To need help with sick DH

[Choufleuretbattenberg]

I'm not unreasonable, well I don't think so.

DH been sick for a month now- he caught food poisoning at a work function. He has been taken into hospital twice and sent home, bloods taken, nothing showing up. He is up all night in the bathroom, and although it's not not every hour, it's still very often and not sustainable.

NhS 24 sent him to our local hospital twice, but not much happened other than rehydration. Multiple stool samples show nothing. Bloods so far show nothing.

I'm just here asking what we do next because he really hasn't slept for almost 4 weeks now and has losts so so much weight. I feel like nobody is helping him. Any advice or information would be amazing.

Please please do not take him to A&E, its neither an accident nor an emergency.

A&E isn’t the place for him- they’ll triage him to very low priority, he’ll wait 10 hours and he’ll be discharged with electrolytes. Push for high priority gastro referral on nhs or seek a private referral if you can afford it or have insurance.

Start off on a low dose of probiotics and work up to a higher dose.

I had something similar. Stool tests didn't show up anything. Referred on the two week pathway and had a colonoscopy and endoscopy. Diagnosed with diverticulitis. No H Pylori. It resolved after two-3 months but I still get lots of pain and am on a long waiting list to see a gastroenterologist. Buscopan helped and I have to be careful with my diet.

They will triage him as a low priority this is true Its not true that he'll just be turned away w electrolytes though.

When ds2 was finally seen (2am) they did blood tests. These showed that his c-reactive protein was extremely elevated and his kidneys were struggling. He was immediately put on a drip, was sent for xrays to check for a bowel perforation and admitted to a ward. By 8am he was down for an ultrasound on his bowel and had a whole host of blood tests. Then he had an mri. Endoscopy/colononoscopy came a few days later. In all he was in for 3 weeks.

I have no idea if the OPS dh is an emergency and neither do you. But my ds, with the same symptoms was, and my friend's husband's life was saved when she insisted he go to a&e after the gp dismissed his pancreatitis as constipation. He had a long initial wait to be seen too and then spent 3 months in hospital, much of which in the hdu.

Food poisoning can permanently as well as temporarily damage the bowel and the gut microbiota. This will need colonoscopy or a camera to investigate. You just have to keep pushing for this. Meanwhile look at pro and pre biotic supplementals to return some normal gut microbes. If he can tolerate things like kefir, kambuci and things that promote a healthy gut.

I had a very mild viral illness that completely messed my gut up for 6 months with diarrhoea and weight loss. Actually food poisoning is far worse.

Urgent GP referral, not a&e.

Posted too soon. Urgent GP referral. Not A&E unless he is dehydrated and in an acute phase, such as lethargy, not passing urine or abdominal pain. GP can do blood tests and if it's showing kidney issues, they can refer directly to the hospital and gastroenterology
Keep giving rehydration drinks. He may cope with the BRAT diet?

I have never been as ill in my life as when I had salmonella poisoning. In fact they treated me for something else before realising what it was! I was in hospital for a week.

A friend caught giardia from a swimming pool as was so poorly for ages before it was diagnosed.

Keep pushing for gastro referral.

There’s a huge difference between a 2 year old showing signs of dehydration and an adult with a longer term issue which fluctuates in severity.
Of course he needs medical attention- but not in A&E unless his condition changes.

@DailyEnergyCrisis my son is 14 and 6' tall. Not a tiny delicate child. He was still so sick that he was admitted immediately.

Ds2 meaning he is my second son , not aged 2.

My dad was exactly like this when he had salmonella, you've mentioned he's had stool samples though and it should have shown up in them. I hope you get some answers and he's on the road to recovery soon. He must be exhausted.

This sounds very like when I had campylobacter many years ago (from eating chicken), mistakenly diagnosed as appendicitis, and an appendectomy was undertaken.
Eventually, while still an in-patient, the appendix histology came back 'normal' and the faecal samples came back +campylobacter. I was discharged (with all the same symptoms plus a surgical wound) with the advice that campylobacter was /is self-limiting. Only after being admitted to another hospital, a couple of days after the first discharge, was I prescribed antibiotics (erythromycin) and gradually started to recover. I lost 3 stone and was skeletal

I had to follow brat diet after I had something similar.

Bananas
Rice
Applesauce
Toast

No dairy, no fried or fatty foods until my stomach and gut had healed fully.

He needs a scope if symptoms still ongoing but nothing on stool samples. Going to ED is most likely unhelpful as if he is well enough to avoid admission then will discharge and GP to organise further investigations. Go back to GP and ask for a gastro referral urgently.

Have they done a colonoscopy or tried prednisone? He sounds a bit like my DH when he became ill 16 years ago. That was UC and he ended up having surgery.

Is he doing this OP?

A few people have asked what he's eating?