Concerned- diarrhea, weight loss, nausea, belching bloating, gas- what is this?
Posted , 6 users are following.
I'm a 44 y/o female. I was diagnosed 15 years ago with IBS-C. It never bothered me a lot until the last couple years. I've had a couple of flare ups and my IBS seems to have changed to IBS-M. Last year in February and May respectively, I had an abdominal CT and a colonoscopy, both which showed some mild inflammation, but nothing concerning. December I had another flare up which lasted 3 weeks. In early January, I started a new regimen which included no dairy, no soy, no eggs, and no gluten. I started several supplements including juicing 16oz of celery every morning taking Ester-C, Methylfolate, Cat's Claw, B-12, and zinc. in addition to what I had already been taking Curcumin twice daily and Melatonin 5mg x 2 years. At first, the celery juice caused my stomach to be upset, but after 3-4 weeks, I felt great! I felt energetic and healthy. Then, in mid-March I started feeling like my peri-menopause symptoms were getting worse, so I added Maca root to my supplements. Within a week, I was having nausea, loss of appetite, watery diarrhea alternating constipation, gas, bloating, belching, delayed digestion, and mid abdominal tenderness and severe cramping (especially after eating or drinking ANYTHING). I stopped ALL supplements and went back to a regular diet. It took a week, but the cramping and nausea subsided for the most part and my appetite got better. (I did notice the cramping and nausea returned when I tried to start drinking my celery juice again.) I have been consuming 1500-1800 calories daily in the last week, but oddly I'm still losing weight (down 3.5lbs in a week). I have loose stools (sometimes watery) every morning once sometimes twice - no blood- but it never changes color- always yellow/orange. Today, I ate a lemon poppy seed muffin and saw the seeds in the commode 30 minutes later. Oddly enough, at times, I experience constipation by the evenings. I have an appt with my GP, but has anyone had this experience? Is this IBS? A malabsorption issue? Exacerbation from supplements? I know no one has a crystal ball...I'm more asking about others experiences with this and what was causing it. I'm stumped... If this is IBS I've never had it like this before.
0 likes, 4 replies
jan48389 charcey97
Posted
Celery is very high in Fodmaps. Foods high in Fodmaps can significantly exacerbate IBS symptoms. Might be worth trying the Low Fodmap diet
Jan
marsh23433 charcey97
Posted
Hi Charcey 97 /I think this is ibs .bloating diarrhoea and or constipation is all the hall marks of ibs.There is a website called The ibs Network which i think will help you to understand all of your symptoms and what do do.The reason you are loosing weight is because you are not eating proper foods ,so i would also suggest that you eat little foods and more times.When i started to have ibs ,i did not eat any cakes,or sweets or fizzy drinks and i was loosing 1stone every month until i looked to see what the fodmaps web site explained what i could eat and high foods meant i could not eat
leeniepie charcey97
Posted
Sounds like a run of bad IBS. Stop all those supplements and juices. they are completely unnecessary and quite like to be making things worse.
what is your diet like? yellow stool is often undigested fats as everything is moving through your system too quickly. Try taking some Imodium to calm things down. pain relief and buscopan may help with the cramps, also peppermint tea.
pippa58442 charcey97
Posted
Don't worry; you are describing an IBS flare up. Symptoms come and and go as you describe, can come on after food triggers, bowel habits change including the colour and texture of stools. Malabsorption of certain foods can occur because some people have trouble digesting certain foods. Anxiety makes everything worse and triggers flare ups so try to stay as calm as possible. Flare ups can last for any amount of time and will last longer if your are stressed. My first flare up lasted 3 and a half months because no one could diagnose me. Some people with IBS show mild inflammation in their bowel. However, IBS doesn't show on scans because it is s a functional disorder.
Hormonal changes such as the perimenopause can worsen IBS. Symptoms can change over time especially when under stress. When symptoms change, it can cause some patients to worry they have something else especially if they have not been bothered with symptoms for some time. The trick is to keep telling yourself that you have IBS which doesn't lead to any other serious condition and which is both non life threatening.
Avoid your food triggers and don't introduce anything new into your diet because this can upset your digestive system. Try an antispasmodic, lots of fruit or a laxative when constipated and Imodium for diarrhoea. Consider the Low Fodmap Diet.
You are doing the very best for your IBS. Remember, you have been diagnosed with IBS by your doctor who is the expert. IBS is s chronic condition which cannot be cured but is manageable. I have IBS C but I have also had IBS M. A lot of people tend to :alternate between the two. I am sure your doctor will confirm all of this.