Unknown Diagnosis

[archaeologist]

Hello just thought I would try to post a question to see if anyone else has had my symptoms.  I am 27 years old and when I was in college (about 20 yrs. of age) I was diagnosed with IBS and a spastic colon with no colonoscopy or upper endoscopy procedures.  I was put on an antispasmodic (sp?) which I took only on long trips because of the horrible side effects.  I did not have any symptoms post graduation (probably stress related).

About 7 months ago I started getting chronic diarrhea and horrible cramps.  I wrote it off as IBS and did not go to the doctor until about a month passed and I started getting a fever.  They took a stool sample, a urine sample, and a blood sample.  They found a raised amount of WBC in the blood, found out I had a UTI, and saw a lot of Staph bacteria in the stool.  No parasites, eggs, or ameobias.  They gave me amoxicillin and sent me on my way.  It did clear up.... for a little while, until I started getting chronic diarrhea again... this time without pain or fever.  Around Christmas time I sarted getting an extremely sharp, radiating pain right under my ribcage and radiating to the back. The pain would come in "waves" and was worse at bedtime. In the morning it wouldn't be so bad.  This happened for a week and then "poof" it went away.  I thought it might have been a kidney stone from dehydration or gallstones.  My mom was worried and told me to see a specialist.  

I decided to go to a gastroenterologist.  He thought it was a bacteria that was the cause and immediately put me on Flagyl.  He did an upper endoscopy and a colonoscopy. The upper showed that I had a mild case of gastritis and a small hernia in my stomach.  The colonoscopy showed a couple small ulcers and internal hemorrhoids.  The biopsy for the stomach came back normal and one biopsy from the colon came back showing inflammation.  I am currently on omeprazole (Previcid?) and metronidazole (Flagyl?) I think because he thought it was bacteria related (h pylori?), but obviously the upper biopsy came back normal so I do think it is anymore.  I did have another stool sample taken, which the results are not back yet.  I currently have no pain, however my stool is still loose, but not diarrhea. I have an appointment in two weeks to see what the results mean, but if anyone has any ideas or questions I should ask him it would be greatly appreciated.  Also, are there any tests I should undergo if he doesn't suggest anything?  I really don't want him just to say IBS.

[Sue10191]

I have to echo GG.  Good advice.  I have IBS probably due to a twisted tortuous colon.  Fiber in my diet has worked miracles.  Not completely cramp free but close to it.  People think fiber in the diet causes diarrhea.  It does not.  It really regulate your digestion.  Doesn't make you go more, just better to quote a source close to me.  Drink enough water and the salad suggestion too.  I take store brand metamucil fiber capsules, three times a day along with a daily bowl of bran flakes or as GG suggested oats.  Do it, so easy.  Can't hurt, just don't start eating a ton of bran all of a sudden or it will have a laxative effect at first.  By all means, eat activia or similar to get the good bugs back in your stomach.  My mother was on antibiotics for a UTI and got a horrible and life threatening bug called C-diff(short for something).  It is a bacteria which invades the intestines when the good bacteria is killed off by antibiotic use.  Folks have died from this.  Good luck and hope we've helped.

[ggreg]

Dear Archaeologist,
Well, I think the pain you experienced around Christmas, that sounds like it could have been the stomach hernia.  A hernia will hurt for about a week.  BUT if the pain radiated around on your RIGHT side, then I think you should ask the doctor if perhaps an ultrasound is needed to see if your gallbladder is okay.  He may say the upper endoscope didn't show a problem with the gallbladder, so again I'd go with the hernia having caused that temporary pain at Christmastime.  

Now, in your report, you mentioned dehydration.  So, I need to tell you that human beings need to drink about five glasses of water a day, give or take depending on a person's size.  This is why the whole world has settled near rivers.  I mean, you don't want to drink so much that you have to go to the bathroom a hundreds times a day.  But anyway, staying well-hydrated will do a world of good for your digestive situation.  Water helps prevent constipation, which constipation causes the hemorrhoids you got.  Water also helps keep the pH of a person in the normal range, rather than getting too acidic, which might explain the colon ulcers the doc found.  In addition, water keeps the kidneys flushed real good, so it helps prevent bacteria from taking hold, like when you had a urinary tract infection.  Just like clean water keeps the earth and atmosphere clean, so too does it keep the body clean.

Also, for anybody who has digestive issues, while there could be an obstruction or other mechanical or enzymatic issue going on, I always say do the main three things that otherwise would allow digestive problems:  Drink plenty of water, eat plenty of fiber foods, and exercise regularly.  On the fiber foods, every day I eat 100 percent whole wheat bread and oat cereal, plus I try to eat a salad when I eat out.  In addition, people need to eat at least three times a day, or else the digestive tract sort of falls asleep, and when too much food goes in there, it gets upset and lets you know about it.  So, if you're on the go, then for gosh sakes, at least in your kitchen eat some oat cereal and OJ in the morning; grab a Subway whole wheat with lettuce and tomato somewhere near lunchtime; and in the evening at home, open up fully cooked stuff in a can, like stew or soup, and eat some ice cream.  Simple stuff for ANYbody to do.

By the way, when you finish up the last round of the last antibiotic, since that medicine kills both "good" and bad bacteria, you can restore the normal flora of your digestive tract by drinking Acidophilus milk or Activia yogurt for about ten days.  One more thing, if you drink store-brand sodas, STOP IT.  Only drink name-brand kinds, cuz the off-brand can tear up your guts.  Also, don't drink sodas within four hours of going to bed, or you'll get too much caffeine in your system, which completely ruins the REM or deep sleep stage of sleep, which makes a person nervous, which nerves create tummy aches, which makes sick the house that jack built.

I hope this helps your digestion out.  It sounds like you've been through a lot.  I know just how scary abdominal issues can be.  And it's sort of hard to relax when all this wierd stuff is going on in your guts.  But I hope you'll consider a few of the things I've mentioned, and I hope you'll let us know how the doc visit goes, and in general how things improve or disprove for for you.
GG