Sick for 2 months. please help

Digestive health
1

Hi All,

I have been in and out of the doctors and ER for the past two months and i am looking for some real answers and hope someone can help. My whole saga is a bit long so please bare with me.

I started a diet and working on in the beginning of this Feb. I was eating healthy and drinking lots of water. I usually pee about 10+ times a day, which is noraml to me. Mid February I was loosing weight and peeing a lot more then usual, which i assumed was because i was drinking more water. I was having some lower back pain and thought it was from working out or sitting at my work desk all day... Now it is mid march and i have extereme nausea, bloated stomach, and feel like i am going to pee myself. I went to the doctor and she thought i had a UTI, so she took a urine culture and gave me medicine. Two days later, the medicine was not working, and the dr called and said my pee was negative for bacteria. I went to the doctor again a few days later, another urine culture and pregnancy test, both negative. The dr thought maybe i had a stomach bug or an irrated bladder so she gave me anti-nausea pills and i left. That night i felt so horrible i went to the ER,  they tested my urine and NOW my urine was FILLED with bacteria!! They gave me UTI medicne and 3 days later i was STILL feeling sick. I made an appoitnemt with a urologist where they did a CT scan for a kidney stone, and it was negative. My DR put me on augmentim, but it wasnt helping,soshe put me on 10 days of amoxicillan and FINALLY my back pain, frequent urination was gone. BUT my stomach was still in pain. Not only did I have pain when i ate, but i was getting full extremely quickly, my stomach would bloat 4-5 inches everytime i ate, and the nauseas was so horrible, I lost about 10 lbs in 3 weeks.  i ended upback in the ER where they performed an ultra sound, they found sludge in my galbladder and something on my liver which they said was benign.  I went to the GI doctor and he thought my galbladder was to blame so i did a test on my galbladder and it was normal.. I then started to get horrible acid reflux so i had an endoscopy. After the endoscopy i started to spit up and later that night i ended up back in the ER because i got an pneumonia from spitting up. The results from the endoscopy was i have gastritis ( with an unknown cause) and acid in my esphogus. I was prescribed acid reflux medicne and  Bentyl. The GI dr thinks its IBS ( which i dont think so). I went to a natropathic dr and she thinks its  my liver function. My acid reflux and nausea are better but my stomach gets more bloated now then ever, and i think my bladder infection is coming back. Has this happened to anyone? Can anyone help me please? 

2

Sounds like your having a wonderful time[not] you poor thing I'm going through what you are too I'm off to the quacks again in the morning not sure what is causing any of my problems keep needing a pee and my bowels won't empty all I can say to you is keep going back there will be an answer 

it's just a long slow progress which I know isn't what you want to hear but I'm here to listen if you want to vent some anger xx

3

Sounds like you have been through an awful time. It sounds like you might not have been emptying your bladder properly which is probably why you ended up with an infection. I have seen urologists and had numerous tests/procedures like you. It is only 2-3yrs on that i have found out that it was my bowels. I have IBS and have never had problems like this before so was adamant it wasnt that. I have now stopped eating certain foods that cause my symptoms and take regular buscopan to help settle things down. If you think it might be your liver you should get your liver function checked by a blood test. Hope you get sorted.

4

Emily I had a very similar trajectory...pain, UTI antibiotics, no bacteria found, more antibiotics...pain extending, getting worse for many months, emergency etc etc. Misdiagnosed diverticultiis...eventually IBS, many more antibiotics and Clostridium difficile antibiotic resistant infection. Vancomycin and huge probiotic doeses now back to IBS...which causes pain, gass, distnsion etc.

I am now just recently on the Monash low FODMAP diet and very good probiotics and am making progress...if I follow the low FODMAP foods then I am not in pain and bloated...if I et, for example a scone, two hours later I am in agony and abloated again...I have tested fromyself and it is a 1-2 hour lag time.

I feel for you because we have had a similar story and emergency admission where I am are no fun...check out the Monash fodmap info (I got a mobile phone app for $10 and it has changed my life, it is absolutely brilliant). There is a huge ammount of misinformation on FODMAPS...I am a pretty numbers and rsearch based patient and Monash low FODMAP diet has removed my pain when I follow it. They say you need a dietitian to help you, I am finding my way through it on my own. 

I have had 2 gastroenterologists, on saying I need a faecal transplant the other diagnosing IBS...and had a colonsocopy and gastroscopy as well. For me it has turned out to be oh so simple...the FODMAP foods cause the gas that causes the pain.

have a girlfriend who has had this problem since the 70s and she has just 2 days in on the Monash Fodmap diet got rid of the pain and can't believe it. I am in australia and Monash has a very good reputation here and this gastro Professor has a brilliant team of women academic dietitians doing the research...and they have REALLY done the research in depth, gold standard double blinded clinical studies and they have nailed it...fructo oligo di/mono and poly saccharides are causing problems for a huge number of poeple and dietaryy changes give fast relief.its counterintuitive but it works.

Fats and oils in themselves are not the problem BUT they slow down the activity of the small and large intestine which can lead to diahorea and/or constipation and of course that is a prob for all IBS people.  

I am in australia where this research was done but my GP misdiagnosed and mistreated me with antibiotics cause she thought I had diverticultiis...you have to be very proactive to get this soreted out becasue many doctors just arent informed...their training does not include diet even if they are a gstro enterologist...that will change in the future but for now, you really need to search out the research and the people who are up to date...they are like gold!

GOOD LUCK!!!!

ps my UTI turned out to be atrophic vaginitis...agonizing, cuases pus in urine and inflammation in abdomen... but treated with oestrogen pessaries goes away...causes massive inflammation due to oestrogen deficiency mostly in post menopausal women...

You really need to find good doctors who are interested in helping you get well.

And you have to ask questions and understand your treatments. 

I was not assertive at all with my doctor at the beginning of this process...now, I am way more discerning about where I get my advice and take repsonsibility for my own health...ti is my job more than my doctor's job to take care of me.

 

5

might be worth getting tested for heliobacter pylori.

6

My GP prescribed me Omeprazole for acid in the stomach.They have definitely helped.

I had gallstones and have had my gallbladder out 3 weeks ago.

I have another 4 weeks of omeprazole and then Dr wants me to try to reduce them and eventually come off them. We will see what happens then.

Take care and keep in touch

Hope you get some answers to all this

Praying for you

Love Sarah xxx

7

I am sorry your going through a lot, it  sounds like something's going on I would seek another advice from gp. Good luck