Diagnosed with infective colitis, unexplained abdominal pain and now IBS?

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11 months ago I went to the ER becuase of sudden onset of abdominal pain, along with vomiting blood and bloody diarreah. They did CT scans and diagnosed me with gastritis, acid reflux and infective colitis. Stayed in for 3 days to rehydrate and get well. Was sent home with 2 stron antibiotics and meds for the acid reflux/gastritis. Followed that with colonoscopy and upper-edoscopy. Neither garnered much in the way of answers. After a few weeks I was seemingly ok...cutting coffee, soft drinks and any spicy/acidic foods seemed to do the trick. Gained back the 20 lbs I lost (I was down to 98 at 5'7"). Months went by with just occassional swelling of the abdomen when I ate something I shouldn't, but that's about it. Until last month...

I went 3 weeks trying to do bland food and liquid diet on my own to stay out of the hospital. I ended up having to go in for 4 days because of severe diarreah (no blood this time), drastic weight loss and severe dehydration/nausea. They still don't seem to know what's wrong with me. It has "tentatively" been diagnosed as IBS, but the meds I've been on for 2 weeks aren't helping at all. Any ideas? Should I try a different type of doctor (currently seeing GP and Gastro). I need to get well! I'm 35 and feel I'm living the life of a 90 year old. Any help/ideas/stories would be extremely appreciated!

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4 Replies

  • Posted

    That smiley face emoji was not intended...
  • Posted

    I disagree that it is "IBS". It is more likely to be ULCERATIVE Colitis (most likely)..or CHRONS.. You need to continue with a GI/ GU ?gastro doctor. You need to discuss treatment and medication options with the doctor if it is not working.  The weight loss convinces me of ulverative colitis with some bleeding (you still need to get stool tested for blood..just cause you dont see it..doesnt mean it isnt there). Good luck.
    • Posted

      Thank you! That's along the lines of what I was thinking. It's a shame we have to do so much of the research ourselves and cannot completely rely on a doctor's diagnosis. I am scheduled to swallow a camera pill sometime next week, so I'm hoping the GI will get some good information from that.

    • Posted

      Well, you were somewhat correct. A new colonoscopy has shown signs of microscopic colitis. The symptons seem to be the same as mine. Just waiting on biopsies to come back to confirm. Still having trouble with hydration, so I just hope that they figure it out soon before I wind up back in the hospital. Fingers crossed!

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