering with my bloating, burping and fatty liver. My wife and I determined it was time for me to change my life, so I recently being exercising and eating very strict foods.. All healthy, no dairy, no alcohol. Firstly with such a change can I reverse my fatty liver? Secondly I want to determine the cause of my fatty liver. Could it be my lifestyle or could it have been the medicine I took?...  I know there is no cure, but I would think being healthy will help, please advise.. Help

[Kevin Pho, MD]

To answer your questions:
1) It is unlikely that a short course of Cipro would lead to the symptoms you are describing.

2) You have had a pretty comprehensive evaluation - including ultrasound and endoscopy.  Most cases of fatty liver are caused by alcohol or NASH (non-alcoholic steatohepatitis).  If it is the first reason, abstaining from alcohol can help.  If it is the second reason, weight loss and exercise is the recommended treatment.  Depending on how elevated the liver enzymes are, a liver biopsy can be considered.  

Regarding the burping and bloating, more specialized tests can be considered.  This can include a gastric emptying scan looking for gastroparesis or an esophageal motility study looking for motility disorders.

These options can be discussed with your personal physician.

Followup with your personal physician is essential.

This answer is not intended as and does not substitute for medical advice - the information presented is for patient education only. Please see your personal physician for further evaluation of your individual case.

Kevin, M.D.
kevinmd_

[Kalio1]

How much "others drink" doesn't matter, each individual's body/liver handles alcohol differently, trying to compare yourself to how much others drink does no good, you can't see their livers and it is very common for people to have liver issues and NOT KNOW because they have NO symptoms in spite of the fact their livers are being damaged so that is a poor gauge to judge by. Your liver can heal itself so if you stopped the drinking and partying and improve your lifestyle you can help yourself a lot. Did your "partying days" include drugs? Snorting coke or other drugs? IV drug use? Were you tested for hepatitis a b and c?
Fatty liver can be controlled through diet and exercise. You can be thin and have fatty liver, dont let the name throw you.
Fatty liver can cause raised enzymes.

[tomchu]

Sorry, but I am not a drug user and have never done any drugs... Yes I had blood work done for everything possible.  Alcohol is not a problem for me to stop, since I truely don't do as much since I got married. Just on occasion (a few times a year), but stopping completely, shouldn't be an issue either...

[helpren]

I took Cipro in Dec '05 for a kidney infection and since that time I have had horrible belching and a distended upper abdomen.  I never had these issues prior to the Cipro and I attribute the symptoms directly to the Cipro.  I can put slight pressure on my upper abdomen and cause major belching at any time.  I can give any soda-pop-swilling kid a run for their money now and never could before.  Also, while on the Cipro I had diarrhea to the point that you couldn't tell the difference between urine and feces.  No other antibiotics have caused these symptoms before...certainly not after I discontinued usage.

[tomchu]

I was on CIPRO for quite a while, the reason why I question the medication was that prior to a few years ago. I felt fine, no stomach problems, nothing. And just everything came at once. This is why we are trying to pinpoint that cause, other than me occasionally drinking. No matter what I guess I must look forward and just get into shape and see after time if any symptons improve..... I figured a healthy diet and exercise for several years will improve my health.. We'll see...

[runaround]

Just a thought, but taking antibiotics can disrupt the normally present (healthy) bacteria in the intestines and can lead to the symptoms you describe. My son had to take antibiotics frequently for chronic ear infections when he was little and always developed diarrhea from them. I started giving him yogurt daily while he was on them and the diarrhea stopped. You may want to try this, also there is a new product called Activia that I heard about on TV. Do a search on probiotics. Hope this helps!

[lizziecee]

Cipro - I have had Crohn's disease for some 35 yrs now. currently injectng myself with 12.5 mg weekly of methotrexate which is not controlling the diarrhea in the mornings. Saw my gastro this week and he prescribed cipro, 2 tablets twice a day for 10 days, then 3 weeks off, and then another course. It is working brilliantly already after 2 days. He is not happy increasing the mtx because of bone marrow risks, same with steroids for bone risks. However, I also have breast cancer and he is concerned about leukaemia because of the FEC chemo, and radiotherapy I had. Am having blood tests to rule this out.

[tomchu]

Another thing I just discovered I called my doctor to find out if I was tested for Hepatitis, he said no. Now this began to worry me also just because I have been suffering with a bladder infection for years and still do.. And they really dont know what it is. It does burn when I pee and I don't know if its a good sign... Another issue I have to worry about. I hope and hope that I do not have it, since I am experiencing liver issues... Can Hepatitis be cured and is it very bad if it started to affect your liver. Can it be stopped?

