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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To be in tears thinking I will never get over this bug?

436 replies

Sienna333 · 05/10/2017 14:40

Have a bad stomach bug which originally caused severe stomach cramps and loss of appetite/nausea but then turned into diarrhea which I have now had for 9 days. Doctor just said to wait it out but although I feel a bit better and the time between each diorohea attack is lengthening, it is still there and worse in the early hours. I have it three or four times in the day which aren't that bad but in the night it is a different story and I have it 1-2 times really bad.
I have already taken a week off work and dread the thought of calling in for yet another week. Most people who get diorohea are over it in 5 days, I don't get why it is not the same for me. I really cannot live like this anymore wondering when it will decide to stop, it is pure hell :(

OP posts:
Nikephorus · 08/10/2017 15:10

In some ways I think OP telling herself she'll have the entire week off might actually be better (and I'm usually the type to think people should go to work & not take unnecessary time off) because she was so anxious about work. That anxiety was probably making the whole issue worse - remove some of the anxiety and she'll get better quicker. Having to go to work when you're scared that your rear end could explode without sufficient warning (!) isn't really the recipe for getting better, quite the opposite. If she tells herself that she can stay at home and recover properly (and sleep is part of that) removes the added pressure & she may well feel up to work at the end of the week in which case she can go in. But given the high levels of anxiety that were present in her earlier postings I doubt she'd have been good for anything at work. And that's without the risk of infecting others.

Youcanstayundermyumbrella · 08/10/2017 15:12

I guess so. I suppose I was looking at it from the other side, i.e. feeling anxious at the ramifications of another whole week off. But if certainty helps then that's a positive.

Original poster
Sienna333 · 08/10/2017 15:35

Thank you Nike. You are spot on with everything you just said. My attendance is great normally. 12 years in this job and only taken 4 days off work sick in all that time.

OP posts:
Youcanstayundermyumbrella · 08/10/2017 15:52

Oh, OP. It was you saying you were so worried about taking time off work and that your boss was puzzled that made me post. I didn't really understand why you are so sure at this point why you'll need the next week off work and wondered if it was a panic reaction that you should discuss with your doctor first.

Original poster
Sienna333 · 08/10/2017 16:13

I think it would be foolish to go in at all this week. As I said, I still have the diarrhea although it is easing and am very weak and tired. In my line of work I can't be worried about diarhea coming back on. As I said, my attendance in 12 years has been pretty perfect and most people take about 3 weeks out due to a bug like this. It isn't just a mild tummy upset. If anyone at work gets what I have I can guarantee they would be off for the same length of time as me if not longer.

OP posts:
Nikephorus · 08/10/2017 16:19

With attendance that good I can't see anyone complaining. I can understand why your manager might be surprised, but then there's a difference between the usual 24-hour stomach bug and what you've got. You can always give him full details - then he'd be ordering you to stay home!!

Original poster
Sienna333 · 08/10/2017 16:31

Exactly Nike. Thank you x

OP posts:
thatdearoctopus · 08/10/2017 16:40

My dh has had what sounds like the exact same thing. One night he counted getting up to the loo 40 times!
It's been 10 days now, and the diarrhoea has gone but he has zero energy. He walked the dog to the end of the road and back and had to go back to bed.
The GP told us that mashed potato/ rice is good to eat and that there is an epidemic of this going round at the moment. Our local hospital is apparently swamped with people who are dehydrated but they won't declare it officially otherwise they'd get 5x as many people turning up at their door with it!

Original poster
Sienna333 · 08/10/2017 16:57

That is interesting to know PP. Hate to hear of others suffering like I was as I know how damn horrible this virus is. Hope he gets better soon x

OP posts:
PinkyBlunder · 08/10/2017 18:38

Can I just add too that you absolutely shouldn't be going to work until you are at least 48 hours clear of symptoms. Especially if you work with the public. That's 48 hours clear, after your last movement of diarrhoea

Dodie66 · 08/10/2017 19:04

I don't think you should be eating bananas. If I have bananas they make me have a bad stomach and cramps. The advice is to eat dry food like toast and crackers. Then add things like rice and potatoes. Nothing spicy or fatty and no alcohol or caffeine. Drink plenty of fluids and use oral rehydration sachets if you are dehydrated.
A trip to the doc is a good idea and they will give you a sick note as well
Hope you feel better soon

smellybeanpole · 08/10/2017 19:12

Hrtft. So not sure if anyone has mentioned taking vitamins ? I usually have very long bouts of D when I get ill. So i know how stressful it could be. I take strong vitC or and metatone tonic. The D is just all that yuckiness leaving your body. Make sure you're really well hydrated and eating small amounts. Hope you feel better soon.

