Sudden start diarrhea and swollen parotid gland - - are they related?

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Hello, I am a 26 yrs old male living in a medium-sized city in São Paulo state, Brazil. I have been to northern Brazil (Belém, state of Pará) recently, for work purposes. I came back last Friday, Nov 1st, after 10 days. It is one of the most underdeveloped regions in the country. I've eaten street food once (was kinda 'forced' into it by my colleagues), but it was almost two weeks ago and my bowel movements stayed normal for days after that. All the other meals were in relatively 'nice' restaurants - - at least they looked so - - or international fast food chains.

I started having cold-like symptoms (cough, runny nose, sore thorat) 8 days ago, still there in Belém. My nose was so stuffed on Friday that I must've suffered a barotrauma when the airplane was descending. I had a terrible pain in and around my ears and stayed partially deaf for hours after that. (guess this part of the story isn't relevant at all, but I'll tell it anyway).

Until then it was just a cold. Then, on Sunday, Nov. 3rd, my left parotid gland started to swell and got a little painful. I started feeling nauseous and threw up once. It was also painful to chew. I went to the doctor on Monday and he suspected I've got mumps, because I only took one dose of the MMR vacine - - I honestly don't know why. I blame my parents first but I guess I should've seen it too.

Then, still on Monday, I started having severe diarrhea. I woke up with an abdominal distension today that won't go away and I feel the need to go the bathroom every 30 mins. My stool is 100% liquid and light brown.

The parotid gland isn't swollen anymore. It wasn't that bad ('most of the' mumps' pics on Google look a lot worse) and it lasted for less than 48 hrs. Some of the flu-like symptoms (stuffed/runny nose, a little cough) still persist, mildly. I've had some very mild fever (37. 4C max.) in the last 3 days.

I went back to the doctor yesterday, told him about my diarrhea and he ordered a stool test. It isn't ready yet. I've also done amylase and C-reactive protein blood tests and both were altered -- Amylase 154 u/L and PCR 48.9 mG/L.

I haven't done the mumps test yet - - the doctor recommended me to do it only on Monday, so that my body will supposedly have already developed enough of the antibodies the test measures/detects.

My biggest worry is: every other symptom other than the swollen parotid gland isn't compatible with mumps, I guess, but I can't figure what sort of infection would be responsible for all of these symptoms at once. Could it be more than one infection? If so, why? Could it be just really bad luck or is there anything wrong with my immune system? Could it actually be mumps and it's affecting my pancreas? I'm seeking online advice because I simply don't trust the doctors in my city. I'm starting to get a little desperate. Could anybody help me?

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  • Posted

    Unfortunately, we are not doctors on this site and cannot diagnose you here. You will need to go back to your doctor for further testing to identify your symptoms. You will have to put your trust in your doctors because they are the experts and best placed to help you. Online help cannot give you reliable answers I'm afraid. The best advice we can give you is to see your doctor.

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