Why have I had diarrhoea for over a month??

[MagicVanillaBeans]

I’m trying to get to the bottom (ha) of why I’m so unwell and would really appreciate some ideas or pointers. I’ve basically had diarrhoea for several weeks. Sometimes it seems to improve, but always comes back with a vengeance. It seems to get worse when I eat and when I wake up, so I’m often ill in the mornings and evenings and, while still annoying, it’s not so acute during the day.

Docs have done stool tests for bacteria and parasites (clear), inflammation (possible, slight, but borderline) and blood (the FIT test - clear, phew). They also did a blood test and all that came up was slight low iron, which I’ve had since at least late last year. No inflammation markers up on blood.

They wanted to wait 6 weeks and repeat the inflammation test, but I went back in tears saying I can’t go on like this (can’t do the school run, can’t work etc etc - also I’m really scared and the waiting is hard) and all that came of that is that they’re repeating the FIT test and bug test. Actually, no - GP also spoke to the gastro team who said they’ll do an x ray of my tummy but only if/when certain results come back.

I feel like no one knows what’s wrong with me or how to fix it. Do any of you have any suggestions of what to ask for? I would have thought a colonoscopy would be right in this instance but they said not 🤷🏻‍♀️

@OnTheRunWithMannyMontana they said my liver was fine but not sure about gallbladder? I’ll ask, thank you.

@MagicVanillaBeans well I had been pregnant and then within the year following birth had gallstone issues, so put down any odd days to that, but I definitely noticed it was a lot worse, and then became daily, after surgery.
I meant for the coeliac test but you'd already posted to say you'd been tested for that before I pressed post!
There is no test for intolerance (despite the finger prick or hair sample tests that claim they can). It is a process of elimination.
If you're negative for coeliac, then maybe consider eliminating it and seeing how you go?
Be careful....it's in a lot of things you wouldn't think and different brands use different recipes so you do need to scan the ingredients lists.
So far I seem to be OK with foods that say 'may contain', as long as there is no wheat, barley or rye in the main ingredients. But the free from foods are really good so I have loads of those too.
I noticed a change in my digestive issues within a week and then the rest has slowly improved.

Good idea. It would do no harm to use it for a while and see if it helps, as all it will do is sort out your electrolytes which after all this diarrhoea might need some help anyway. If there is another cause it won't interfere with treating that or diagnosing that, so you've nothing to lose.

Thank you @Candyflosscrochet - I’ll give it a go!

My Dh became gluten sensitive on his 50’s. He cut it all out and has been a lot better. No more bloating and diorreah. He used to dread going out in case he needed the loo.

it’s all gone now.

FYI, a ‘negative’ blood test for coeliac is a red herring. Many many coeliac’s do not have the antibody marker in their bloods. To get a true test for coeliac you need an endoscopy, a false blood test is not a negative result.

That’s interesting @Crossstitching - I’m not sure my doc will green light the endoscopy, judging by how things have gone so far, but I’ll ask.

@ArseInTheCoOpWindow I’m so glad for him!

I feel like I remember a yellow-ish colour comes from something to do with fat/bile so gall bladder issues are worth checking out (and might be worth considering if you see a correlation of symptoms with the amount of fat you've eaten?).

The other thing I would say is a) I have IBS which was triggered initially by a stomach bug, so it can be sudden onset but obviously you have to rule everything else out and then b) it's worth looking up something like "the low fodmap diet book" or similar - the one I found had lists of different types of fodmaps and I was reading it through and comparing to my mental list of meals I had eaten before being particularly unwell and realised I have a specific intolerance to galacto oligosaccharides (chickpeas, lentils etc). Just cutting out that group makes an enormous difference to my health.

@MagicVanillaBeans

Alforex probiotics were recommended to my husband by his private gastroenterologist.

Alflorex even

I had similar. Never a moment of gallbladder pain but the scan showed it was full of sludge. They removed it. Which helped a lot. However, menopause I did an exclusion diet. Went gluten free, lactose free, caffeine free. Which helped. Weirdly when I had the colonoscopy had to starve and take movicol which cleared me out. Following that my stomach settled down. It might be worth fasting for 24 hours. In case there's a lingering bug. My old GP recommended that for the family a few times.

The colour of your poop can indicate a bile problem caused by gallbladder issues.

I had a microwave lasagne last night for dinner. I had awful stomach issues for hours. So having gallbladder out wasn't a cure all

I suddenly started with this problem three or four weeks ago, as I was getting over covid. Wondering if there is a link to that!
Adult DS and his family have it to varying degrees too. They didn't test so don't know they had covid, but they had the symptoms.

Keep a food diary to work out what your triggers are. I did that and identified that fat was my trigger (I don't eat fatty food so this was good fats like avocado, yogurt, nuts etc). Now awaiting testing for bile acid malabsorption. Symptoms have been as you describe but also if I do eat something fatty during the day. I've been taking probiotics that help blood fats and things are slowly improving, but also hard to tell as I have cut out most fats.

Hello….dashing out so just a quick reply to sympathise and say that with your symptoms it’s worth maybe checking out Bile Acid Malabsorption? Diagnosed by a SECHAT Scan. It’s a condition helped by a low fat diet and medication. Very under diagnosed condition often put down to IBS.

Thank you both. Adding lots to the list…

I would push for a colonoscopy. What is their reason for not offering one if they can't diagnose anything?

I had urgent diarrhoea for a few weeks. No pain, fatigue and weight loss.

Went private as NHS wait was over 6 months. Got a colonoscopy within days and diagnosed with microscopic colitis which can only be diagnosed from biopsies.

So another possibility to check.

I could have written your exact post except mine has been 3 months. Everything including the colour 😳

I think mine maybe gluten intolerance or fat related but I haven't been to the gp yet. I keep thinking it will stop. Mine gets way worse if I eat brioche or croissant/finish pastries etc..... so I'm not sure if it's the fat or gluten.

I am having the same- awful diarrhoea for about two months now. I had a bad health episode involving two surgeries and five courses of ABs at the start of the year so I’m assuming it’s that but it’s multiple times a day at the moment and it’s so life disrupting and embarrassing. No consistent food triggers.

I’m currently trying probiotics- only on day 3 but i had a meal last night and no diarrhoea yet which is the first time in a good ten days or so, so am really hoping it might help. The GP said the only other treatment would be more antibiotics and I am desperate not to if i can avoid it.

@lemonyellows do you mean you had no weight loss or fatigue? Or weight loss and fatigue but no pain? I’ve lost 3kgs in 2 weeks 😕

May I ask how much the colonoscopy cost?

I had exactly the same symptoms, but over a longer period of time. I ended up getting a colonoscopy and was diagnosed with microscopic colitis, which is a form of IBD. This is a definite possibility for you, or ulcerative colitis also- you may want to research both of these

@OhhhhhhhhBiscuits and @Coffeeandcards I’m so sorry for you, it’s an awful 😣 Def ask the GP, just in case. I’be ordered some Alflorex probiotics to try…

@theyoungishman and @lemonyellows - would this still hold seeing as my blood test showed no inflammation and my stool sample for inflammation was only borderline?

Ask them to do a breath test for Small Intestine Bacterial Overgrowth (SIBO).
I had yellow fatty diarrhoea it was because no nutrients were being absorbed because my gut bacteria was messed up.