Stomach bug

[Louisa]

For the last three weeks now, I've been suffering from quite a severe stomach bug and no matter what I try it shows no sign of shifting. I've changed my diet, drank lots of fluid, after a trip to kings last night I've been given a 5 day course of antibiotics to rule out a bacterial infection. I know this is a long shot but is anyone else suffering from something similar and if so has it gone on this long? I've lost just shy of a stone in weight because I have a very limited appetite. I just want it shifted. I've been to the GP twice in the first two weeks and they sent a sample away, but would only contact me if anything bad came back. Any suggestions what else I could try? Many thanks.

Louisa.

[PokerTime]

Maybe you've got some kind of digestive enzyme inbalance going on?

You could try taking beneficial bacteria (can be bought as pills from health food shops) or maybe try eating some probiotic yoghurt daily, just to give the good bacteria in your stomach a boost.

If there's something viral going on, the antibiotics should clear that up.

I would give beneficial bacteria a go. It won't make anything worse, but might help.

[Louisa]

Thanks PokerTime, I did consider Yakult?

Louisa.

[unlurked]

Have you been eating from Prettys?

Try 48hrs fast, sipping water only. Best place to do this is at home in bed so not using energy and can sleep the time away.

[PokerTime]

Yakult would be fine (same thing as the yoghurt). Give it a go and don't hesitate to go back to your doctor if it continues. If your appetite is low, then I recommend making some home-made soups. You need to get some nutrients into your body and soup can be drunk or eaten in small amounts. I hope you start to feel better soon.

[kishlight]

Hi

have sent you a PM

[Nigello]

I'd second the Yakult advice, but it's far cheaper to buy generic tablets containing the same stuff and eat yoghurt.

Cider vinegar in small amounts can help.

Could it be a parasite, like giardia? If it is, only a doctor will be able to tell you, after which a course of tablets would be prescribed.

[Robert Poste's Child]

Had something that sounded like that a few years back and eating seemed to perpetuate it. As suggested by an earlier poster, I had some time on water only, then plain boiled rice and mint tea. I'm sure you're a sensible kind of person and taking care of yourself already, but major rest also played as part to give it all a chance to recover.

Hope you feel better soon.

[Salsaboy]

Dry white toast and water always works for me although many years ago, an old (in age) GP of mine used to say stewed apple was good as there were enzymes in it that helped poorly tummies.

[Twirly]

A few years ago I had a bout of gastro enteritis. Initially I was told to avoid all dairy, and when that didn't work, was told to take nothing but water for 24 hours. That seemed to do the trick. But you should probably get medical advice, if your GP can't help call NHS direct.

[Jeremy]

When I've had similar things previously (although not as lengthy) the doctor recommended water for 24hrs, with a little salt and sugar added. And if you have to eat, plain popcorn (the microwave stuff with no flavourings). Although sounds like what you have may be more serious, so these suggestions may be irrelevant.

Whatever it is... hope you get better soon.

[the-e-dealer]

Try pro biotics but get a concentrated form from Holland and barrett and use maybe two capsules a day. As soon I doubled the dose my post viral ib went away over night.

[intexasatthe moment]

Louisa sorry you're ill and I would agree with advice about probiotics .I would recommend these http://www.amazon.co.uk/Udos-Choice-Super-8-Probiotics/dp/B0036E5KG6 which they sell in Health Matters ( in the fridge ) in Lordship Lane .

Would just add that popcorn is very indigestible . I have some digestion problems and tried pop corn ,thinking it bland and safe ,and had terrible repercussions . The NHS dietician that I see said popcorn known for being hard to digest .

Think white rice is generally recommended .

You might also want to try some Dioralyte or other rehydration drink if you have diarreah or vomiting .

[uncleglen]

A young relative of mine had similar symptoms and when blood began appearing he went to the GP. It turned out, after several weeks of wrong diagnoses, that he had ulcerative colitis but by this time he was severely anaemic and on his knees with exhaustion and painfully thin. Then it was a blood transfusion , steroids etc. The eventual diagnosis was as a result of a colonoscopy

[Louisa]

Thanks to everyone for suggestions on this one, including the PMs, most helpful. I'm on day three of a two a day antibiotic treatment and I'm eating small but bulky carb filled meals, I'm noticing very small changes in my motions which for the first time in almost three weeks is the only glimmer of hope I've had. I shall keep everyone updated with my recovery as and when it fully takes hold. It's also great to know that so many fellow forumites are so knowledgable, I felt a little lost amidst all the medical jargon. It seems I am not the only one affected by this bug or virus or whatever it is.

