Here is my story. I'm hoping to get your input on my symptoms. Seeing the doctor is expensive and I'd love to get a handle on this without spending more money on tests, etc. I have not been diagnosed with anything in particular so far.
I have been suffering from intestinal symptoms for a long time. I've seen the doctor a number of times and had a colonoscopy and endoscopy last year. They found some smallish polyps that they removed but no major problems.
I was told twenty years ago in college that I had irritable bowel syndrome. About eight years ago I started getting what my wife described as "sleeping sickness". I would spend 7-9 days (mostly in bed sleeping). When this happened, my symptoms often but not always included the following: Exhaustion, weakness, confusion or lack of ability to concentrate, nausea, heart palpitations, shortness of breath, some weight loss and of course soft stools, diarrhea and some cramping. My bowels always seem to be messed up, so I didn't at first associate this sickness with my bowels.
The sickness would reoccur about every 10 weeks, residing me to feeling terrible for 7-9 days and sleeping 2-6 hours during the day. Over the years, I've noticed an increasing intolerance to certain foods, spices and preservatives. Beer and alcohol also started to really reek havoc on my system so I quite drinking entirely. My GI doctors said that infections in my bowels can trigger my body to become intolerant of certain foods if they are injected during an infection. He said this was probably the case for me.
My bowels then started not liking pills, lactose and got very sensitive to too much fiber, etc.
Here's were it gets interesting:
I went back to my doctor complaining about my symptoms and he said, that I might want to try taking metronidazole (Flagyl) just in case I have parasite, etc. (even though testing for a parasite came back negative).
Three days into taking Metronidazole my symptoms started to clear up. When I was done taking the pills my bowels were working normally for the first time in many, many years. I started drinking again, eating cheese, drinking milk and staying normal the whole time.
Then, about four weeks after taking the drug, I noticed that my regular bowel movements were followed by my "normal" pale colored thin and very soft movements (sorry for the details). This regression back to my old sick self continued for a number of weeks until all of the positive effects of taking the drug had disappeared.
I am now back to the cramping, loose stools, some nausea (especially at night) and having to be very careful about what I eat and drink.
What is interesting is that the colonoscopy (or at least the preparation for the colonoscopy) had a similar but much shorter effect. Two days after my colonoscopy, I had totally regular bowel movements but just for two days. It seems that clearing out my system must have reset the bugs in my gut for a short amount of time.
Does this all mean that I've got the wrong king of bacteria thriving inside my bowels? I've tried taking probiotics but don't see any difference or improvement.
I am currently recovering from yet another spell of "sleeping sickness" and really want to find some kind of solution. Please tell me what you think!
Thanks!
I have been suffering from intestinal symptoms for a long time. I've seen the doctor a number of times and had a colonoscopy and endoscopy last year. They found some smallish polyps that they removed but no major problems.
I was told twenty years ago in college that I had irritable bowel syndrome. About eight years ago I started getting what my wife described as "sleeping sickness". I would spend 7-9 days (mostly in bed sleeping). When this happened, my symptoms often but not always included the following: Exhaustion, weakness, confusion or lack of ability to concentrate, nausea, heart palpitations, shortness of breath, some weight loss and of course soft stools, diarrhea and some cramping. My bowels always seem to be messed up, so I didn't at first associate this sickness with my bowels.
The sickness would reoccur about every 10 weeks, residing me to feeling terrible for 7-9 days and sleeping 2-6 hours during the day. Over the years, I've noticed an increasing intolerance to certain foods, spices and preservatives. Beer and alcohol also started to really reek havoc on my system so I quite drinking entirely. My GI doctors said that infections in my bowels can trigger my body to become intolerant of certain foods if they are injected during an infection. He said this was probably the case for me.
My bowels then started not liking pills, lactose and got very sensitive to too much fiber, etc.
Here's were it gets interesting:
I went back to my doctor complaining about my symptoms and he said, that I might want to try taking metronidazole (Flagyl) just in case I have parasite, etc. (even though testing for a parasite came back negative).
Three days into taking Metronidazole my symptoms started to clear up. When I was done taking the pills my bowels were working normally for the first time in many, many years. I started drinking again, eating cheese, drinking milk and staying normal the whole time.
Then, about four weeks after taking the drug, I noticed that my regular bowel movements were followed by my "normal" pale colored thin and very soft movements (sorry for the details). This regression back to my old sick self continued for a number of weeks until all of the positive effects of taking the drug had disappeared.
I am now back to the cramping, loose stools, some nausea (especially at night) and having to be very careful about what I eat and drink.
What is interesting is that the colonoscopy (or at least the preparation for the colonoscopy) had a similar but much shorter effect. Two days after my colonoscopy, I had totally regular bowel movements but just for two days. It seems that clearing out my system must have reset the bugs in my gut for a short amount of time.
Does this all mean that I've got the wrong king of bacteria thriving inside my bowels? I've tried taking probiotics but don't see any difference or improvement.
I am currently recovering from yet another spell of "sleeping sickness" and really want to find some kind of solution. Please tell me what you think!
Thanks!
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