Diagnosed with Gastroparesis and CSID, trouble with constipation and d

What research have you found?

my understanding is that prucalopride is generally not recommended for intermittent constipation or alternating diarrhea. It is designed for a very specific type of long-term bowel issue and could make fluctuating symptoms worse. One of the side effects is diarrhea.

Did you do the breath test for CSID and SIBO? From what I read SIBO can cause a false positive for CSID.

I am not a doctor and that is who you should listen to, but you might want to ask your doctor these questions.

@samclembeau

Thanks for your reply. I did do the breath test for CSID, and it was positive. My gastroenterologist feels that my diareah episodes are from "fermenting" when I regularly get very constipated and can't have a bowel movement for several days. It is not uncommon for me to 7-10 days. Then I "explode"; no fun.

Interesting. Let us know how it works out for you. Best of luck.

Has anybody tried eating a few tablespoons of fermented food daily? I'm trying sauerkraut (refrig.with live cultures) and it seems to be helping my gut flora stay healthy & moving.

I’m taking ginger root supplements to help move food along so it doesn’t ferment. So far great success without cramps and bloating. Along with a probiotic. Learning to ‘belly breathe’ to try and help with the gut-brain connection. My best …

Everyone is different and there is no "one size fits all" approach, I think. And also maybe no "total" cure. I was diagnosed with SIBO, SID, and pelvic floor dysfunction. I also had off and on constipation and "dyssynergic defecation." And, as a result of all this, terrible internal hemmorrhoids!

After more than 2 years, here is what helped me get much better and not have to focus every moment of waking life thinking about all this! I can even schedule appointments in the morning without being afraid I won't be able to leave the house:

1) CSID diet. I can tolerate some starches and there are even quite a few vegetables and even fruits that are okay but: no sugar whatsoever. (Nice - I did lose 20 lbs.! A good thing!) Lots of animal protein. No whole grains. Sour-dough bread seems mostly okay and has been a godsend. Even white bread, though, is better than whole grain. No fermented food. No probiotics.

2) Miralax every afternoon. One senna laxative every night.

3) Pelvic floor therapy taught me a few exercises that I now do at home everyday, including diaphragmatic breathing. One exercise is something you do while pooping, to engage the right muscles.

4) A "poop stool."

5) Bowel "training." Keenly aware of the gut-brain connection I have aimed to poop only once a day, in the morning after breakfast. I sometimes get all kinds of signals at other times of the day that I have to "go" but I ignore them and almost always they subside. If they're real, you will keep on having them and yes, you might really have to go. I get "signals" from nerves in my anus after almost every meal. Really unpleasant but then they go away.

6) I did do one course of the Rifaximin for the SIBO. It might have helped kill off some of the bacteria in my small intestine. I had a couple of (unpleasant) days that seem to have been what some call "the die-off."

7) I did a survey of my medications and supplements to see if any had constipation as a side-effect and stopped taking some of them or arranged to cut down on the doses.

In a nutshell, I hope that one day the damage to my gut will repair itself and that I will have a broader range of what I can eat but who knows? I still do have bloating, mostly in the evening. But it's not uncomfortable enough to keep me up at night.

I hope hearing about this one person's experience helps. I think you need to confront this thing from all sorts of angles. There is no magic pill....

@annpeters thank you for your response. You've given me some tangible things to think about!

@chris22 I should have also mentioned one other thing: at one point I read that going several days without a bowel movement is usually not such a big deal. Yes, still--not great. But at least knowing that calmed me down somewhat. Now, if I go 2 days without a bowel movement I take two Sennas (8 mg each) instead of one before bedtime. That almost always does the trick!

@chris22 I didn't know there was a breath test for CSID. I got diagnosed from a biopsy taken during a special sort of endoscopy procedure.