Any ideas on what is going on.....

[BillRitchie]

Hello,

It all started for me 4.5 weeks ago with a chest cold. I went about my normal routine and 2-3 days into my chest cold I had what I thought was the stomach bug. I thought oh great, a chest cold and stomach bug together....wonderful. I never had diarrhea (although some loose stool) and I didn't throw up, however, I had on/off dull pain/movement in the general GI area with lots of "gurgling" going on down there and passing of foul gas. I’ve also had excessive burping. That lasted about 2 days and stomach felt normal for the next two days over the weekend. At the same time the chest cold took its course and I coughed up the phlegm and started feeling better from that. Monday came along and I went to work, which I should mention is in the waste water treatment business. I'm in direct contact with waste water on average 2-4 times a month. Monday night came and I felt like crap with the GI issues coming back. That knocked me out for 3 days where I was tired, fatigued, lost my appetite and basically just rested. I started noticing I was losing weight too and I’m lean to begin with! I felt good for the majority of Friday and then Friday night I felt like crap again, so I went into the Urgent Care Friday evening around 8pm. I gave the doc my symptoms and she basically said they were vague and referred me to a GI specialist. She thought it could be a food allergy that was caused from the breakdown of my immune system or some type of bacterial infection. I was not on any antibiotics for the chest cold either. Anyway, I scheduled an appointment with the GI doc for Oct 28th which was 6 days later.

[BillRitchie]

Thank you for that information.

I'd like to talk to my GI Dr & nurse about the amoebiasis, however, given my track record with them and them denying my requests for certain parasites/bacteria tests, they will most likely deny my request again.
I'd also like them to do a CT scan before the colonoscopy, but that probably won't happen unless I reschedule my colonoscopy. Not sure if they would grant my request either. Another option would be to use an offsite facility for the CT scan.
Even though I'd like to wait another week, I'll just go ahead and have the colonoscopy and go from there.

My natural Dr. was going to run a saliva test and complete thorough stool test for me, however, the turn around time is about 5 weeks due to us being in different states now.

I might also mention that the last 3 or 4 days when I wake up in the morning I have a small amount of mucus(nickel size) that I cough up. I do have allergies and take a nasal spray(Nasonex) for them, but this is more like the mucus I cough up when I have a viral chest cold.

Thanks again!

[Dr. Kokil Mathur]

Hi Bill!

I can understand your apprehensions given the nature of events. However, I am glad you are recovering.

Usually when you have stomach upset along with chest cold there is a high probability of it being a viral infection. This viral infection often takes its own course and responds to light diet, probiotics, yoghurt and plenty of water.  Since you started probiotics late, the response has probably slowed down. I suggest you continue the treatment for another week before colonoscopy. The symptoms should settle down by then. If they don’t, then you can go ahead with it. There is as it is no harm in getting a colonoscopy at 42 years.

Meanwhile, since you work at water treatment plants, it would be a good idea to test for amoebiasis. Sometimes, no parasitic infection is caught. So, a course of metronidazole is given empirically to cover all colitis related symptoms. Ask your doctor whether it would help to take this.

Also, it can even be chronic appendicitis or colitis. A CT scan of abdomen is likely to be more useful than colonoscopy (though this can help rule out ulcerative colitis). Also a video encapsule endoscopy may help rule out Crohn’s.

Sometimes gut related symptoms occur due to defect in gall bladder, liver or pancreatic function. Discuss this possibility with your doctor.

Also, apart from probiotics, stop all supplements. Often the vitamin B component causes gastric issues if the mucosa is irritated. This will also help reduce the symptoms. Take antacid gel as this is likely to help more.

Please discuss all these issues with your doctor. I sincerely hope you will find this information useful. Hope you get well soon! Good Luck and take care!

[BillRitchie]

I have felt pretty good yesterday and today, but am not gaining my weight back. I don’t have much dull pain anymore, but I can still feel the rumble and gurgling down there, usually when going to bed. I should also mentioned it is difficult for me to lay down flat on either my stomach or back as it upsets my stomach and gives me gas/gurgling, but no pain. So I’ve been sleeping in a recliner for last two weeks.

Here is what I have been tested for regarding bacterial and parasites and all have come back negative:
H. Pylori, Campylobacter, E. coli, Clostridium difficile, Salmonella, Shigella, Dysentery, Cryptosporidium, & Giardia. Possibly a few more but I can’t be positive with the information they have been giving me!

There are 12 more parasites and a yeast/fungal infection that my natural doc wanted them to test for but the GI specialist won’t order them for me.
So, currently I have a colonoscopy scheduled for this Sat 16 as this is what the GI doc thinks is the next step for me. I’m 42, so I guess having my first colonoscopy wouldn’t hurt anyway. I live a healthy and active lifestyle, eat good, take vitamins/minerals/supplements and etc.

I guess I’m asking is there something else that I should look into before a colonoscopy? Given the fact they wanted to do an endoscopy before even looking into other issues is a bit concerning for me too.

Thanks,
Bill

[BillRitchie]

I went to my GI appointment and they ran blood tests and stool tests (metabolic panel, auto hemogram/plate/diff, giardia antigen and celiac disease panel) and all came back normal/negative except for one which was the Ttg Iga and it was 4 points over normal. They wanted to set up an endoscopy/biopsy. I said wait!!...... because I wanted some questions answered. I ended up making another appointment with the GI specialist as I didn't care too much for the young buck GI doc. During this time I was waiting for my next appointment I researched gluten intolerance and decided to go gluten free to see if I started feeling better. I’ve kept a food journal for the last two weeks. I talked to GI specialist and he said he would order a few more tests, for me to stay on the gluten free diet and put me on some probiotics. He said (pending negative tests results) to call him in 10 days or sooner if symptoms didn't get better. Those stool tests came back negative also. This is when I got my natural doctor and chiropractor involved who is very much into the gluten intolerance, thyroid diseases and other GI issues. He’s very good at this and has helped a very close friend with his hypothyroid/leaky gut conditions. Anyway, he gave me a list of bacterias and parasites that I should be tested for. Through all of this I couldn’t help but think this was a bacterial infection or a parasite given my symptoms and all. After looking into their testing further I noticed they did not even test for H. pyloria, e-coli and a few other parasites.  I presented the list to the GI office and they said they’d test me for h. pylori as well as e-coli and that was it. They wouldn’t test for the other parasites or bacteria as I was not out of the country….even given my line of work! I later found out from the nurse after about three unpleasant phone conversations with her that they supposedly did an interior pathogens test which covered many of the bacterial infections I was concerned about. Why she couldn’t tell me this before was beyond me and would have saved me a few days and some suspicion.