Diarrhea at 7wks (tmi, probably)

[CityDweller]

So, I was fully expecting nausea and maybe even a little up-chucking, but not the full-on diarrhea I've had for the last 48hrs! Started with gurgling tummy/ painful gas after eating 2-days ago with lots of (relatively solid) bowel movements. Yesterday moved onto full diarrhea. Basically, within an hour or so of eating anything it comes out the other end. In addition to in middle of the night and first thing in morning. Plus very sore stomach, intestinal cramps, etc. A bit of nausea, but mostly just after a bowel movement or if I think of anything I ate in the last two days. No appetite at all, have to force myself to eat something (but then it just comes out the other end anyway). I can't connect it to any particular foods and have not changed my diet since getting pregnant (I eat a very healthy diet - no processed foods, sugar, refined carbs, legumes, caffeine and only a small amount of dairy)

At this point I feel pretty weak and wobbly, probably due to lack of anything staying in me. I've also lost 3lbs in 36hrs. Any tips? I can cope with the diarrhea, but I'm worried about not being able to keep anything inside and my depleting energy levels.

Any tips on things that might help? Medications? Foods? I know that for morning sickness people saying eating helps, but for me eating just makes my stomach hurt followed by cramps followed by diarrhea. While I want to stick to my healthy way of eating through pregnancy I'm aware that I may have to let things slip in the first trimester. I did try having some plain white rice with supper last night, but that didn't help at all...

You might just have an upset stomach from something you ate - pregnant women are more susceptible to this due to reduced immune system while pregnant. Stick to bananas, rice and toast ( en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BRAT_diet ) for a few days and then go to your doctor if it doesn't sort itself out. I think mine took four days to clear last time.

Remember, you need to drink lots and lots of water to replace the lost fluids as well.

Hope you feel better soon!

I had this for about 2 days at around 5 weeks too. Was very surprised as I had heard lots about nausea and even constipation, but never 'the other'. My GP said it was normal for some people's digestive systems to go into overdrive a bit with all the hormonal changes in early pregnancy.

Luckily my attack was short lived (2 days) so I just ploughed through and tried to keep my fluid levels up. Drank lots of water.

Yours seems to be lasting longer though, and sounds more severe, so might be worth giving your GP a call and seeing if you can take any oral rehydration supplements, for example. Not sure if these are suitable for use in pregnancy?

If you're feeling very weak, then maybe you should call the doctor anyway, as it may be a symptom of something else, like some kind of food poisoning?

I am beginning to think it may be a bug... I felt a bit better before breakfast (ie not having eaten for 12 hrs) but as soon as I ate it went straight through me.
I really just don't want to eat anything. I'm drinking plenty of water with ginger in it and sipping rehydration fluids. Is it ok to not eat for, say 24hrs? This is how I'd probably deal with this if I wasn't pregnant... Although, I can't remember the last time I had a stomach upset like this that wasn't traveller's diarrhea.

As long as you are drinking something with calories in it (high juice, fruit juice etc) I think you'd be okay to abstain from eating for 24 hours or so.

I had it at the very start of my pregnany, around 5 weeks, but it only lasted 4 days or so. Now it's the opposite and I have constipation and bloating most of the time - isn't pregnancy just super glamorous, lol! Seriously though, at the end of the day every pregnant woman is different and you need to tune in to your own instincts. Listen to what your body is telling you that you need :)

Just to update the world - mostly in case anyone else is suffering from this. I've had a hard time finding info online as it seems much less common than the expected nausea/ vomiting thing.

Thought I was right about bug suspicion as yesterday ate just v simple carb-heavy foods (bread sticks, crackers, baked potatoes) + craving for salty things (salt and vin crisps and marmite have never tasted so good). Felt ok, stuff stayed in all day. Then I was up 6 times during the night (btw 1am and 6.30 am) with diarrhea and stomach ache/ cramps. This morning I feel fine, just a bit bloated and sore. I have had v. little nausea. Ate simple breakfast an hour ago and that's stayed in. So, I'm guessing this is pregnancy hormone related and not a bug. I also don't have any of the other symptoms you'd expect with a stomach bug or food upset (i.e. no real nausea, no aches or temperature, I can still eat).

If anyone else has experienced this as a 'morning sickness' symptom, I'd love some reassurance. Six bouts of diarrhea in five hours feels quite excessive. I don't feel too terrible today, other than knackered due to interrupted sleep...

Yeah, I had this between weeks 6-8 Odd combination of a few days constipation, with incredibly painful bloating and cramps, and then diarrhea for a few days, and then about a week of loose bowel movements before things started to settle down. It's grim, isn't it? I found lemon ice lollies were great to suck on.

My digestion was all over the place in early pregnancy - alternating between constipation and diarrhoea. It was horrible, but it's settled down into a more normal pattern now.

OP, sorry to hear you've been suffering so badly.

I had this at 7 weeks too. Went to the docs as I could barely get off the loo and I was dizzy/delirious with it. Doc diagnosed bug and prescribed Dioralyte and fasting for 24 hours. Not 100% convinced it was a bug but 24 hours of fasting seemed to work and stopped the diarrhoea (mainly as there was nothing going in!) but when I got started on the eating again it had calmed down. Then of course you're exhausted because you haven't eaten for 24 hours and barely slept from the cramps. Doc said 48 hours and it would be fine which is was. Annoying no one warns you about this kind of thing as it really did worry me that the baby would be harmed but the doc said babies are resilient at that "age"!