[tomchu]

Ok so I need to take a step back and relax and not be so paranoid as my wife said. I think I can rule out any STD since I truely was always safe and didn't go around and never did drugs, ever.. Thanks for all the advise people. Bottomline, I will get tested, I will change my life style and hopefully everything will be well. Its a daily thing as I said, sometimes I feel well, other days I feel bad.. But thanks again and wish me luck.. Its always best to go forward positive and tackle things as they come rather then guess and be stressed...

[georgie439]

Hi, My boyfriend is going thru the same thing as you, although I wish he was as concerned as you are. Do you have alot of fat in your diet?? I know You are still quite young but, everybody is different and maybe your body isn't metabolizing the fat the way it used too?  Is your cholesterol high?
As far as hepatitis is concerned, if you haven't used dirty needles or straws(I read less of a risk, but still arisk), other consideration would be sex w/o a condom, but that would also depend on if there was blood involved(greater risk) or anal
also greater risk!  
It's an easy blood test, we are also going to discuss herbs with the dr. like milk thistle, although I dont think its good for all liver ailments?
Anyway- good luck.

[tomchu]

Hi Georgia. I think the only way I can help myself is just diet, exercise and eat healthy. Yes, I am young and this is why my wife feels I should still be able to heal myself. As far as hepatitis, I will be asking for the test, but as mentioned, I always used protection (ALWAYS), and I didn't go out and just have sex. I needed to know the person and my girlfriends.. As far as drugs, no way never. Yes, I neglected my diet and exercise for a good 8-10 years... Drinking was occasional (It seems there always and occasion, hehe) I gained good 40 pounds around my belly.. I recently started exercising, I lost 5 pounds in 2 weeks.. My body doesn't seem to have an issue with loosing weight if i excercise. A while ago I lost 15 pounds in 2 months, which wasn't bad.. Like I mentioned before, I will diet and exercise and I hope my symptons improve. I will sustain from alcohol completely, (only on vacation, once a year). My other issue with burning comes and goes and I blame that on my epedydimis, since I do have it and it bothers me... I managed to live with it for years, I am sure if I go on the right track I will manage it. Thanks...

[helpren]

I had thought that the lingering abdominal distention and belching was just me, but went out and researched after reading your post.  You may want to check out the following sites.  Cipro is in a group of antibiotics that is causing severe lingering health effects on many people.  Gastroparesis and abdominal complaints are among the many complaints.  Central Nervous System issues are key (gastroparesis is CNS related).
Check out  http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/quinolones/
and http://www.askapatient.com/viewrating.asp?drug=19537&name=CIPRO

If you scroll down on the second site, you'll start to see the issues are significant.  I've been hoping that the issues would resolve themselves, but I can see now that I better get to a GI.

[tomchu]

Well thats very interesting. Firstly, I was on Cipro for about 2 months...  1 Month, then a break and then another month.. As I said I have these problems, but I also do have one other issue I didn't mention.. I been having nervous system issues for a few years also... They did MRI and so forth but found nothing... So I just dismissed it...

[PAJ]

Your symptoms match Candida infection , It’s the biggest cause of illness in the western world ..Big claim , no simply the truth .Shamefully mainstream medicine has failed to grasp the nettle .many thousands self-treat.
5,000 people here in the uk have baded together to share info …There are a few doctors who will treat ,but they are few and far between .

Read Doctor Cranton’s treatment protocol for an insight.

http://drcranton.com/CFIDS.htm#CFIDS%20Paper

[mikeholder]

Weird.. I just posted a question about having stomach problems, (excessive belching etc... bloating)and didn't even consider the cipro that I had taken for over a month for sinus infections. Seeing this thread has me thinking now......

[holisticone]

Definitely on the rise.....antibiotics in the water we drink, the animals we eat.  Antibiotic resistant diseases....whew!  No wonder we are all belching, bloating, etc.  Try a course of oil of oregano (the pure north american herb formulated) for two weeks, then reinoculate with a strong (4billion) probiotic (acidophilus/bifidus strain) for 2-3 weeks.  A natural holistic method for remove/reinoculate.  Then repair the gut lining with aloe, glutamine and slippery elm combination.  I have a specific formula that I use.

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