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 🤷🏻‍♀️

If your stools are yellow it could be bile acid malabsorption [ BAM ] Look it up. You need to have a SEHCAT scan to confirm .
I would also push for a colonoscopy to check everything out as it could also be IBD [ crohns or colitis ]

Some of the spring/summer viral infections are fairly hideous for long term low level gastro symptoms. DS is particularly sensitive and he had loose stools (8-10 a day, very yellow) for 5/6 weeks. It’s slowly improving now. His bloods always look fine for WBCs but slightly raised for inflammation and the pcr is positive for adenovirus or enterovirus.

probiotic wise we all use Optibac and it’s great.

Have you tried cutting out all dairy and soy - not just lactose?

After an acute illness the body can develop short term cow's milk protein allergy which would give these symptoms if you're eating any dairy whatsoever. Soya protein is a similar structure so you can end up reacting to both.

CMP takes three weeks to leave the body, so give it four weeks totally without any dairy at all to see if that makes a difference

I was going to say exactly the same as @Poppy209 . Check out Bile Acid Malabsorption online and red through symptoms etc. I have this and sounds similar. It's VERY unknown seemingly as took me about 10 years to get a diagnosis after having my gallbladder out I developed this condition as symptoms didn't get better. Mine was caused from having my gallbladder removed.

But there are other causes for getting it or some people it's just Idiopathic meaning no reason. Like Poppy said the only way to diagnose it is from a Sehcat scan which not all hospitals can do. It never showed up on colonoscopy's before that and other tests. I know that some people now are sometimes just started on the medication for it (Cholestyramine) which is a bile binder to see if symptoms are made better from taking the medicine. Which is a lot quicker than to wait months and months for a scan if a doctor will even refer for one.

Have you had a virus just before this started? I had a weird virus, fever only, no D&V, but 6 months of similar symptoms to yours. Tests all fine, and it was the virus that upset my gut and it took 6 months to re establish normal gut bacteria, so maybe try probiotics?

Have you tried fasting? I had this a couple of years ago and eventually fasted for 36 hours (carefully and stayed at home quietly) and it cleared up. Doctor then said it was just a virus or bacterial living in my gut. Maybe worth a try 🤷‍♀️

I think it was the same probiotic that my husband used, he also avoided lactose for a few days too, then gradually introduced it again once the diarrhoea had gone. Sometimes viral diarrhoea can drag on for weeks.

Could it be mice, OP? A few years back I had a noro throughout the whole winter (on and off). Then one day I saw a mouse on the kitchen counter! 🤢🤮
I tended to the problem and my illnesses stopped.

@MagicVanillaBeans we had private medical cover through work. However from the bill I think it was £200 for the initial consultation with the gastroenterologist. Then about £300 for the colonoscopy but £1100 for the hospital room! Not cheap. But maybe just get the initial consultation and get their opinion.

I had high CRP initially but I know others with microscopic colitis haven't. The inflammation can only be seen under the microscope and not often by sight during the colonoscopy. It might be that an infection caused mine initially. I will never know for sure.

Get a bowel cancer check asap.

It's an unlikely cause but the worst and so important to be caught early.

@yoga4meinthemorning I’ve had the FIT test for blood in the stool - it was negative. Is there another test I should ask for?

Thank you so much everyone for your advice and suggestions, and for answering my questions. This is all so useful and I’m starting to feel a bit more hopeful.

@DailyEnergyCrisis and @polkadotdalmation I did have Covid a couple of weeks before this started, but it didn’t show up while I had it and there was a 2-3 week delay between the two 🤷🏻‍♀️

I’ll def get BAM checked out..

If you look it up I think some stomach bugs take weeks or months to completely recover from, even though the tests may now be negative.

Three weeks after getting over a very mild dose of Covid, I had a stomach upset with diarrhoea for at least a month. No pain, but it was awful and actually led to plumbing problems it was that severe. Nothing really solved the issue except time - it healed on its own, and I've been fine again for two months. People told me they'd had Covid and then stomach issues. It's worth bearing in mind.

A long shot OP but do you eat/drink anything with Aspartame in it?
Few years ago I had the same symptoms as you, constant VERY urgent dashes to the loo, couldn’t work out what it was.
Had lots of tests, all clear.
Finally linked it to Aspartame, was in a lot of the low calorie stuff I was eating & drinking.
I cut out Aspartame & the problem went away completely.

My son had this three months of squirts offshore after being in Egypt. He did the starvation thing and the stubborn bug died.

My friend also had this after climbing in Nepal. 12 months before the Liverpool school of tropical medicine identified the bug

A local boarding school had to shut down because someone returned from Nigeria with an unwanted passenger.

My brother went to live in China. He said six months of loose as a goose before he adapted. He came home to the UlK for a visit and our bugs floored him

Makes you think.

My weird virus was just 3 days of fever with no bowel symptoms at all, and the diarrhoea started a week or so later. GP said take 6 months to right itself as it messes with the gut microbes. Mine took 6 months. Awful as I couldn't eat without needing to poo

Thanks again everyone for your replies. Curveball today in that my repeat FIT test (negative last time) this time came out as positive (borderline apparently, but still 😕) so I’ve been referred for a colonoscopy within two weeks. Obviously very scared but hopefully they can at least shed some light. In the meantime have started on the Alflorex and also have been taking the rehydration sachets…

I have difficulty digesting fat, that causes diahorrea.

Thanks @GettingStuffed - I’m going to get them to look into the fat thing if the colonoscopy doesn’t show anything useful.

Had a call to say there’s a big delay at the moment so no colonoscopy for a few weeks, despite being under the ‘2 week’ pathway 😕

I take an immune suppressaant that gives me diarrhoea and I've whittled the triggers (for when it gets really bad, I can't seem to get rid of it yet!) down to

• wheat, a very small thin slice of sourdough is just about tolerable
• added sugar
• I'm not sure on dairy as never tried to cut it out, but I think yoghurt is better than milk, I have almond milk, hemp milk when I do have it
• a high fat meal i.e. over 20g in a sitting

Things that help are eating a lot of insoluble fiber as it makes what passes more solid, plus eating lots of soluble fiber, prebiotic type food, nuts. I would look at what foods increase immunity and try and incorporate those/push out unhelpful foods and see if that helps.

You could try taking PRE (pre not pro) biotics (I got some from Lamberts), they were the only thing that completely fixed it, as it was getting ridiculous as I thought how can I be absorbing the nutrients, however I started to put fat on round my middle within a couple of weeks (which took weeks to shift!) and then read that prebiotics can increase fat absorption from food, not sure if the two were related but I stopped.

@MistySkiesAreGone that’s interesting. I’ve started taking probiotics but not prebiotics…