Constant Diarrhoea

[mildlymiffed]

For the past two months constantly I've had diarrhoea. Some days up to 13 bowel movements. All horrible liquidy shits.

Went to the GP after the first two weeks. They did run some bloods- but nothing was flagged. And I just left it, but continued to feel rubbish.

Now two months on I've been back. They've run bloods and stool samples. This time I've taken a greater interest in my test results. And there are two that jump out as being off:

My b12 reading is 243 ng/l (in normal range apparently- but right at bottom end)
And my serum tibc is 71 umol/L (abnormal)

I rang the docs this morning and he said I needed to wait for the stool sample analysis to come back next week. So that was that and I'm left floundering still as to what is going on. But in the meantime can anyone comment on what they think of the two figures above and if they point to anything obvious?

I feel absolutely wiped, teary and lousy. I've taken the day off work (unheard of) as feeling so drained.

At the end of my tether really. Cried on the school run today in front of my 11yo ds. Just want to stop shitting and feeling grim.

I'm a 39yo generally healthy woman otherwise. Not veggie or vegan so shouldn't have dietary factors contributing to low iron.

Don’t panic. There are all the things like coeliac and crohns to rule out before you have to worry about anything more sinister. Miserable just living with the symptoms, though.

So the consultant appointment came through today via text.

October.

Give me strength.

I know you have investigations underway and I am sorry your consultant visit is so delayed.

All I can offer you is anecdotal in that I had similar symptoms before being diagnosed as coeliac. This also made me lactose intolerant which is fairly common for people who are coeliac due to gut damage. The lactose intolerance was the issue that kept me detained in the loo. So if you will need to keep gluten in your diet until you are tested, it might be worth seeing if quitting lactose is any help. There is a range of lactose free (or dairy free if you prefer) products to try out if you want to see if this helps.

Good luck with the investigations and I hope you get some answers soon.

@CrepuscularCritter thank you.

I am very pfffffttt at the waiting time. I didn't want to exclude stuff prior to appointment but now wondering if I should? Given that I have 5 months now to wait. Maybe I'll exclude and then reintroduce nearer the time or dependent on what the consultant says.

Does your G P know that Imodium gave you symptoms of bowel obstruction? That's not normal and in context is concerning.

@mildlymiffed

So the consultant appointment came through today via text.

October.

Give me strength.

Bloody hell! But at least it's something!

Chase your GP for BAM tests. If it's really yellow, stinky and stingy then it sounds like it might be...

@user11838686969686

Does your G P know that Imodium gave you symptoms of bowel obstruction? That's not normal and in context is concerning.

Yes, do tell them this!

Your appointment not being until October does not mean that you will be like this with no diagnosis until then. Giardiasis or coeliac should become clear when your results are back. UC and crowns usually cause bloody diarrhoea with pain so seem less likely as diagnoses. Your Fr can continue to investigate and may be able to get advice before your appointment. Best of luck, it sounds awful.

@Eyeskydry

Could you have giardia? This sounds exactly like what I experienced a couple of years ago. No idea where I caught it. A course of strong antibiotics and all was sorted.

Definitely get tested for Giardia. I had exactly your symptoms - only when I went to a private gastro was it diagnosed. As @Eyeskydry says clears up v. quickly after some powerful antibiotics. Also no clue where I picked it up.

So sorry you are going through this. I've also had these symptoms for about 3 weeks. Yellow stools/diaharea and going to the loo much more frequently. I also have indigestion, burping a lot etc and have been taking Gaviscon, which I was blaming the yellow colour on. Sometimes it's also been an orangey colour, I've got to the stage where I'm scared to look at what's come out of me. I haven't been to the GP yet as my husband recently had a stomach bug and I just assumed I'd caught that, but three weeks is getting on a bit now and I'm getting worried. What does BAM(malabsortian?) mean and what condition does it point to?

My GP tested me for giardia first as I was not long back from Russia at the time. There are some other destinations that make it more likely, although the timing might be off because of lockdown. Coeliac disease was next. I seem to recall the giardia testing being pretty quick. I found the lactose issue by keeping a food diary, which could be an option. Although I totally get your reticence to eliminate foods until you have been properly assessed.

