Chronic Diarrhoea? (NO MEN TO READ NOR TO RESPOND)

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Diarrhoea for nearly five weeks. Ugh. So far, an amoebic bug (that was defeated with antibiotics) was discovered two weeks into the 'session', but I'm still suffering. Anorexia as well (meaing loss of appetite). Everything I eat just passes right through me, even a teeny bit of plain omelette my dh made last night didn't last long!



Three lots of tests have shown nothing else (apart from the initial bug). So a colonoscopy has to be done, apparently. Another ugh.

Anyone ever had this problem for a similar period of time? I'm happy to be losing weight but it's not for a good reason and I want it to stop!

Fiona

Last edited by nzfiona on 02 Jan 2008, 12:37 am, edited 1 time in total.

Is there any chance that you could have Celiac Sprue? I've heard of it causing similar symptoms. Just a thought.

Celiac is a response to gluten, so eliminating ALL grain products and that includes any grain product as an ingredient, would prove or disprove that. Yes, celiac can cause that symptom and it can develop over time. Not to be too indelicate, but is it "just" diarrhea? Or is it accompanied by bloating, gas, and explosive diarrhea? That's more common if it's a celiac reaction.

Aspie's are notorious for having bowel disorders. My father had ulcerative colitis for 45 years. I have been dealing with Irritable Bowel for over 10. If they've found a "bug" then it may simply be a bad bacterial infection. Those can be very difficult to defeat, especially if you have one that's drug resistant. If they move past trying to blame it on an infection, then they're probably going to start talking to you about Irritable bowel, or possibly Crohn's. Since you're losing weight, they're going to have to do something, even if it's hooking you up and getting IV nutrition into you.

Thank you, both.

Sorry, Aspiedave, but I didn't read the top-most sticky "Where males stand in this forum" and I really didn't want any males replying. Nothing personal but I only posted it in this sub-forum as I (obviously mistakingly) thought only women would read it. Oops.

Fiona

Yes ... I had all that and worse for a long period of time.

My colonoscopy was fun... They asked if a couple of work experience girls could come in and have a look... I didn't care but it wouldn't have been pretty.

The problem turned out to be Candida - it's very hard to detect and only shows up in a live blood test. Not all doctors believe in the condition, but since the cure (peddled by a naturapath relative) worked for me, I'm willing to believe.

You need to cut out....
* All Sugars - EVERYTHING...
* Wheat/Gluten
* Fungus - Mushrooms etc..

It doesn't leave much.

I was on the diet for 3 months and lost 24 kg, mostly because I wasn't very imaginative and hate vegetables.

You can't even eat fruit for the first 3 weeks - and only one type of potato too.

Once the candida dies (it lives on sugar), you will feel much better and can probably go back to eating whatever you like.

Oh... and eat plenty of garlic and good quality natural yogurt. You probably have to have acidopholis tablets too. Oh and Olive oil is good too.

Ummm....I probably haven't made it clear enough, but I only want women replying.

Fiona

I had a similar problem from age 12-age 17. Since then, it's almost totally disappeared without any major diet changes. I don't know what caused mine, and I hid it so well that no one suspected since I was too embarrassed to go to the doctor about it. It's horrible though, and can really affect one's social life. Mine wasn't constant, but happened very frequently, and seemed influenced by nerves, so any time I was out with friends, it happened.

Sorry, another man posting

Do you by any chance drink diet soda sweetened with Splenda (sucralose)? It is known to cause diarrhea (and did with me until I discovered the problem.)

has the doctor also looked at what foods you are eating regularly. Eating as little as one grape a day will cause such an effect in some people

Add Aspartame to that list...

That must be so horrible, I really hope they find what's causing it and it's nothing too major!! I hate doctors, especially if it's something related to 'down there'.

Thanks for the advice. I never eat food products with artificial sweetner.

One thing: will men STOP responding to this issue?!?

LeKiwi, I'm the same. I'm so bloody anally-retentive and HATE even discussing things about 'down there, let alone have anyone investigatethat are of me!

Fiona

I have had chronic diarrhea most of my life. If not clinical diarrhea, at least hyperactive bowels and loose stool since puberty. (I'm 38 ). The main culprit for me is animal fat. I can eat fats from meats but need to be very careful. I cannot tolerate milk fat at all, probably lactose intolerant too. You can become lactose intolerant (and tolerant) in adulthood. Also, I've read that casein (milk protein) allergies are temporary. If you eradicate the allergy symptoms of gluten sensitivity, you can return to milk.

I don't think I've ever gone to the doctor for this problem. When I couldn't keep anything down (when I was younger and underweight) I'd self-impose a bland diet. Rice and lean chicken, tomato-based stuff. No leafy greens when it's really bad. no ice cream.
these days I have no need to worry about "keeping things down". So, I don't worry so much. If I need to, I can remember to control my diet enough to control my bowels. But I still flubb up and have explosive spells.

Please heed Fiona's request, guys, even if you're itching to give some advice. She has asked several times now.

other items that can cause indigestion: coffee or tea (caffeine increases your smooth muscle contractions) or dairy products (due to intollerance).

To find out if it's dietary, cut your diet down to nothing and then re-introduce foods one by one. If your digestion returns to normal on the limited diet, and then goes to heck, you'll know what your intollerance is based on what you had re-introduced when it went to heck.

That may not be actually possible, though, given that you also have anorexia; you'd inevitably lose weight, and you probably want to keep it on right now.

Is this the thread?

Did you always have that in the thread title.. if not, when did you add it?

BTW, I'm a woman. If that wasn't clear before.

sojournertruth, when I was underweight, eating in smaller amounts and eating traditional 'diet food" actually caused me to gain weight. I wasn't anorexic, just hard to keep stuff down. When my parents were on weight watchers, they had a lot of fresh, lean foods in small portions. They steamed veggies and ate a lot of rice. I gained weight on it because my body didn't reject it.

Just to reassure that cutting out foods doesn't necessarily mean "less nutrition" or calories.