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Painful cramps and diarrhea for 5 days, starting to really get me down

Posted , 6 users are following.

nicola97733
nicola97733

Hi there, just wondering if anyone has had similar to my symptoms.

It started suddenly with a horrible cramping pain at the top of my stomach followed by diarrhea and a fever. I went to the doctors who told me it seemed viral but none of my family have the same. It's nearly five days later and the fever has gone but I'm Still experiencing cramps and the runs (not nice). It's so painful sometimes I can't do anything but keep really still.

I ended up going to the hospital today because I felt so dizzy and weak and they seemed keen to get me out of the hospital as to not spread anything.

Sorry to go on...thank you

0 likes, 16 replies

16 Replies

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  • sanya11314
    sanya11314 nicola97733

    Posted

    Oh, sounds horrid.

    No stool sample sent in by GP?

    After 5 days good indication to get bac culture, parasite stool testing done, also some viral diseases can be tested.

    Your GP get's this non-invasive test going.

    They don't do such stool tests on the first or second day of diarrhea in otherwise normal healthy adults (different if baby, child or old person or fragile adult! there compensation mechanism is compromised),

    but if it persited it's a different story.

    Usually 5 days is the cut off for diarrhea to investigate if it does not get better by itself or appearance of fever.

    Hospital ERs on not really there for this kind of symptoms IF your life is not in immediate danger;

    they will (or in your case: have) assess you, but if you are not in immediate danger (dehydration), you can be managed by physician and that's the correct procedure.

    So if you were completely dehydrated due to this diarrhea, your compensation mechanism not working well,

    they would have given you fluids i.v.

    (I have been there, done that, my skin on hand staying up when pulled up and my eyes somewhere in the skull socket, completely dried out. Pull your hand skin up, see what happens. It was not the cause of diarrhea that made me hospitalised, it was the delay of diagnosis and symptoms causing severe dehydration - GP brushed me off even 6 days after massive green water diarrhea, fainting due to low blood pressure, not sending stool sample in- making me too dehydrated, that was the reason for ER to keep me since it was dangerous to send me home that dehydrated. The stool sampling and getting diagnosed was then done by GP....not hospital, after hydration went back home and next day to GP again pressing to do something finally.)

    Please go back to GP today, insist on a stool sample.

    It's horrible to have these kind of symptoms for longer than a few days even the body can manage the electrolyte loss and has good compensating mechanism in place (which babies, young children and old people don't have)

    Keep up the fluids please! Get those electrolyte sachets from pharmacy, but don't overdose.

    Hope your infection(?) resolves soon!

    All the best!

    • nicola97733
      nicola97733 sanya11314

      Posted

      Thank you so much for your reply.

      Yes the hospital said I wasn't dehydrated so your right. I'm sorry to hear that you had such an awful time. Do you mind me asking what your symptoms turned out to be?

      I'm awake now, I should be in bed as I have school run in the morning but the longer this is going on for the more I am awake worrying. I've never experienced this before. I'm 26 and have anxiety but I really don't think this is all in my head.(the cramps are horrible) I've noticed now that they are coming from more the bottom of my tummy rather than the top.

      I can hear it gurgling too all the time.

      Yes I'm going back tomorrow with a stool sample and going to ask her to send it off.

      Thank you : )

    • sanya11314
      sanya11314 nicola97733

      Posted

      I had GIARDIA, a protozoan parasite, can be seen under microscope

      and PCR tests are in place to search for it in case not seen under microscope.

      Usually this infection said to be not too bad, some not noticing it?, and resolve on its own.

      Nope, not for me,

      green water diarrhea so severe I was dehydrated after 6 days as a usually very healthy adult in age 30s (who can compensate diarrhoe), I had no fever (hence GP did not do a stool sample, when I visited him 5 days in and I usually do not go to the GP because of diarrhea, but that one was different, I could tell),

      but I also thew up, so much, even stomach was empty, foam and little coffee grind stuff (=blood), I also had bad abdominal cramping.

      Taking Metronidazole after diagnose (took only 1 day, didn't need to wait for bac culture since giardia was visible to the blind eye under microscope) treatment made me throwing up much more, but helped within two days.

      Stomach cramping stayed on for weeks afterwards and also the infection was not completely gone, it came back twice and Metronidazole was just taken higher dose and longer. I could tell by the smell of diarrhoe that it was giardia again and got the medication without stool sample. It was very important to treat it within hours of occurence not to get that severe and bad anymore. It has never come back since.

       

    • sanya11314
      sanya11314 nicola97733

      Posted

      I think you need the special stool sample container from pathology/GP,

      I doubt they will accept stool in a home-jar or glass for sending in to pathology.

      (It might be good to show as an example to GP, what it looks like, when it is green or yellow, to impress him/her.)

      The stool sample containers are sterile until opened and can be - most importantly- closed very well (no spillage),

      fit into the pocket, where they can be labelled 'bio hazard'.

      (I worked in a lab, also with stool samples, at a point refused to accept any of those leaking 'home' jars. ;-))

      The stool sample needs to be as fresh as possible. So usually you get the container and pathology paper first,

      then wait until you have a sample

      (or maybe can produce it right there, diarrhoe is quite helpful with this

      and make sure the stool does not get into contact with the toilet water,

       Nothing is worse than killing off bacteria due to contact with toilet water - they need to grow in culture, a PCR does not look at every bacteria, just the most common ones-, that is maybe treated with those chlorine flushes, bac killers)

      and bring it straight back please.

      If anyone is still hungry now, say here. Sorry for my elaboration.

      BEST OF LUCK! and that you are fit and healthy soon!

      Doesn't sound like the typical anxiety, stress (before exams) diarrhoe and grumbling tummy.

    • nicola97733
      nicola97733 sanya11314

      Posted

      Thank you,

      Yes that completely makes since.

      I have a lab one that my doc gave me on Monday in case this carries on.

      It's now Friday and I've already been to the toilet 5times (it's 10.26am) and have had stomach cramps.

      I keep worryng in case its crohns disease or something bad.

      I'm now going to ring the doc and see what she says again

      Thanks ever so much for your replies.

      Do you know how long stool samples take to come back?

      : )

    • sanya11314
      sanya11314 nicola97733

      Posted

      Faecal Multiplex PCR and microscopy run every (week)day usually,

      cultures are done daily, but naturally take their time due to 'growing' in the incubator, usually 2-3 days, if from there further tesing (e.g. sensitivity to antibiotics) was needed, longer accordingly.

      So the first results can get in within 24hours or two days. 

      (depends on the collection center pick up and driver times, too)

      I was called by GP, when my result came in since something was positive, that had to be treated asap (due to severness). You can ask about this handling in case of positive result.

      Of course it's Friday.....

  • RJ36
    RJ36 nicola97733

    Posted

    Sounds like it could be giardiasis for which there is an effective treatment from your GP.
    • nicola97733
      nicola97733 RJ36

      Posted

      Thank you rj36. I'm now about to ring the doc and see if they can get a stool sample sent out quickly. I don't think my bum can handle much more : (

      Will keep you all posted x

  • nicola97733
    nicola97733

    Posted

    So it's now Tuesday and I've stopped having horrible cramps but still have the diarrhea. Although didn't have any over the weekend. I'm still waiting for my stool result back.

    • sanya11314
      sanya11314 nicola97733

      Posted

      May I kindly ask if a stool pathogen was found at all? Did all go well and diarrhea get better?
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