9 replies to this topic

[kar272]

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Hi.So, last summer I suffered from a couple of non-consecutive days of having an "upset stomach". My upset stomach subsided and all was ok for about a month. Come October time, i was back at University, I started having a bad stomach again and needed to go to the toilet a lot, particularly after having drunk alcohol the night before. I went through some tough personal issues that month and my stomach felt worse. Then one night i went out, got very drunk, the next morning I woke up feeling the most ill I have ever felt in my entire life. I was severely dehydrated and I was throwing up blood and having constant horrible diarriah. This lasted for about 4 days of being sick and staying on the toilet all day. I saw a doctor, they believed that I was just suffering from normal stomach flu and that it would subsided within a week or so. To my frustration the illness continued, the flu like symptoms disappeared but I was left with a gassy stomach with diarreah. After many visits to the doctors and many tests (stool and blood) I was given a breath test and my results came back positive for h.pylori. I was delighted at the diagnosis as I thought that by eradicating the pylori bacteria my problem would be solved. After taking a week double therapy to eradicate my supposed h.pylori nothing happened. I then took another breath test 6 weeks later and the results came back positive again! I was then given a triple therapy and had to take 8 pills a day! I completed the therapy about 2 months ago and still feel no better than I did before starting. The problems I'm having are that I have to go to the toilet around 3 times in the morning. Some of my food is undigested (namely vegetable skin, oats and seeds and nuts, grains). My stool is a really odd consistency, mucus like and greasy looking, broken up!. (sorry for the details) Also I sometimes get a pain under my left rib on the side of my body. It feels like a strain and it feels really tender and sore. I have taken pro-biotics (no effect thus far), I have cut out dairy (no effect) and I have cut out caffein, alcohol for a long period (1.5 months) (when i drink now, I have really small amount, 1 beer or 1 glass of wine once every 2 weeks). I would like to know, what would people suggest is the best means of tackling this horrible ongoing illness?Is this post infectious IBS?Any other information?P.S. I'm finally having a meeting with a gastro specialist but thats in JULY!!!Thank you!

[Chea]

I was diagnosed with H. Pylori as well, plus, another bad bacteria and yeast, and allergic to many more foods than I knew. My symptoms started with the flu...just like yours, and never went away. Just had varying degrees of diarrhea, grumbling, pain, gas etc.My story is the topic 'I found an IBS treatment center'. I realise you are not in the US but they do help people all over the world. Maybe they can help you...Good luck, Chea

[kar272]

Has anyone else had a similar experience?

[XXXBerto55]

I was diagnosed with H. Pylori as well, plus, another bad bacteria and yeast, and allergic to many more foods than I knew. My symptoms started with the flu...just like yours, and never went away. Just had varying degrees of diarrhea, grumbling, pain, gas etc.My story is the topic 'I found an IBS treatment center'. I realise you are not in the US but they do help people all over the world. Maybe they can help you...Good luck, Chea

[XXXBerto55]

Hi.So, last summer I suffered from a couple of non-consecutive days of having an "upset stomach". My upset stomach subsided and all was ok for about a month. Come October time, i was back at University, I started having a bad stomach again and needed to go to the toilet a lot, particularly after having drunk alcohol the night before. I went through some tough personal issues that month and my stomach felt worse. Then one night i went out, got very drunk, the next morning I woke up feeling the most ill I have ever felt in my entire life. I was severely dehydrated and I was throwing up blood and having constant horrible diarriah. This lasted for about 4 days of being sick and staying on the toilet all day. I saw a doctor, they believed that I was just suffering from normal stomach flu and that it would subsided within a week or so. To my frustration the illness continued, the flu like symptoms disappeared but I was left with a gassy stomach with diarreah. After many visits to the doctors and many tests (stool and blood) I was given a breath test and my results came back positive for h.pylori. I was delighted at the diagnosis as I thought that by eradicating the pylori bacteria my problem would be solved. After taking a week double therapy to eradicate my supposed h.pylori nothing happened. I then took another breath test 6 weeks later and the results came back positive again! I was then given a triple therapy and had to take 8 pills a day! I completed the therapy about 2 months ago and still feel no better than I did before starting. The problems I'm having are that I have to go to the toilet around 3 times in the morning. Some of my food is undigested (namely vegetable skin, oats and seeds and nuts, grains). My stool is a really odd consistency, mucus like and greasy looking, broken up!. (sorry for the details) Also I sometimes get a pain under my left rib on the side of my body. It feels like a strain and it feels really tender and sore. I have taken pro-biotics (no effect thus far), I have cut out dairy (no effect) and I have cut out caffein, alcohol for a long period (1.5 months) (when i drink now, I have really small amount, 1 beer or 1 glass of wine once every 2 weeks). I would like to know, what would people suggest is the best means of tackling this horrible ongoing illness?Is this post infectious IBS?Any other information?P.S. I'm finally having a meeting with a gastro specialist but thats in JULY!!!Thank you!

