Nausea and loose bowels for almost 2 years! Help!

Digestive health
1

Hi, looking for help.

February 2015 I suffered really bad headaches, turned out to be sinus infection and got antibiotics to clear it.

Then in March 2015 I started suffering from extreme nausea followed by loose bowel movements, going several times some days to the toilet and also getting more wind than usual. This lasted a few days and I was off my food, feeling too sick, eating the bare minimum if i could. Then it cleared and I felt fine again but my bowels still remained loose.

However then these symptoms started coming more frequently and lasting longer. Waking me up during the night like I was going to throw up. I have never once been sick but the feeling is so overwhelming I've ran to the toilet at times. Also doesn't help i hate being sick so panic. I was getting two days a week, if that, where I felt normal and could eat properly again. I started feeling so weak and tired, not sleeping right and struggling with work feeling so ill.

I went on the doctors in June 2015 when it started getting bad countless number of times and was eventually admitted to hospital December 2015 due to the weight loss. I have had the following done since June 2015:

Blood tests - normal

Acid reflux tablets - didn't help

Stool test for infection - normal

Tested for coeliac disease - negative

Ultrasound scan - normal

Tested for Helicobacter Pylori - negative

Blood tests for hormone imbalance - normal

Endoscopy - normal

CT scan of head (checking vagus nerve) - normal

MRI scan of small bowel - normal

Gut hormone blood test - normal

Blood test for cows milk & barley allergy - negative

Was given various different tablets for feeling sick. Only ones that have helped have been Metoclopramide.

Really bringing my mood down, upset all the time and frustrated. Doctors gave me tablets for depression but didn't want to take them. Treated for anxiety February 2016 with CBT therapy as this has gone on so long with no answers. Started getting worried going anywhere that I would need to come home as usually that is what happens as I feel so sick.

Paid for food allergy and intolerance testing March 2016. Cut out loads of foods that came up as possible intolerance to and felt a bit better. Slowly introduced again and been ok however think dairy could be the issue. But still getting nausea and loose bowels so now questioning if it is dairy?! Doctor recently gave me Buscopan to take 3 times a day before meals but not helped at all.

Going insane as no one knows what's wrong with me. I am so underweight and struggling to put any on with feeling sick all the time. Recently been feeling sick after eating. I get no pains with this.

Can anyone help?! I have tried everything.

Thanks.

2

Sounds like IBS.  Has your doctor suggested this?  Ask about the Fodmap diet or google it.  There is no one treatment for IBS that works for everyone. Buscopan and Nurofen worked for me.  Peppermint tea and mebeverine made me a lot worse.  Probiotics have helped some people. Perhaps try that. Depression is also common with IBS.  Try a food diary.  Do you get stomach pain that moves about?

3

Thanks for your reply. My doctor gave me Buscopan for IBS recently but made no difference to me. I have also tried Probiotics but they didn't help me either. I had kept a food diary in the past but nothing jumped out that is making me feel this way. Sometimes I eat the same thing that made me feel sick that then doesn't next time round.

I don't get any pains. Just the nausea, wind and loose bowels.

4

Perhaps take a note of the food that made you feel sick and avoid it completely even if it causes no reaction on another occasion.  Foods csusing a problem on one week but being fine at other times is a sign of IBS. Definitely see a dietician about Fodmap which is good for uncovering intolerances.  A dietician should be able to pinpoint trigger foods.  Avoid, gassy foods like broccoli, brussels sprouts and cabbage.  Lactose. fructose, and gluten are common irritants.

5

Hi lornejx

Have you had any tests on your pancreas. Ask for it to be tested as problems with the pancreas present with nausea bowel problems and weight loss.....best wishes.....

6

A HIDA scan is missing,

blood test can be anything....doesn't specify which ones (there are 100s of parameters),

ad probiotics:

you need to look what is in it and go minimum 2 months with on brand, then swap if no result.

In your case:  Lactobacillus rhamnosus, Lactobacillus reuteri the probiotic yeast Saccharomyces boulardii.

Have you ben tested (or self ordered) SIBO  or yeast?

 

7

I second the HIDA scan..

Also was H Pylori in the testing?

8

and PS:

bile acid malabsorption could be another possibility to check out?

(Diagnose: SeHCAT scan;

reasons range from inflammation in intestine, Crohn, people who had part of ileum or gallbladder removed, SIBO, celiac, chronic pancreatitis to simply unknown = ideopathic)

 

9

I'm so sorry for your suffering. I've been there. You are NOT crazy! Keep going until you get answers.

I had the same eating problems as you, however, I eventually started having pain under my right ribs. The pain became so bad at times that I would lie in bed sobbing from the pain. After many of the same tests and a few others, which came up negative- great, but doesn't answer anything- I found a general surgeon who was willing to do exploratory surgery to have a better look. While in there he found my gallery bladder covered in scar tussue from the chronic inflammation which pushed it against the liver. Anyhow, the surgery releived the severe pain but I still have chronic pain under my ribs because the valve that connects to the gall bladder does not work properly and there is no treatment.

For now, certain meds could be making things worse. Small bland meals and snacks throughout the day and stay away from pork and greasy foods.

Good luck , don't give up.

10

Hi Lillian, thanks so much for your reply. I have never had any tests on my pancreas. I have an appointment at my doctors on Thursday so I will definitely mention this to him.

Thanks,

Lorne

11

Hi Sanya, thanks so much for your reply. I have an appointment at my doctors on Thursday so I am going to ask for the HIDA scan to be done. The Probiotics might be worth another try for me then as I only took them for 1 month and didn't feel a difference. I have not heard of the SIBO or yeast tests however I will also mention these to my doctor too.

Thank you,

Lorne

12

Thank you. Will discuss this with my doctor as well and hopefully he can do these tests for me.

13

Hi Vickey, thank you so much for your reply. I think my gallbladder and liver is needing more examination from what you have said. I have an appointment at my doctors on Thursday so I will make sure he does some tests for me.

I am so sorry to hear that you are still suffering and in pain with it too. That is annoying there is no treatment for the valve that connects the gallbladder, maybe one day there will be! Is there any meds you can be given to help relieve the pain?

I am trying to eat small amounts when I can for the time being.

Thank you,

Lorne

14

Hello, thank you so much for your reply. I have an appointment on Thursday so I am going to ask for the HIDA scan to be done.

Yes, I was tested for H. Pylori last year and it came back negative.

Thank you,

Lorne

15

Thank you for this I will start keeping a food diary again to eliminate culprits however right now it seems to be everything I attempt to eat! I will check if my doctor can refer me to a dietician.

Thanks

Lorne

16

Good luck.  Finding foid triggers can take a long time.  My brother had IBS and it took him a long time to figure out he had an intolerance to potato depending on how it was prepared.

17

Best of luck! 

18

Hi,

I had my doctors appointment today and he is referring me back to the gastroenterology department.  This could be an 8 week wait.  I am hoping they will then to the HIDA scan for me and the SIBO test.

19

Hi,

I had my doctors appointment today and he is referring me back to the gastroenterology department.  This could be an 8 week wait.  I am hoping they will then to the HIDA scan for me.