Covid Recovery: How can I manage GI issues?

Hi..before I was admitted to the hospital I had a consult on the phone with a GI physician that practices in Orlando Florida that was set up by my health insurance nurse. He was the one that thought that SIBO bacterial overgrowth was part of my problem along with Ulcerative Colitis. Hes suggested having my doctor here in my state test me for the problem. He said they do a breath test and run a stool fecalcalprotectin lab, which indeed was positive. He said that the treatment they use is Xifaxan an antibiotic and flagyl, also Uceris ( Budesonide) oral, hydrocortisone enemas and have found that a probiotic called VSL # 3 is good , that can be ordered on Amazon. When I was admitted to the hospital, they had me NPO..nothing by mouth and Intervenous running my entire stay. They did not treat me with the above drugs. They then introduced food back and had me on a low fiber/ low residue diet. They also told told me to take Imodium up to 4 times a day and canasta suppositories once a day a bedtime which is an RX. I also had another CT of my abdomen when I was admitted. This has been a real journey , but the Imodium is somewhat helping slow down things a bit. There is a lot of information on SIBO online. The doctors at the hospital were pretty convinced the long haul covid brought this on.Let me know if I can do anything else to help you.

Hi..before I was admitted to the hospital I had a consult on the phone with a GI physician that practices in Orlando Florida that was set up by my health insurance nurse. He was the one that thought that SIBO bacterial overgrowth was part of my problem along with Ulcerative Colitis. Hes suggested having my doctor here in my state test me for the problem. He said they do a breath test and run a stool fecalcalprotectin lab, which indeed was positive. He said that the treatment they use is Xifaxan an antibiotic and flagyl, also Uceris ( Budesonide) oral, hydrocortisone enemas and have found that a probiotic called VSL # 3 is good , that can be ordered on Amazon. When I was admitted to the hospital, they had me NPO..nothing by mouth and Intervenous running my entire stay. They did not treat me with the above drugs. They then introduced food back and had me on a low fiber/ low residue diet. They also told told me to take Imodium up to 4 times a day and canasta suppositories once a day a bedtime which is an RX. I also had another CT of my abdomen when I was admitted. This has been a real journey , but the Imodium is somewhat helping slow down things a bit. There is a lot of information on SIBO online. The doctors at the hospital were pretty convinced the long haul covid brought this on.Let me know if I can do anything else to help you.

12 weeks post covid. Constantly burning stomach, some intestinal burn, treating it with Carafate since I can’t tolerate acid suppressors. All docs say there’s nothing they can do. Have a visit with a new doc this week and I assume he will order an endoscopy. Has anyone had one, what did it show? Am ravenously hungry but can only eat so much. Part of the burning is hunger. I also only eat a short list of foods every day because I have no idea what to eat, they just say no caffeine citrus or tomato. Afraid to try much because it might cause pain- although what difference does it make, probably.
Completely debilitating, it’s a cycle of eating, meds, resting, trying to keep up with food prep and light housework. Waking up multiple times per night due to hunger/ pain/ anxiety.
Between low calories & sleep issues, no energy.
Has anyone had any success with stomach burn?

Are you being seen by a Long COVID clinic? If not, I strongly suggest you try to get into one. I have had Long COVID for 3 years. It took a long time to be diagnosed and it is very disheartening to have repeated tests that show nothing wrong. I have pain, brain fog, issues sleeping, insane anxiety, dizziness, blacking out, GI issues, and on and on. Since being seen by the Long COVID clinic, I have Doctors and therapists who know what I have which is very comforting after years of being tested for everything and feeling like I was losing my mind. With Long COVID, you do not want to push too much in the way of exercising. My physical therapist started with breathing exercises to help me calm down. The first step being to calm down and remain calm which will give you more energy. I have had to try to cut as many stressors in my life as I can. The higher my anxiety, the worse my symptoms. I am 52 and can not do more than 20 minutes of minimal physical activity at a time. I have ended up in the ER due to overdoing it. I am on gabapentin for neuropathy that was not diagnosed until I was with the Long COVID clinic, it did require a skin biopsy. The gabapentin does help with pain. In addition, I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia and take Cymbalta. Cymbalta can help with mood, GI issues and nerve pain. I take Low Dose Naltrexone to help me sleep. Even if I only sleep for 3 or 4 hours at a time but get deep sleep during that time, it helps. The low dose Naltrexone has helped me with this. I have POTS - so I wear an abdominal binder so I can sit and stand. Is your wife experiencing dizziness? I have horrible GERD/Acid Reflux for which I take Dexilant. Prior to long COVID I ate well and exercised and only took zyrtec for allergies. I have a life sentence as all of my diagnosis are not curable, but I now have a better attitude and hope for reduced symptoms which helps a lot. I wish you good luck and will continue to pray for everyone with this awful condition.

Is there any Long haul Covid clinic open anymore, anywhere?
I'm going on 3 years after my 3 COVID infection and instead of my symptoms improving, they are worsening with new issues every day.
I have seen every specialist you can imagine and no one has any answers.
I'm frustrated, depressed, anxious and now I'm starting to get scared.
When you see one specialist they only talk about that particular one instead of discussing with your other doctors and finding the common denominator that is the underlying factor.
It's just crazy.

I am the same as you! Occasional diarrhea before Covid but was never constipated. Post Covid, constipated every single day for 8 months now. Colonoscopy was normal. I have also found that a magnesium pill morning and night is the only thing that fixes it, but if I skip even one day it’s back. Doctors won’t believe me that it’s COVID related. I know nothing about Peptiva though, and since the magnesium, is working for me I’m sticking with that. I’ve had a lot of other long COVID symptoms too (severe widespread pain and inflammation, heart palpitations, and chest jumping at night), but the constipation is the only one that’s not improving at all.

Hi, I’m new to this forum, but just as you mentioned, for me it’s the constipation along with a lot of bloating, that will not go away. I already had the colonoscopy & endoscopy done with No results, all came back normal. I can only do No.2 by taking laxatives the night before, so it’s an all day event the next day and after that, the gas and bloating comes into play. Don’t know what else I can do. Anyone else with similar issues?