A few weeks ago I returned (to the US) from a fairly long trip out of the country. It seems that I brought back with me an intestinal disorder common to travelers who are unused to more exotic food preparation. (I think I put that as clearly as possible without getting too graphic.) Weeks later I still have it, in fact it appears to be getting worse despite all the medications, prescriptions, tests, and dietary changes called for by the doctors. (Yes doctors, plural.) But, I think I just figured out what's wrong with me...PREDNISONE! Pred is an immunosupressent. My immune system is incapable of fighting this bug. Now for my question to the prednisone brain trust we have in this forum... Can I stop taking pred "cold turkey" for several days, or whatever time it takes to shake this condition? I'm even prepared to suffer the slings and arrows of PMR for the duration if that is what it takes. What do you think?
By the way, I’m on 6mg of pred.
Probably not - what dose are you on and for how long have you been on pred? That is critical - if your adrenal function is compromised you would really be silly to do it without very close medical supervision. And adrenal crisis is not to be played about with.
I assume they have done all the appropriate stool cultures? And have they suggested you take high dose probiotics after all the antibiotics? If you kill of all the good bugs in the gut then any of the tough guys that haven’t been finished off by the abx will have a field day.
Assuming that you are on pred for longer then 2-3 weeks, you can NOT stop pred cold turkey. You would end up in emergency at the hospital. Sorry but have no answer to your stomach problems; I usually try to eat less and stick to chicken soup and similar simple meal until troubles blow over.
When my dogs get sick from eating any number of bad things, the quickest way to solve the stomach and loose stool problem is to mix a good deal of rice in with their food. Seems to act like a sponge and probably one thing you could do without any worry about side effects.
Richard,
your pred dose is not that high and getting closer to physiological levels. If you have received many antibiotics in an attempt to clear this up a possibility could be C-difficile infection. Have you consulted an infectious disease specialist? They are more attuned to infections acquired abroad.
Cultures came out negative. So, what does that mean? Have not taken any antibiotics.
Been on pred 3 years. Started on 40, now on 6mg.
From what you all tell me, I won’t go cold turkey from pred.
So what’s next? A gastroenterologist?
A gastroenterologist would be the best choice - after all it seems like a gut problem and thats their life’s work.
Richard,
I once came back from an over seas trip, and was in a similar situation. No doctor could find out what was wrong. I know this will sound too easy, but, someone from the country where I had returned from, told me what to do. And it worked. Boil garlic and ginger root, equal parts, for ten to twenty minutes, and drink the tea. I could feel the problem, (what ever it was), leaving my body, soon after the first cup of tea. Try it, and let me know.
Thanks, Nick. Will not go cold turkey.
Thank you, Patricia. I WILL try it. What have I got to lose.
And I will let you know how it turns out.
Thank you, Karenjaninaz, for the support. Going to call a gastroenterologist Monday morning.
Looked up the c-difficile that you mentioned…Boy, thats bad stuff!
Glad I havn’t taken any antibiotics yet. It seems antibiotics kill everything but the c-difficile bugs, then, as Elaine says, the bad bugs have a field day.
Thanks, Bobo. I am trying to eat as much rice as possible. My wife bought minute rice in single portion plastic cups. You microwave it for a minute, stir, and eat it from the cup. It is surprisingly tasty. Needs a little salt, though.
Blows the low carb program out of the water, however.
FYI if you want to feed good bacteria (and you do) they thrive better with fibre, and you won’t get any from Minut rice, unless they’ve come out with a less refined version. Avoid sugar, dairy, high fat foods. And, actually, eat very sparingly but get lots of fluids (not caffeine).
Fibre is considered a probiotic.
I only eat organic brown rice. Soak it first and strain off before you steam it.
Richard, have same problem the doctor told me BRAT, banana, white rice, apple sauce & toast. The rice is for absorption, bland, but seems to quiet things down. Good luck, not great for the diet, but one thing at a time. Good luck!
Thanks, Anhaga. Now this is where I get confused. It’s my understanding that high fiber foods are prebiotic. That is, they stimulate the colon. Don’t I want to quiet things down in that area? In the hospital they told me to eat low fiber foods like bananas and white rice.
They also told me to avoid dairy, then in almost the next sentence, said that yogurt is helpful.
Really confused.
Thanks, Michdonn.
I am following the BRAT diet. No results so far. I think at this point I’m going to have to count on the technology of modern medicine to fix this.
I appreciate your input.
Fibre is prebiotic, probiotics are bugs, the good guys.
Oh absolutely = and depending on what country you were in maybe a tropical medicine specialist. They may not have been looking for the right “thing”.