Original poster
Sienna333 · 08/10/2017 19:14

See bananas come up on top foods for diorohea. Trying some plain rice this
evening.

OP posts:
Original poster
Sienna333 · 08/10/2017 19:17

Smellybeanpole is that safe to do with dirrohea? I don't want to trigger anything.
On another note my back was killing me earlier, went for a bowel movement and it stopped. That's kind of weird as in its like I am constipated which I am most definitely not.

OP posts:
allinclusive · 08/10/2017 19:22

Go to the walk in centre and see another doctor? I've got a bug too, it's miserable x

smellybeanpole · 08/10/2017 19:25

Is it safe To take vitamins? I'm pretty sure it is (don't take strong dose if unsure try rda ). I used to work in a pharmacy and the pharmacist said don't try to stop your d as it's clearing whatever it is inside that's making you ill. Also to take vitamins if you're run down and no energy. But if you're worried ask your doc first. Btw. I take either vitC or the metatone. Not both.

Oscha · 08/10/2017 19:41

I’m sorry you’ve been ill so long and are feeling so rubbish :( I’d definitely keep going to the doctor (and find a sympathetic one if yours isn’t). In March last year both my mother and I got what we thought was a bug while on holiday. I don’t say this to scare you but to point out that it could be anything and needs to be taken care of-I was ill for a month and it was confirmed it was a bug. My mum got a diagnosis of colon cancer. She’s fine now but it was hideous, as you can imagine. Please take care of yourself and don’t worry about work!

velocitykate · 08/10/2017 19:42

I'm a doctor and the most likely explanation for this is just a very tenacious bug that's taking it's time to clear. Even if it turned out to be campylobacter or salmonella, we don't always give antibiotics - sometimes they can make the infection last longer.

It sounds, from what you say as if it is slowly getting better, so hopefully, you will have a better night tonight. Please don't even think about going back to work until you are well enough. I would have thought that as you haven't eaten or slept properly for two weeks, even if the diarrhoea stops right now, you are probably not going to be fit for work for most, or all of the week - Get yourself a doctors note tomorrow.

If things are settling and there's no more blood, you don't necessarily need to go back to the doctor, but if you have the diarrhoea badly tonight, or you get anymore blood, you need to go back for a stool sample.

Good luck, I hope you feel better very soon and please try not to panic - as I said, the likeliest explanation, by orders of magnitude, is a bug and nothing more.

Original poster
Sienna333 · 08/10/2017 19:46

Kate, thank you so much. Hearing that from a doctor is such a relief.
Can you explain the weird back pain? Sorry, just confused by it.

Thanks all. Feel like you are all holding my hand x

OP posts:
DianaPrincessOfThemyscira · 08/10/2017 19:51

How are you feeling?

I had similar a couple of weeks ago - shitting through the eye of a needle for the best part of ten days, painful cramps when eating or drinking. Nobody else in the family got it though thank god. Once that was better, I got a cold

Original poster
Sienna333 · 08/10/2017 19:56

Did you find out what it was Diana and are you ok now?
My back is playing up today, was really sore until I went to the loo and it eased. Now coming back. :(
No appetite today and just feel very low.

OP posts:
Etymology23 · 08/10/2017 21:03

It sucks when you feel ill for so long, it can be really frustrating! I really hope you get well soon - I would definitely agree that it's worth taking the time to really recover. Something like that can really take its toll on your body. I had a nasty bug and it took weeks for me to recover fully.

thatdearoctopus · 08/10/2017 21:19

The advice is to eat dry food like toast and crackers.

Whilst this won't do any harm, the GP advised dh that it wouldn't particularly help, and that mashed potato or rice would help build him up more. Toast wouldn't. But to stay off proteins like chicken or cheese.

Original poster
Sienna333 · 08/10/2017 21:25

I am so sick of rice and mashed potato now. Had my hopes raised as had about 7 hours with no D, ate some rice and then had to rush to the loo. It's exhausting. My mum had a similar bug a few years ago and said hers lasted 2 weeks. I am hoping this means I am almost at the end.

OP posts:
SouthWestmom · 08/10/2017 21:27

Oh poor you. I had d and v for four weeks and it was terrible. Same worries about work, just wanted to curl up and give in in the end I was so ill. Escaped hospital for dehydration as I had people to care for me but I really really feel for you.

Mine was nothing sinister in the end - samples didn't show anything treatable.

It did go though. I found eating quorn made it worse and I don't eat it at all now.