I am not completely familiar with how the UK medical system works, but I would maybe ask for a breath test for SIBO. Your symptoms sound familiar to how I was before my first round of antibiotics for SIBO. It's possible the bender weakened your digestive system enough for the bad bacteria to take over. BTW Chea went to the IBS clinic in Seattle, this information can be found in pretty much every thread now.

[kar272]

Does anyone else have the pain not in the stomach but in the small intestine (at least I think its there). The discomfort is just above my wait on my left side in-between my ribs and waist. When I have eaten food, its gassy and if I press on it it makes rumbling odd water like sounds. I can more or less constantly feel this part of my body, either its sore or gassy.

[BQ]

Kar72 Don't forget your colon goes all the way around your abdomen.. so the area you speak of could definitely be your colon and it is a common spot for discomfort. Many of us have spasms.. Peppermint is a natural anti-spasmodic.. so try peppermint capsules, tea or even strong peppermint candies.Keep up with the probiotics.. if the kind you are using now doesn't help within a month or two switch to another that has different bacterias in it. Sometimes one strain doesn't help but another does.

[Trudyg]

Bear in mind that you abused your system and now it may take some time to heal, if it does at all. You may have to try something for 6+ months before you see a change. You may also find that, when you relax your treatment protocol, you relapse and are set back further than you were to begin with. I know it's hard to not eat/drink whatever you like, but you will have better, longer lasting results if you commit to better diet and a healthful lifestyle. So, you have a decision to make: control what you can and manage your life or continue abusing your system and then paying for it later. I also recommend the sibo test, if only because your symptoms are worse after drinking. Since you have until July, I'd start and religiously keep a journal so you can show the dr what you eat, drink, etc and how it later affects you. A good dr will be glad to see this, mediocre dr not so much (but, you're on your own then anyway).

[kar272]

Bear in mind that you abused your system and now it may take some time to heal, if it does at all. You may have to try something for 6+ months before you see a change. You may also find that, when you relax your treatment protocol, you relapse and are set back further than you were to begin with. I know it's hard to not eat/drink whatever you like, but you will have better, longer lasting results if you commit to better diet and a healthful lifestyle. So, you have a decision to make: control what you can and manage your life or continue abusing your system and then paying for it later. I also recommend the sibo test, if only because your symptoms are worse after drinking. Since you have until July, I'd start and religiously keep a journal so you can show the dr what you eat, drink, etc and how it later affects you. A good dr will be glad to see this, mediocre dr not so much (but, you're on your own then anyway).

You are right. Its just very frustrating as I've always been active and healthy, eating really well etc. Would you suggest the FODMAP diet? Last night I had 1 1/2 cans of beer and I felt sick and in the morning my stomach was very active...Its tough being at an English university and not consuming alcohol, at least for me as I used to enjoy a drink now and again.

[Trudyg]

Okay, so now you know not to drink beer. I understand the problem with wanting to enjoy the experience, but is it worth it to you to 'enjoy' the later experience? We all make choices, just know that once you sacrifice your health you may not ever get it back. Weigh that cost over say, 80 years lifetime? Not to mention the expense/loss of work/medications that may cause other issues....Just saying.....