Ask for a morning cortisol blood test. I had these symptoms and was diagnosed with Addison’s disease. It’s rare so they don’t test for it as standard but worth ruling out.

@Callywalls it might be your gallbladder - the yellow is bile, but could also be from a bug. bile acid malabsorption is when your body isn't absorbing the bile as it should.

More info here: www.uhcw.nhs.uk/bam/what-is-bam/

bunburycucumbersandwich thanks for that information.

@MrsPnut so... the faecal calprotectin is back. Rate is 240 ug/g and normal is apparently sub 50 ug/g so obvs something isn't right. Have another call with gp tomorrow. This time they called me to organise.

Have you told your doc your also burping excessively?
Imodium causes poop to stay in and I was very ill from taking it once- admittedly I had food poisoning so it needed to come out.

I’ve had lots of stomach/poo issues over the years, so I can imagine how you feel!

@Suzi888 I did mention it but GP seemed to discount it. Will raise it with GP tomorrow. Frustratingly it's never the same one... this will be the 4th one I've seen tomorrow

That at least points to inflammation. Mine during my last flare was >1500 (they stop counting at that point) but everyone’s condition is different. They might want to try some IBD first line meds like pentasa or asacol to see if that makes a difference. They might also try a course of steroids because that is a common IBD treatment.

If you can afford it, maybe pay for a private consultation. You can usually get one within a week of asking. But I appreciate not everyone has the money for this.

Good luck OP and get well soon.

I've just been through this @mildlymiffed
Can I just say I was advised NOT to take immodium as it can cause a perforated bowel (if it turns out you have ulcerative colitis)
My diagnosis was microscopic colitis (which is a form of inflammatory bower disease which can only be seen by scope and not by eye)
I see your calprotectin result has come back, it doesn't mean it's not IBD if it's 'normal' from what I've read, it's not an exact indicator.
Hope you get sorted soon.
I'd keep on at them. You can't go on like this until October fgs!

Thought I would just update. The GP, on the basis of my raised calprotectien result got me a more urgent appt with gastroenterology. Had that on Friday. I now should be issued with a date for a colonoscopy within 4 weeks. And need to do a repeat stool sample.

Was a little annoyed as the consultant as it was meant to be a video call. But he didn't even bother with that- just called me on the phone- which I found disconcerting as I wanted to speak face to face with them! Session lasted less than 5 minutes.

I'd had a few days reprieve with my stomach (6 days of better bowels- not perfect- but a bit better). However today it is back with a vengeance again, which is depressing thinking about waiting another 4 weeks...

Drink plenty of water OP to keep yourself hydrated. Hope you get a firm diagnosis soon.,

I have had similar problems.
Had a bad episode in march with vomiting as well. Turned out to be a lazy bowel Take a supplement each day . I also had to increase fibre and water. All good now. Was advised to use fybrogel each day to ensure bowel moved and 2 litre of water each day. All good now.

Sorry you’re feeling rubbish....you have my empathy and sympathy. I had the “dustbin diagnosis” that’s IBS for years til I paid for a gastro appt. He arranged a SECHAT scan and it turned out I had severe BAM. Google gutscharity.org for info about BAM & all sorts of conditions. Most GPs haven’t heard of BAM. (Lo fat diet & there are meds but they went through a phase of being impossible to get hold of so lots of us use natural binders now. 1tspn at bedtime of evolution green dried banana flour from Amazon works as good as meds for me.) You might have something entirely different of course and as you’ll already know from the responses on here there’s a whole menu of possibilities!!! Some great advice tho. Good idea to not eliminate anything just yet too. To help the flare ups definitely drink lots of water as you need to rehydrate. For cramps lots of people use hot water bottles, peppermint tea, peppermint capsules or buscopan. On a day I really need help to push on then yes, Imodium, but I prefer co-codamol as it stops the runs and the pain. Addictive tho so be careful! Very hard to do with work and kids but make sure you put some thought into look after yourself especially as you’ll probably be more tired than usual. It can all take a bit of a toll emotionally as well as physically. Hope you get some answers soon and that there’s a simple “fix” for whatever’s going on!

@mildlymiffed I always feel like that when I have telephone consultations with my gastroenterologist. Things do seem to be moving in the right direction now though. The colonoscopy will provide so much information and then they can try different medications to bring it under control.