Need immediate help

[OKhelp]

I am an 84 yr old woman with diabetes.  About four weeks ago I started having severe diarrhea, actually it was more of a sudden complete dumping of my bowels with no symptoms. Part of the time following this, I would be fine, until it happened again, usually a day later.  Sometimes, it would be followed by bouts of runny diarrhea.  I completed one treatment of antibiotics and was better for about a week.  Now it's returned, only its worse.  This time, in addition to the above, I have severe cramping.  I don't have a gall bladder so it can't have anything to do with that.  One doctor said it's probably diverticulitis; but I don't think the symptoms match with that disease.  My appetitie is good and I drink lots of fluids.  I'm getting weaker by the day and need help.  thanks.

[Kevin Pho, MD]

There are a variety of causes for diarrhea.  This can include infection, a mass, irritable bowel disease, or inflammatory bowel disease.

To exclude infection, I would suggest testing your stools for C Difficile (a bacteria associated with recent antibiotic use), ova and parasites, and fecal leukocytes.  

If infection isn't an issue, a colonoscopy or flexible sigmoidoscopy can be considered to evaluate for some of the other causes listed above.  

If you continue to have diarrhea, I would suggest seeing your personal physician to see if anti-diarrhea medications (i.e. Lomotil or Immodium) will help your symptoms.  

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.

Thanks,
Kevin, M.D.

[yoshi]

have you tried eating yogurt ?
drinking fluid?does it contain citric acid??

[ozark]

have they cultered your stools for things  such as c.diff?

[tessa0825]

You might need to seek a second opinion from another physician, preferably a GI Specialist...While you are waiting for a reply from Dr. Pho please make sure you continue drinking alot of fluids so you don't become dehydrated...I hope you get some good suggestions here and that you feel better soon....Tessa

[yoshi]

i usually drink hot tea after bout of diarhea (diarrhea),something in tea soothes the system,but i am not sure if it will stop the diarhea (diarrhea)/

[SameasBefore]

C Diff..........
Heres a story about C diff. I had surgery on a perforated ulcer on my 18th birthday which put me in the hospital for two weeks. I lost nearly 70 some pounds and have a 12 inch scar going down on my stomach. I was released from the hospital after the two week stay only to return after 4 days after my stomach bloated out to about what looks like a nine month pregnant woman. In alot of pain and much discomfort they drained 2 liters of "junk" out of my system I stayed another 2 weeks in the hospital. anyways ever since then my intestines always hurt and I bloated up alot had lots of gas and just extremely miserable. The doctors always said "oh thats good if you have gas that means everything is working properley". Im turning 29 tommorow. That was 11 years ago and the symptoms of c diffa for me were just this...
Extreme cramps. Seemed like I had to poop alot. Whenever I pooped it was always runny. Never constant. soda seemed to work the best to poop If I couldn't. Asprin never worked for the pain. Id double over like I wanted to die. cold sweats, dry sweats, extreme pain. Couldnt eat for days even if I wanted to I didnt just so I wouldn't hurt from the 'cramps" Time went on and on same symptoms just worsened as time went by. Doctors didnt find nothing went I went in for a visit, so, I quit going. why spend money on doctors when they dont do nothing right? I smoked alot of marijuana for the pain and it worked for me. Made me relax enough to grip my ankles and poop. thats how bad it was. When it came out it was just so violent. Embarrased and in pain. I woke up one day I work the night shift and my intestines were flared up the "cramps" were back and im hurting worse then usual. I went to the bathroom and pooped and what I saw was just disgusting. I saw hamburger with the onions and part of the bread from the other night and there was some blood. I got up off the pot and I fell over. I thought I was done at that point. Eventually I had to go to work that night and on the way to work I had 3 attacks of my "cramp episodes". I walked into my job punched in and I had to go down on the ground and I said I have to go home. so I drove home having the cramps again worse...So I went to the emergency room and after dealing with all that I was admitted into the hospital. Finally, I thought this is it somebody's going to find out what it is thats killing me. No food, no water..IV's for the potassium level and morphine. Hey...nothing better then getting high off of bannana's and morphine. 9 long days in the hospital and if you look up in Minot ND we had that chemical spill from the train derailment I was in there at that time. I had what everybody thought was Chrons disease. My intestines were just shot they didnt look very good. I had the colonoscopy(sp)test and about another 50 or so tests and they finally concluded it was in fact the C diff nightmare. I dont remember what I took for it but, It was for 2 weeks. It hurts and its visibly invisible to the doctors. I have alot of medical bills because of this thing. Is it gone? I dont know...Im not in pain but I still dont have the same ball movements as healthy people do.  Comes and goes. Runny or hard I dont care as long as It feels better. Its the worse pain Ive ever experienced in my time. I had it for 10 years or so. so next time nobody can figure out whats wrong ask them to see if its C diff disease. And thats what it is a disease and nothing more. forget infection of the upper intestine. Its a disease. Any doctor that wants to go a round on this please feel free to email me at ***@**** or anybody else for that matter thats concerened on how there feeling. I know I had it and Im sure its a recurring thing. Good luck to all you people suffering out there I know your pain. ask for the C diff tests next time you go in. Thats all I can say.
The cramps I was describing were much like a very tight knot and exreme twisting. come and go come and go. then done maybe for 20 minutes depending on how long the attack lasted then you might be alright for days even a week or so then bang! its starting all over again worse then the last. Any doctors out there that want to pay me for my expertise Im willing to locate. I'll work for my doctor bills to be erased $22,000
Peace

