terrible group of symptoms

[pebble1987]

Hello,

I am a 24year old female, normal weight. Some of these have been diagnosed, but I'm currently having a HUGE attack of multiple symptoms. I will break them down.

Digestive/Gastrointestinal
I've had pretty bad IBS for 7 years. but the current symptoms are:
-extremely urgent diarrhea
-it's a green-yellow-brown in color
-about half the time has undigested food
-I can only describe it as applesauce consistency
-sometimes nothing in toilet, but takes several toilet paper wipes since mush comes out and doesn't make it as far as the toilet, if that makes sense.
-occasionally in watery spurts
-nausea, leading to reduced appetite

Urinary
They did think I had OAB about a year ago, was put on Vesicare but it isn't helping right now. Symptoms:
-Half the time, I feel like I have a UTI. Pain, some burning, and I feel like I have to go but I don't. I've done several at home UTI test strips and they are all negative.
-the OTHER half the time, I'm producing much more urine than I can account for in drinks and foods. and it's like water, comes out clear.

Fibromyalgia/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
diagnosed with these in the past year, but right now:
-increase in back (lower and upper) and neck pain
-increase in fatigue
-much harder to exercise than normal
-occasional dizziness
-hard to concentrate and focus

Other:
-I was put on Flexeril during an episode of Costochondritis a few weeks ago. I went off it about 5 days later because it really blurred my vision, so much that I couldn't look at a computer/iPad/phone screen or read. about a 2 foot range was completely blurred. My left eye has always been worse than my right eye. My right eye pretty much took over when I was little. years of glasses/contacts did nothing to change my left eye vision. Off the Flexeril, I can look at screens and books, but my vision IS still more blurry than it was before.

medicines I'm on to try to treat the IBS, Fibro, CFS are: Wellbutrin (the only antidepressant I didn't have bad side effects with so far), Neurontin, Promethazine, and then Vesicare and Yasmin BCP.

I am going to see my doctor next week. But this combination of symptoms is making my life extremely difficult right now, and some answers before then will be very helpful. These have all hit together in the last few weeks. Thank you,

Allison

[pebble1987]

hello thank you for the advice! I did do the hydrogen breath test a year ago, it was totally normal results, but maybe it'd be worth trying again. I've had several colonoscopies which never indicated Crohn's or other IBD, but I will certainly ask. what exactly are renal functions? are they kidney related? I'd really like to figure out these urinary problems, they've been painful and frustrating. Thank you again for the recommendations

[OriginalKatie]

Hey,
I also have Irritable Bowel Syndrome, more specifically its caused by fructose and lactose malabsorption. Have you ever had a hydrogen-methane breath test to find out if you're intolerant to any types of sugars? If you haven't, I think this will definitely help you figure out what is specifically causing the diarrhoea, if its related to the IBS.

It sounds to me (from the way you describe the diarrhoea) that you could have Crohn Disease - which is a type of inflammatory bowel disease. You may think that you have Irritable Bowel Disease, but sometimes this is a manifestation of Crohn Disease. You may have to explore this possiblity with your doctor.

Also I think you could benefit from taking some Gastrolyte drinks to replace the electrolytes that you're losing in your diarrhoea, and also from the large volumes of urine too. I'm not sure what the brand name is for this in the USA but in Australia its called Gastrolyte - its an electolyte replacement drink that comes in powder form and you mix it with water - you get it from a pharmacy.

For the urinary symptoms, you need to ask your doctor for a urinalysis dip stick test, and probably an actual urine specimen sent of to pathology for testing and blood test to check your renal functions. Renal problems can affect every other system in your body, so you need to follow this up ASAP.

I hope these suggestions are of some use to you. All the best!

[pebble1987]

thank you for the reply!

I know I do have IBS, I'm wondering why I'm having all of the other symptoms, and abnormal bowel movements (even for my IBS, which has always been pretty bad) I feel like multiple systems went downhill at once..

[Dr. Kokil Mathur]

Hi
Welcome to the MedHelp forum!
The symptoms can be due to deficiencies caused by chronic diarrhea and possibly infection persisting due to low immunity. Treating diarrhea may help control the symptoms. Chronic diarrhea can be due to parasitic infestations.  Other causes are irritable bowel syndrome, celiac disease, Crohn’s disease, malabsorption syndromes, pancreatic diseases, diabetes, hyperthyroidism etc. If celiac, Crohn’s and other problems have been ruled out then lactose intolerance and IBS are the possibilities. Gas in stomach, burping, diarrhea all go in favor of IBS. Pancreatic enzyme disorders, liver dysfunction, HIV, cancer of the gut, and infections by parasites other than giardia can all cause persisting diarrhea. Lyme and lupus are other possibilities that present this way. Please discuss this with your doctor (GI doctor). Take care!