how bad does a tummy bug/diahorrea need to be before contacting the doctor? TMI warning

[LackaDAISYcal]

I've got some sort of lurgy; either bug or food poisoning and feel pretty rough; temperature, aches and pains, vomitting, sore in the area of my kidneys and the worst diahorrea I have ever encountered. Diahorrea started on Monday night and has been pretty constant since then. I haven't had anything to eat since breakfast yesterday, and if I drink I am instantly wracked with horrible stomach cramps and it runs right through me. I had two instances of shitting myself when I was asleep last night, only waking up as it was happening and have been putting some left over newborn nappies to good use today

Is there any point contacting the doc? I know it will probably just have to run (haha) it's course, but I've never experienced anything as severe as this before...tis pretty miserable

poor you, how rotten. I would contact the doctor, as even if there's little he can do for you now I imagine he would want you to do a stool sample to check you out.

You can get rehydrating powder from the docs and possibly some ABs as it sounds like you could have an infection if you have a temp and kidney pain.

I'd ring them and ask at least.

Poor you, hope it clears soon, tummy bugs are absolute hell

The doc will want a stool sample,
tbh although that sounds bad about doing it in the bed, I had a really bad bout of V&D awile back and because I was sitting on the toilet I fainted and whacked my head on the tile floor, so don't be embarrased, hopefully it will end soon

Ah, thanks

I've manged to eat some chicken and rice so I'll see how that goes and maybe call them later.

On the plus side, I am quite enjoying sitting in bed with Radio 4 on and peace to use the computer whilst listening to the strains of my DH struggling to cope with three demanding children

I had camplyobacter last year and this sounds EXACTLY like it. I woke up one night and sneezed.. did I regret that!

I had to give the doctors a stool sample but only managed to do that on day 4 (when I could drag myself from being within 10 seconds of the bathroom. Felt completely exhausted to the point of fainting one day when I tried to stand up too fast.

Once it was confirmed I was put on antibiotics for a week, and also signed off work for a week. Best friend had it too and she was off for two weeks.

Really hope it isn't this but everything sounds the same, even down to the kidney area pains.

Hope you are feeling a bit better soon.

Also do try some dioralyte (sp?) it is foul but it does help stop dehydration. Had to force it down me as the only other option was hosptial. HTH.

Stop eating the solids and stick to the squash, you could add a pinch of salt to make it the equivalent of dioralyte. I'd ring the doctor and ask for a home visit, you don't want to have an embarrasing oozing incident in the waiting room. Our daughter had amoebic dysentry three times, giardia and numerous non specific gut infections while living in the middle east. Advice with each was to give the gut a chance to heal by eminating all food, even milk. This was particularly difficult when she was seven months old. She ended up with a very inflamed intestine and was prescribed pre digested milk. It really was as foul as it sounds. It smelled like vomit.
Good luck.

I've had campylobater too. Yuck. Have you been to the docs yet? I also spent 2 nights in A&E before staying longer in hospital with colitis. yuck. Don't leave yourself shitting yourself and in agony! Sorry to sound so coarse. I hope you get it sorted soon!

I'm going to see how I am in the morning. The fluey symptoms have gone and my kidneys feel less tender, but I'm pooing green liquid now .

I have no energy for dealing with my family and lasted half an hour downstairs with them before retiring to bed again.

Still, it's a great boost to my new diet

How are you feeling today? The green stuff will turn to florescent yellow. Once thats over you end up churning out pure water. A couple of days after this I was able to eat!

Really hope you are a bit better.

(Great for dieting - lost a stone in 2 weeks!)

thanks for that claire....we are in the flourescent yellow stage now . Even sips of water cause the most horrnedous stomach cramps though. I had a notion I could eat something, but a teaspoon dipped in the onion gravy DH had made for the kids tea had me doubled up in pain for ten minutes, so perhaps not.

I dragged myself to the docs this morning to be told, "sounds like food poisoning, but could be a bug...erm...what is it exactly that you want from me?" which was most helpful and worth dragging myself out of bed with a prefold nappy in my knickers "just in case". She also said they would only do a stool sample if things were still the same after 10 days

But I've had it officially that I should go to bed and rest while I ride it out, so DH is taking tomorrow off work as well.

I have lost half a stone since Tuesday!

When i was pregnant with dd3 i had severe diahorrea and couldn't eat or drinking without sharting,the mw sent me to the gp and he gave me some rather fabulous tablets which dried it up within the day.

I've had campylobacter too and you sound just like me.
I gave them a poo sample straight away. Can you send DH out for 'some fresh air' and get him to collect a sample pot from the doc's? At least if you get tested you'll know.

If you can't go to the doctor, then try the WHO rehydration recipe, which has been proven to save lives
(even if you can, please do this, as it will help you keep any liquid you have lost through the diarrhoea.

"one pint of water with a teaspoon of salt and eight teaspoons of sugar"

It does taste really salty, but please don't be tempted to reduce the salt amount, as it's that that helps you retain the liquid.

Doc said no sample, so I guess there's no point doing that.

horrible though it is 4, I'm a firm believer in if it needs to come out it needs to come out! and would worry that immodium or suchlike would just prolong things by holding the bug in my system for longer, if that makes sense.

thanks for that recipe nickelbabe.....I couldn't remember the proportions for making it myself

I can't believe the doctor is so dismissive. My mum had these symptoms, it turned out to be Salmonella and she was admitted to hospital at 10 days and her kidneys had started to fail I hope you are better before then.

I thought so TPL, especially as things like salmonella and campylobacter are notifiable diseases. I think because I couldn't think of anything I had eaten recently that might have caused it she dismissed it, but we were on holiday last week and ate out loads so it could have been anything. Certainly this is worse than any bug I've ever had before.

My mum got it from a chicken pie she ate a pub, but she couldn't possibly have known (Environmental Health did tests) or listed 'risky' foods if the doctor had asked. How odd

Enjoy your rest, hope yo are better v soon.

It does sound like campylobacter. I was hospitalised for 3 days with it after the gp made me an emergency appt with a consultant. Horrendous.
I really hope you feel much better soon. When you can start eating go very very easy and watch wheat and dairy for a while.

Everthing I have looked at on google and here points to campylobacter. Maybe I didn't get over just how bad things are to the GP? Dh thinks I should call again tomorrow if things haven't improved any.

Eating...now there's a thought! The wheat isn't an issue as I am coeliac, and I knew about the dairy thing.

DH made me up some rehydration fluid and loaded it with ribena so it doesn't actually taste too bad.

I haven't felt this ill in a long time

Please, please DO NOT even be tempted to take imodium - I took this on day 1 as I was 45 mins from home when I started to be ill - I then paid for it for the following 12 hours. Never, ever again!!!

I now still cannot eat cream or certain foods (pizza hut pizza is a massive no go) and its now 10 months since the camplyobacter :-( Had small portion of ice cream last night, which is normally fine, but my gosh was I ill - had to run into a supermarket on way home from town!!

Really, really hope you are feeling better, you have my complete sympathies!