[SameasBefore]

......You say severe and your a diabetic? I assume your taking your insulin correctly. I always get worried when people say severe. I want to say chrons disease off the top but I think youd be seeing systoms of that alot sooner then now. Diverticlious(sp) is one of the things they mentioned when I went into the hospital this last time but, It was the C diffa infection. Have you took any antibiotics lately? Or your sugar might be off also if your getting sick. have you checked that recently? Respond back if you find out.

[yoshi]

how did you contract c diff??
what is the test to prove one has c diff??
when you said twisting,is it the lower abdomin (abdomen),groin or stomach area.
thanks

[tessa0825]

I don't think there is anyone, Dr. or otherwise, that would dispute what you say...Sounds pretty convincing to me....There is someone else that visits here that had a terrible experience with c-diff caused from taking clindamycin.....I just hope it doesn't return and you continue feeling better...Tessa

[SameasBefore]

I contracted the c diff infection or what I think is a disease through Antibiotics when I had cut my toes in half in a accident in the summer and that was maybe 3 years after that big surgery on my perforated ulcer. So I either obtained the "disease" in those two ways from the antibiotics. After alot of tests Urine and stool and blood and a colonoscopy upper GI maybe a few more they concluded that it was C diff. It took 8 days to figure out what it is. I layed in that hospital with no energy whats so ever. dead to the world. What that does(cdiff) it stays in your system and just literally drains your immune system down. A parasite if you will. The chronic pain as described earlier was mainly in my lower intestinal area. If I pointed to my belly button thats where the pain was and it stretched across from side to side. Like a shock to my system but violent "cramps" on/off/on/off/on/off. terrible stuff. I think the world needs to be introduced to this horrible condition. And I think Doctors need to know what these symptoms are when people go in to see them. Gas is good but when your violently hutched over in extreme pain because of them, it is not. Id type more but I have to get ready for work. so take care.

[SameasBefore]

I forgot to mention...
I dont know what the c diff tests are I was really meaning maybe if you mentioned C diff It would speed up the process of finding out if it is what it is. If that makes  sense. Im sure if they look in the stool they would find it. Its contagious.
thank you.

[Silver100]

sameasbefore...you wrote that you were and still are suffering from c diff.  i contracted it as well from antibiotics for an ear infection 6 months ago.  i fortunately am ok now thanks to the advice and support from the support site at http://www.cdiffsupport.com/discus/.  if you have a chance please check this out and hopefully you can find some ideas that might be useful for you.

[SameasBefore]

ah thank you my friend...i will right now. did you have the same symptoms as me?

[Jea]

Have you taken a Fructose Intolerant test.  The main cause
of this us usually diarrhea.

[laura767]

A related discussion, diet was started.

[laura767]

A related discussion, what is this was started.