Louisa.

[joom]

Check that it's not giardia - a parasite. I was ill for six weeks with it before I found out. It left a legacy of nausea and crazy bowels for over a year, nasty blighters!

[katanita]

Giardia is nasty. Unlikely to pick it up here but apparently not impossible, I'd guess it wouldn't be the first thing a UK GP would think about. I was travelling once with a nurse who picked it up, it had some quite specific symptoms IIRC, with really sulpherous wind that bubbled unpleasantly around in the gut, almost like something was moving around in there. More on the NHS site here http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Giardiasis/Pages/Symptoms.aspx. The good news is that it's pretty treatable with metronidazole (just looked that up, not a doctor and couldn't remember what the drug was called) which should clear it up in a few days, unless you are unlucky enough to have the ongoing problems described by joom above.

[Twirly]

How are you feeling Louisa? Any better?

[Seabag]

One of our drivers had something similar & it took him weeks to get properly well. Be cautious with the rice thing as it can play havoc with the gut flora and make things worse. Quinoa or Barley Couscous are good (Balazus do one in a box)

Check out the candida site I posted on the sugar thread. There's some stuff on gut conditions and parasites, some are exasperated further by antibiotics

Get well soon though, there's bins that need moving

See here on rice

http://www.nhs.uk/chq/Pages/Can-reheating-rice-cause-food-poisoning.aspx?CategoryID=51&

[Nigello]

My friend got giardia in Edinburgh and felt ropey for weeks, even after the anti-parasite medicine. To avoid, eat yoghurt, and wash your hands thoroughly and frequently (and even then you might still get stomach bugs and other nasties).

[jorgea]

Are you sure this is a stomach bug?

[Louisa]

Update : so, this thing was going on for a few weeks. I went to kings and was given a 5 day course of antibiotics which were working, by the end of the forth day I was noticing a return to more normal bowel movements and less stomach gurgling and more energy. However, the course was only small because the A&E doctor wasn't sure what the cause was. By Friday all the same symptoms have gradually come back, and am feeling rough again today. I went to see my GP yesterday and showed him the antibiotics, and he informed that based on the stool samples there is no reason for these particular antibiotics to be working as all the stool samples were negative to typical bacterial infections and because of the risk of 'C-difficile' infection, he would not be extending my antibiotic course and sent me away with some codeine. He also took some blood samples and a further stool sample to test for a few other things. Now am I missing something here, or, if as a GP a patient comes in and informs you something was improving your health! would you not question why? He simply said "those shouldn't have been given to you based on the previous stool samples". I'm pretty sure the A&E doctor wouldn't have given me them had she not suspected a bacterial infection. Is there any way antibiotics could work to improve your health if it isn't a bacterial infection? If so how? And more importantly, if not, could the dose I received have not been long enough to kill off the infection?mim so confused by everything. I now don't know whether to return to A&E and tell them all this, or to wait around get worse and hope my GP does something.

Louisa.

[dbboy]

Louisa I swear by this stuff https://www.pepto-bismol.com/

[ianr]

> I'm pretty sure the A&E doctor wouldn't have given me them [ABs] had she not suspected a bacterial infection.

Even if she did, and was correct, there was no certainty that whatever she prescribed would cure it. There's also no certainty, beyond your own feeling, that any improvement was due to the AB. Did she know that your GP was waiting for test results?

> I now don't know whether to return to A&E and tell them all this

I'd save A&E for emergencies. I'm wondering what took you to them initially.

[Louisa]

The A&E doctor was informed that I was awaiting results, and the GP told me already if no results were passed onto me I had no fear of a stomach infection. The reason I went to A&E was because the bloating and cramping had become so severe and I was becoming dangerously dehydrated and losing a significant amount of weight. In the meantime despite previous visits to the GP, I was no prescribed any medication and offered no further tests. I went to A&E in the hope of some immediate pain relief and answers. A stomach bug persisting for longer than a week is not normal. As far as I was concerned, this was an emergency and still is for me. I don't use my GP very often and despite returning doubled over in agony was not given anything beyond advice for standard bacterial/viral stomach infections, now approaching week four/five my severe symptoms are back and the only relief I've had to this point has been from an antibiotic which with conflicting advice from the GP suggesting it should not work, and my own experience of fewer bowel movements and firmer stools less pain whilst on them, and now back to this. None of it makes any sense.

Louisa.