Covid Recovery: How can I manage GI issues?

@sieb369, welcome. I'm glad to hear that 5 weeks after having COVID most of your symptoms have resolved. Sorry to hear that you're experiencing new pain in your gastrointestinal tract. @tschumpers5 and @lauriekh have also mentioned this late effect.

Sieb, can you describe your pain? Have you seen a GI specialist? Do certain foods or activities aggravate the pain?

It felt like someone took a nail file and roughed up the inside of my intestines. I don't know any other way to describe it. No I have not seen a GI specialist. My experience with the medical community and COVID has been go home isolate and we don't want to hear from you unless you go to the ER if your oxygen level gets too low. I am afraid I don't have much faith in doctors anymore. I had to get my advice on how to self-treat covid at home from friends who were in radiology and a nurse. I had to call twice and demand the monoclonal antibodies. I am 69 so definitely qualified. My husband was vaccinated also had COVID and has several health issues. When he called his doctor he was just told "OK, we will note it in your chart." Really. He's 71 overweight and has been seen by his doctor a lot. No advice like take an aspirin each day to help prevent blood clots, or take Tylenol to control fever, or even monitor your oxygen level. Thanks to friend and Google we managed to survive, but I can't say much for any treatment from our esteemed doctors.

Greetings, I had a breakthrough case of covid five months ago, all gastrointestinal symptoms. The symptoms still are recurring every few days. No gastrointestinal remedies seem to help: probiotics, prebiotics, Curing Pills, prevacid, all no help. Anyone having any success with gastro symptoms? Thank you!

Welcome, Greg. I moved your question about gastro symptoms post-COVID to this existing discussion that @sieb369 started called "Covid Recovery: How can I manage GI issues?" https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/covid-recovery-and-gi-pain/

I did this so you can connect with Sieb and others talking about GI symptoms like @ineedanswers38 @tschumpers5 @luisa22 and @lauriekh

If you are also dealing with nausea, check out this related discussion:
- Has anyone had nausea with the coronavirus or post-COVID? https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/coronavirus-2/

Greg, what symptoms are you experiencing? Do any foods trigger the issues or help?

Hi Greg I too have been experiencing gastrointestinal issues, I have had diarrhea at least twice a week and also a lot of gas. Even if I dnt eat anything hours before I go to bed I still wake up feeling very bloated and stomach hard and gassy.

A couple of natural remedies to balance this system. Take 2 TBSPNS of FlAX SEED/CHIA SEED blend and add enough boiling water to cover, let them soften for a few minutes, I then add a container of ACTIVIA yogurt, it is a very pleasant blend and the activia will repopulate the colon with the correct probiotis while the flax seed and chia seed will absorb the excess water. Try it for a week

Had intense heart burn and other symptoms of inflammation during covid. My Dr. prescribed Diphenhydramine (Benadryl) and Famotidine (Pepcid). Felt they were just suppressing symptoms for longest time but now after 6 weeks feel some progress being made.

Thank you for your help, Colleen, greatly appreciated. Triggers have been hard to pinpoint since the symptoms are so frequent. Anything spicy is likely a trigger and one that might be a trigger, that I am curious about, is refined sugar. Symptoms: abdominal pain and burning, diarrhea, disorientation, lightheadedness, some fatigue, and headaches. Thankfully, the intensity of the headaches has greatly diminished! During my initial infection, and first two months after, the headaches and eyeball aches were very bad. Thanks again, Greg

Very mild symptoms of Covid until 3 weeks in. Then I crashed, had to be rushed to the ER with shock, pneumonia, and what they thought was an intestinal blockage. Well it wasn’t a blockage, but I’ve had terrible diarrhea for the 2 weeks after that. Gadtro did a sigmoid?exam while I was in the hospital, said I was severely inflamed and looked infected but I was neg for c-diff. and no block.
So I’m home, been doing a tsp.of Metamucil a day, a probiotic a day but still all day diarrhea and a huge swollen belly. What next???

I think I should mention that I have Type 1 Diabetes -on CGM, Lupus, IBS, Barrett’s esophagus. These stomach cramps are terrible. There has to be a doctor or treatment that could help me. Has anything wotkfrf?????