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Mokey41
Posts: 5,769 Member
I've been experiencing some intestinal issues for a while now and my doctor is less than helpful. He's testing me for colon cancer, ovarian cancer, etc but doesn't really listen to what I'm telling him. I thought some of you might be able to give me some of your history and help me out.
I'm lactose intolerant and have been since my early 20's. I've never been a huge bread or pasta eater either just for some history.
Back in September I had to have some dental work done and the dentist put me on penicillin for 10 days. By the end of the course of drugs I had horrible cramps for about 3 days. I thought it might be from the antibiotics and started taking probiotics to see if that was the issue. It seemed to help a bit but my bowel movements were full of mucus, I was going little bits about 10 times a day and it was usually a loose, floating, smelly blob. TMI but if you've been there it shouldn't be a shocker.
After a couple weeks of that I started getting a sharp pain in my lower right side. At that point I thought I better see a doctor and did so. He poked around and told me about all the different cancers I might have, sent me for blood work and said he'd book a CT scan which hasn't happened yet. No suggestions on what I might do to be able to walk upright.
At that point I decided to try to self diagnose something. It finally hit me last Sunday that I might have a cause. Friday night we went to an Italian dinner and had pasta, Saturday morning I had pancakes and a whole wheat turkey club for lunch. By 3 pm Saturday I was rolled up in a ball on the couch hoping to die soon. It started putting together what I might have eaten and gluten came out as the overload item.
Since Sunday morning I've had nothing with gluten in it and for the most part I'm feeling much better (today was the first day with a relatively normal BM) but I still have this nagging pain in my side. It isn't the horrible stabbing pain but still just an ache there and at times my abdomen is actually sore to touch.
I'm just looking for anyone that can share their story of symptoms, how long it takes to feel better, pretty much anything you want to share or if what I'm experiencing is similar.
ETA: I've also been experiencing urge incontinence for quite awhile which seems to be gone now. I've read a bit that it can also be a symptom.
I'm lactose intolerant and have been since my early 20's. I've never been a huge bread or pasta eater either just for some history.
Back in September I had to have some dental work done and the dentist put me on penicillin for 10 days. By the end of the course of drugs I had horrible cramps for about 3 days. I thought it might be from the antibiotics and started taking probiotics to see if that was the issue. It seemed to help a bit but my bowel movements were full of mucus, I was going little bits about 10 times a day and it was usually a loose, floating, smelly blob. TMI but if you've been there it shouldn't be a shocker.
After a couple weeks of that I started getting a sharp pain in my lower right side. At that point I thought I better see a doctor and did so. He poked around and told me about all the different cancers I might have, sent me for blood work and said he'd book a CT scan which hasn't happened yet. No suggestions on what I might do to be able to walk upright.
At that point I decided to try to self diagnose something. It finally hit me last Sunday that I might have a cause. Friday night we went to an Italian dinner and had pasta, Saturday morning I had pancakes and a whole wheat turkey club for lunch. By 3 pm Saturday I was rolled up in a ball on the couch hoping to die soon. It started putting together what I might have eaten and gluten came out as the overload item.
Since Sunday morning I've had nothing with gluten in it and for the most part I'm feeling much better (today was the first day with a relatively normal BM) but I still have this nagging pain in my side. It isn't the horrible stabbing pain but still just an ache there and at times my abdomen is actually sore to touch.
I'm just looking for anyone that can share their story of symptoms, how long it takes to feel better, pretty much anything you want to share or if what I'm experiencing is similar.
ETA: I've also been experiencing urge incontinence for quite awhile which seems to be gone now. I've read a bit that it can also be a symptom.
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Replies
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It does sound like something similar to what I get when I eat gluten - I have coeliac disease. I would go back to the docs and mention what you have said here. Dont cut it out completely as you need to be eating it to get a positive test result.0
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Definitely talk to your doc, maybe see a NaturoPathic Doctor. Sounds like it *could* be gluten issues, BUT remember that you were on Penicillan which would have killed off the bacteria in your gut. Both the healthy and unhealthy kinds. Bacteria imbalance in the gut can mimic a lot of conditions. Taking a prebiotic after a course of antibotics is often a wise move and it can take a few weeks to rebalance.0
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Two of our daughters have gone through similar problems. Let me tell you about one of them, Julia.
Julia gets sick a lot, and ends up on antibiotics quite frequently. We never really put 2 n 2 together for a long time, but eventually we started noticing that her stomach, GI, and bowel issues - which were highly irregular and difficult to pin down - seemed to be worse after a course of antibiotics.
We noticed this around the same time we got her tested for various food intolerances. Hoo doggies did that turn into quite the shocker.
That little cherub had a slew of food intolerances. A few veggies, some fruits, some tree nuts, and a bunch of different grains. We went on a very restrictive diet as we cleansed her of her irritating foods. The idea was that we needed to heal her "gut" from the damage caused by the irritants then re-introduce them one by one, slowly, till she was able to eat them again without the problems.
We went a few good months on the restrictive diet, then as planned introduced one food after another, waiting to see how things would go. Eventually we got everything re-introduced but gluten. To this day, if she eats gluten, she's a mess.
Also to this day, if she goes on antibiotics, I have to back up with her diet and try to limit some of those original irritating foods. She gets so messed up in her gut from them. It can be a real challenge.
We feed her as much probiotic foods as we can. Most are sour - sometimes sour enough to curl the hair on your toes. But there are some probiotic foods she's cool with. In particular, kombucha. It took a few weeks to ease into, but now 2 of our 3 kids are big kombucha drinkers. And my wife and I swear by the stuff, as far as keeping Julia's gut working properly and pain free.
In short: Your problems may not begin with the antibiotics, but those sure help mess things up worse. You should probably seriously consider getting tested by a holistic doctor (Your GP will never understand) for food insensitivities. You should also keep in mind if you do have insensitivies, you're almost certain to have more than one. So just giving up gluten may not do much for you. And, while you're at it, a diet high in probiotic enzymes would be a really good way to go. There's nothing quite like having a GI full of healthy happy gut flora.
I hope this helps.0
