Sudden onset, stomach distress, and inability to eat.

Posted by blessedwildapplegirl @blessedwildapplegirl, Apr 20 3:57pm

Hi. I posted a couple of months ago I think. In mid November, I suddenly had a really bad attack of what I thought was irritable bowel, but it went on too long. I had eaten an apple and some coconut milk yogurt, and got severely sick about an hour later and couldn’t eat for a week and then finally was able to eat a little bit, but had terrible diarrhea for a week and went to the ER and they did a CAT scan, and said I had inflammation in my lower bowel, which I could feel because it was burning. I’ve had IBS on my life, but I had never felt like this! then I saw my doctor and he wanted me to take an ad acid, but my food felt like it was sitting in my stomach for 10 to 12 hours, so I said no. He recommended aloe vera gel, and I bought some, but I’m highly allergic to all kinds of things and very sensitive, so I never tried it. The burning was starting to go away, so I didn’t think I needed it. I started blending my food and then I was able to eat a little bit more and fast forward to five months later and for the past three weeks I’ve been eating pretty normally, although still blending about half of my food, and I’m always on a bland, mushy diet since they removed my gallbladder in 2012. Well, the other day, I stupidly, decided to try some more coconut milk yogurt, the same exact kind of triggered my stomachache five months ago! Guess what? I was in massive pain all night and I tried to eat half an avocado this morning and I’m in pain and I think I’m gonna go without eating again and I’m scared because I only weigh 82 1/2 pounds. I’m 5 foot four. I can’t believe I did that again. Has anybody else experienced that? When I googled it, it looks like I might have SIBO and the probiotics in the yogurt triggered it. I’m scheduled to go to a gastroenterology clinic this Tuesday and I didn’t want to go because I don’t want to take a bunch of pills or have a bunch of tests. I can’t believe I was feeling better and I screwed it up by eating the yogurt. I’ve also been under a lot of stress lately, but it’s never been like this except for that thing that happened in November. I also had some sleep difficulties when this first came on and I googled it and it’s possible you can get Covid in your stomach (I know someone that happened to) and I had been in a car with someone five days before I got sick, so I thought I might have long Covid. I stupidly didn’t test myself when I first got sick because I’m here alone and I was afraid I would panic. Yes, I’m very anxious. I just wondered if anybody else had reacted to probiotics that way. I was taking probiotic capsules, but they started upsetting my stomach, so I stopped them. Does anyone else suffer from SIBO? Does it sound like what this could be? I’m so scared I’m gonna lose more weight. I can’t believe I was just starting to feel better and had been actually going out of the house which I hadn’t been doing for months because I was so weak. I feel like an idiot. Thank you for any help anybody can offer.

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artemis1886 | @artemis1886 | 4 days ago

I have the problem with slow digestion called gastroparsis. If I eat red meat it sits on my stomach for about three or four days with nausea and vomiting.
It’s really hard to digest. They recommend if you have gastroparsis to blend your food for easier digestion. Yogurt bloats my stomach up for a couple of days afterwards.
There are certain foods I do and do not eat that makes it worse.

Janell | @jlharsh | 4 days ago

In reply to @blessedwildapplegirl "They were not able to schedule my colonoscopy until June 9, so I may go in..." + (show)

Oh, yes I have. That is the million dollar question, 🤔 and exactly the reason there are trained professionals we work with. They know the science / we know our body. I do know it all is truly systemic, affects my entire body. What I eat, my activity level, strengthening and stretching all make a difference.

What are you expecting these tests to pin down and/or rule out? Are these tests your GI clinic recommends you get done next or are you telling them what you want done? Aren’t you just tired of running in circles? ⭕️

blessedwildapplegirl | @blessedwildapplegirl | 3 days ago

In reply to @jlharsh "Oh, yes I have. That is the million dollar question, 🤔 and exactly the reason there..." + (show)

No, I didn’t request these tests; the doctor did. I think they’re looking for diverticulitis, colon cancer (it runs in my family), and a hiatal hernia. I finally tried some aloe vera gel yesterday, and it made me feel better even though I only drank a tiny bit. I just watched an interesting video on YouTube by a Dr. Berg that my neighbor sent me and discovered that low thyroid and not enough b vitamins can cause a lack of stomach acid, which of course can cause acid reflux and Gerd because your food doesn’t get digested and then it pushes against that flap. I probably don’t get enough vitamin B because the only one I take is B12, so I’m going to do that. I also have a low thyroid and I’ve been treating it with iodized salt because I was using a different salt that a doctor recommended for me years ago and I didn’t even realize it didn’t have iodine in it! So whenever I can eat, I put a lot of salt in my food, which would probably be bad for most people, but I have low sodium in my blood for some reason. Probably because I don’t eat enough! I was so happy to be able to eat yesterday. It makes all the difference in the world. But I got up too late today and was so hungry that I wolfed my food down and I’ll probably pay for it later. Oops!

Janell | @jlharsh | 3 days ago

In reply to @blessedwildapplegirl "No, I didn’t request these tests; the doctor did. I think they’re looking for diverticulitis, colon..." + (show)

How in the world are you able to figure out a cause and effect of anything if you keep changing what you eat/take? I am super confused I guess. I thought you said you eat the same thing every day. I guess you do….except for they days when you don’t. 😜

blessedwildapplegirl | @blessedwildapplegirl | 3 days ago

In reply to @jlharsh "How in the world are you able to figure out a cause and effect of anything..." + (show)

I eat the same thing every day when I’m able to eat, but I’m trying to introduce some remedies that have been suggested by my doctor, like the aloe vera gel and also I need to take some extra vitamins, like b vitamins. I don’t change my food though. It’s just that some days I can’t eat anything.

mdl555 | @mdl555 | 3 days ago

In reply to @artemis1886 "I have the problem with slow digestion called gastroparsis. If I eat red meat it sits..." + (show)

I also have gastroparesis. A very tough disease. I tried all the motility drugs including Reglan. And all the different diets. Two things that helped on diet was going gluten free and dairy free. Hard to give up. Breakfast was my primary and sometimes only meal of the day. Have not been able to eat red meat or pork in a very long time. Only chicken or turkey. Nothing fried.

The biggest help for me was my GI doctor was able to get FDA approval for me to take Domperidone. It is a old drug no longer available in the US. You have to get approval from a cardiologist to be on it and all other medical avenues have been exhausted. It has been a life saver for a, a true blessing.

How that some of this is helpful in your fight with this disease. Blessings on your day.