What are these symptoms? Really fed up now

[IlanaK]

Please bear with reading this if you can and tell me what I have or I may just go mad!

One week ago exactly (last Thursday night), I came down with what I thought was a tummy bug. No vomiting, but very bad diarhea. I stopped eating for about 24 hours and felt better. I started to eat again - nothing too heavy, and within a day it was back. This has been happenning since then and really getting me down. So I went to the GP yesterday morning. She said it was not a bug - I agree as noone else in my family of three young children and husband are ill. She did not know what caused the stomach upset initially, but thought my digestive system was not recovering and I needed to go on a constipation diet as everything was just going through me - so only white bread, plain boiled rice and potatoes, a little chicken. I have stuck with this and today thought I was better. However this afternoon, it all started again.

In addition to this, I have some other things which may or may not be related. Terrible cold/cough that has led to me losing my voice; rashiness (nothing specific, but general irritation type rash a but like heat rash) on my arms and upper chest; achey in my limbs. All of this was mentioned to the GP. Today, I have actual joint pain in my wrists, elbows and sometimes legs.

The problem is I either stop eating which stops the diarhea, but leaves me feeling weak and unable to do anything. Or I eat as per the GP said, but this leads me to bouts of illness.

I am totally fed up with 7 days of this - it is curtailing what I do with the kids and they are fed up.

If anyone has read this far - thanks! If anyone has any idea what this is, please please help!

Anyone??

No, she didn't ask for a stool sample despite me querying whether it could be food poisoning (though from what source? as I don't eat out and home cook all food).

I will see if I can speak to her on the phone tomorow first I think. Dragging all three kids to the GP is a pain.

you don't need strangers online.MN is a chatroom not a diagnostic forum

you need to go see your gp

i am aghast you are relying on strangers to pipe up with suggestions regards your health

I DID go and see my GP yesterday. And I followed her advice. It didn't work. Hence I am looking for further help.

with all due respect how do you know the advice is accurate or gleaned from diagnosis murder

ScottishMummmy I understand your point on various threads that people should go to GP but this OP has.

I think people should be allowed to come on here and at least ask the questions, even if it means that everyone advises them to seek medical advice. Sometimes people do have some extra insight as well.

Of course i would not know if it was accurate. But I am shooting in the dark at the moment. What I am looking for is ideas of what it could be. Someone might say "Oh, I had exactly this happen to me and it was....." Then I can look into that. I am not looking for someone to give me a definatative diagnosis. I am an intelligent person - but thanks for looking out for me anyway

Hey Ilana, sorry to hear you're still adding symptoms

I suppose its possible that you've got a virus on top of the diarrhoea and whatever is causing that? Joint pain, rash, achey limbs, cough/cold all sound fairly familiar to me! I did, strangely, have one day of violent diarrhoea, but its gone away again.

Did the GP take a stool sample? I'm assuming he/she listened to your chest, and it was clear?

Have you been eating wheat?

I spoke to another GP today who said I do have a bug. She said to continue with the bland diet and she would see me on Monday.

The joint pain has become quite severe which I told her on the phone. She said this can happen with some virus's. I have looked it up and it is called Reactive Arthritis. Not good.

step back from internet medical sites,they can be alarmist and scary.it will send you screwy

it is rotten to be ill with no firm diagnostic label.no one your mind is racing.hope this resolves soon

It sounds viral to me, get some rest and be kind to yourself and DO NOT GOOGLE you will diagnose yourself with ebola by the end of the day!

Also, after my DD had a tummy bug - which lasted over a week! She was lactose intolerant for a while, maybe cut out the dairy for a bit. But check with your Dr first.

I had the same thing (though without the joint pains) years ago - my GP did a stool sample (I had a two small children at the time, DD being on ly 3 months) and she was worried I might be infectious) but it was clear. After a week she suggested imodium (just one a day for a few days) as she felt, as your GP did, that my digestive system was just operating too fast and needed to be slowed down. I was never able to go back to wholemeal bread again, unfortunately, but other than that things did settle down. Hope you feel better soon.

IlanaK: I think you do need to see the GP tomorrow and probably only some blood tests and a stool sample are going to sort this one out. If you can help by giving them a clear history of the development of symptoms - like a timeline - that will help them enormously and any good GP should be open to suggestions of a cause. At least you should be provided with some anti-inflammatory medication to help ease the joint pain.

Reactive arthritis involving the large and small joints (elbows, knees, wrists, fingers) can occur after some food-related infections, such as campylobacter or salmonella, and the symptoms and signs you describe make this possibility. However if you don't eat out and home cook all the food then it's less likely as a cause.

Alternatively, a flu-like illness with a later rash and then arthralgia of the small joints (wrists, fingers, toes) is classic parvovirus B19 infection in adults. It is the parvo season, but could also be rubella, though that is not as common these days. However the prolonged diarrhoea is the confusing factor in the list of symptoms, and may be unrelated.

Please let us know how you get on...

Thank you. I think you may be right and I have two different things going on. I had seen some info on the parvo virus, but I assumed that because of the diarrhea, I did not have it. But I think now the two are seperate. I still have terrible joint pain, but interestingly, it is moving. By this,I mean that what hurts one day, feels better the next and it moves onto different joints. So perhaps it is viral arthritis (associated with the parvo virus) rather than reactive arthritis. This would be good as it is much shorter lived.

Anyhow, I have taken immodium today (on GP advice) and am going to see her tomorow. I feel so weak from eating nothing of nutritional value so I hope she says I can eat a more normal diet. I have a full week ahead and can't just sit around the house anymore.

For anyone who still cares about the state of my bowels , I went to the GP again today. She took blood samples and also gave me pots for urine and stool samples. Unfortunately, my bowels seem to have got stage fright so I haven't been able to take those back yet. She is sure this is viral and the joint pains are short lived - which seems true as they are better today. She is being thorough so I am really pleased. Bloods should be back tomorow so will let you know!

Look up sjogrens syndrome - see if anything fits.

sounds like slapped cheek (parvo virus) - adult symptoms often different from children.

hope your feeling better soon. hoping your GP gets things sorted asap, being sick and looking after kids isnt fun