Recurring nausea, diarrhea, and upper abdominal pain

Hi, Brett! Well, this does sound like more than daycare germs being passed about. Have you had less invasive tests like bloodwork or sonogram? (Not that it sounds like you have gallstones)  Ask for a blood test to check for Coeliac Disease and anything else they can check or rule out. If you need more invasive procedures you will probably be sedated and it's really not so bad. I was under complete sedation for endoscopy with biopsy at the same time as colonoscopy and I think that's the way to go. (I have strong family history for colorectal cancer and Coeliac Disease and showing some symptoms so I had to have both - yet both were negative)

You probably already know that anxiety/stress brings IBS back or worsens it, so it's a vicious cycle! But, please see what can be done to rule out any other conditions and that in itself can help you feel a bit more at ease. Or, if something else IS wrong, you can start to heal. The tests aren't so bad - talk with family/friends, listen to the music you love best on the way to your appointments, do whatever relaxes you and puts you in a better frame of mind. But, don't just let it go at IBS and childhood stomach bugs if you think there's more going on. 

Good Luck!

Gastroparesis can occur following a tummy bug. It causes upper abdominal pain in the stomach, nausea, sometimes vomiting, loss of appetite, feeling full quickly and weight loss... amongst other things. It doesn't typically cause diarrhoea. It is usually there all the time, but some people report having flares with breaks in between where it seems to improve. A lot of doctors seem to miss it, but it should be excluded if the other more obvious causes of your symptoms are found to not be the cause.

GERD & silent reflux are worth ruling out. Celiac disease can cause weight loss, abdominal pain and diarrhoea. Don't go on a gluten free diet until you've been tested as it will create a false negative on tests and biopsies.

IBS doesn't usually cause upper abdominal pain or weight loss, although it obviously can cause diarrhoea.

An endoscopy would be a good start. I had one with biopsies and no sedation - they give a numbing spray if you don't have sedation. I am quite good at meditating so I just did that while they did the procedure and I didn't find it bad at all. I actually disliked the position you lie in (like fetal) more than the actual scope bring put down. It made me feel a bit vulnerable! It was over very quickly and no worse than the dentist. I read about it on here beforehand and scared myself as most people had unpleasant experiences. In hindsight, I think people tend to come on sites like this and write about what happened if it was bad as sharing it is cathartic, but if it was good or okay the don't bother - makes sense of course.

Thanks for your responses. Saw my GP, he's putting me back on Fluoxetine and a med that helps with bowel spasms to take on an as-needed basis. He also referred me to a Gastroenterologist and I'm waiting for a call from them to schedule something--not many in town so not sure how fast that might happen. He said it still sounds like IBS but wants to get things looked at since I've never seen a gastro specialist.

I forgot in the moment to ask about gal bladder disease or gal stones, so I might call back tomorrow and ask if that's something we should look into. He felt around my stomach and didn't seem concerned about anything. I think I'm going to call him back tomorrow and ask about the less invasive testing while we wait for the referral to go through.

I'm worried that it could be a gall bladder issue and I might end up in the ER if symptoms keep returning or worsen.