Hi everyone, I'm new this forum. I am undiagnosed. Currently, I am at home sick, and I am on my second day of rifaximin treatment.
To tell you a bit about myself, I'm 27, and I've had bowel problems since I was about 15. In the beginning, the doctors thought I had giardiasis. Then it was helicobacter. I also have fructose malapsorption, and good old IBS. In between, I had some gyno problems, and had cysts and polyps removed. They talked about endometriosis, pelvic inflammatory disease, etc. But nothing was ever set in concrete. In the meantime, I kept having (and still do) have these bizarre stomach episodes, which are getting more frequent and frightening. Say I'm feeling well for a few days: suddenly I get hit with a really aching, flu-type feeling, and headache, which seems to centre around my eyes. I can't move, all I want to do is sleep. I start to get really bad bowel cramps (usually after dinner, at night), but my stomach (which is normally disgustingly noisy) doesn't make a sound. It's like something is stuck. I bloat up and my stomach distends. I will develop a fever fairly quick, and I'll be drenched in sweat (I also get really bad night sweats). I sit on and off the toilet for hours, but only little bits of stool come out. The pain is unbearable, like nothing I have ever felt. But nothing moves. Then suddenly, I get this explosive diarrhea, and it lasts for a couple of hours, until I feel empty. But following these attacks, I have freezing chills, and I am very tender to touch, and I will sleep a lot after these attacks. I cannot keep food down (or in) for usually about a week or two. I have really bad gas and diarrhea (that smells horrific). Then I might get a few days where I feel relatively normal. Then it all starts again... Other things- Had a lot of probs with my skin (rosacea keeps cropping up), get a lot of tearing/fissures around my rectum, spotting blood, very mucousy stools, back pain, painful sores in my nose, sore joints.
So far, my gi's tests came back negative, or 'slightly inflamed.' It's annoying coz the only time I can go to the pathology to do my tests is when I feel reasonably ok, so my tests come out ok. Know what I mean? I feel like I wish my doctor could see me at my worst, during one of these attacks. My first gi kept saying it was ibs, and 'eat more fiber' but it was like eating razor blades! This new one I have been seeing is giving me rifaximin at the moment, but I think he is unsure about what is going on, that it 'could possibly' be crohn's, but he wants me to take the rifaximin and 'see what happens.' These tablets are giving me terribly painful gas. I feel rotten, and very depressed. I don't know what to do. I will see out the treatment, and then I have to see him in 6 weeks. Sorry for the long post, just needed to vent I guess.
To tell you a bit about myself, I'm 27, and I've had bowel problems since I was about 15. In the beginning, the doctors thought I had giardiasis. Then it was helicobacter. I also have fructose malapsorption, and good old IBS. In between, I had some gyno problems, and had cysts and polyps removed. They talked about endometriosis, pelvic inflammatory disease, etc. But nothing was ever set in concrete. In the meantime, I kept having (and still do) have these bizarre stomach episodes, which are getting more frequent and frightening. Say I'm feeling well for a few days: suddenly I get hit with a really aching, flu-type feeling, and headache, which seems to centre around my eyes. I can't move, all I want to do is sleep. I start to get really bad bowel cramps (usually after dinner, at night), but my stomach (which is normally disgustingly noisy) doesn't make a sound. It's like something is stuck. I bloat up and my stomach distends. I will develop a fever fairly quick, and I'll be drenched in sweat (I also get really bad night sweats). I sit on and off the toilet for hours, but only little bits of stool come out. The pain is unbearable, like nothing I have ever felt. But nothing moves. Then suddenly, I get this explosive diarrhea, and it lasts for a couple of hours, until I feel empty. But following these attacks, I have freezing chills, and I am very tender to touch, and I will sleep a lot after these attacks. I cannot keep food down (or in) for usually about a week or two. I have really bad gas and diarrhea (that smells horrific). Then I might get a few days where I feel relatively normal. Then it all starts again... Other things- Had a lot of probs with my skin (rosacea keeps cropping up), get a lot of tearing/fissures around my rectum, spotting blood, very mucousy stools, back pain, painful sores in my nose, sore joints.
So far, my gi's tests came back negative, or 'slightly inflamed.' It's annoying coz the only time I can go to the pathology to do my tests is when I feel reasonably ok, so my tests come out ok. Know what I mean? I feel like I wish my doctor could see me at my worst, during one of these attacks. My first gi kept saying it was ibs, and 'eat more fiber' but it was like eating razor blades! This new one I have been seeing is giving me rifaximin at the moment, but I think he is unsure about what is going on, that it 'could possibly' be crohn's, but he wants me to take the rifaximin and 'see what happens.' These tablets are giving me terribly painful gas. I feel rotten, and very depressed. I don't know what to do. I will see out the treatment, and then I have to see him in 6 weeks. Sorry for the long post, just needed to vent I guess.
