Can a medfag help me out?

Can a medfag help me out?

>stomach sick ~2.5 weeks
>full feeling, bloating, intestinal gas, not much diarrhea, no vomiting but yes nausia
>doctor had stool samples done, everything okay
>doctor had blood taken, everything okay
>still sick
>thought it was a virus, now thinks it might be bacterial
>won't write an antibiotic (not saying he is wrong, but, seems like bacteria + antibiotic is a good idea)
What can I do? I've been eating a very bland diet for weeks and losing weight (already thin so not a good thing).

pls help

Veterinarian here. You need deworming

Worm here. You need deveterinarianing.

It's not worms, already had a stool sample.

HMmm... It wOULD APPEAR YOU WILL NEED A LOBOTOMITICAL SURGERY ON YOUR MEMBRANE CELL SPECIMEN

See a different doc get a second opinion

Can't argue with the Doc

t-thanks dr. meme.

Thanks, yeah problem is I'm out of the country. So, kinda stuck. I mean I can go get antibiotics and take them anyways if I get a hotel doctor to write them, but, they'll write just about anything.

If you want antibiotics just go to a minute clinic at a cvs. Tell them how you feel and tell them you want antibiotics. They'll write you a script. Minute clinc visit usually $60 or so.

Trying to figure out if they'd be of value? And I wouldn't know what to get. Also I'm an American in Italy, so, it's even more complex. I could probably ask for a hotel doctor...but, I donno.

You're going to be drinking barium pretty soon for imaging on your upper GI. You might also be getting a colonoscopy if that's inconclusive.

Stool samples can miss pretty serious stuff, like a Giardia infection isn't always apparent, and neither is something like ulcerative colitis or Crohn's. It could be irritable bowed disorder, too.

Also, antibiotics are fairly wide-spectrum and have a nasty tendency to wipe out the flora in your gut that your body needs to regulate its bowels. You wipe that bacteria out without killing the primary infection and you're in for a world of hurt.

Oh, you're traveling abroad? You could have Hepatitis A from eating some bad food. Palpate your upper right abdominal quadrant and see if it's tender.

Hell, you could be experiencing cholecystitis (gallbladder inflammation). Could be a whole slew of things at this point.

Thanks. He says he thinks it is bacterial, can that clear up on its own?

Yeah I imagine if I get back and I'm still sick I'm going to get a billion tests performed on me. I'm not back in the US until the 29th though, so, hoping it gets better before then. It's been almost three weeks, I'm so tired of eating bread and drinking water.

Yes, I'm overseas now, but I wasn't when I started having symptoms. Wouldn't Hep A show up in the stool or blood tests?

The doctor did mention he has a medical friend with the exact same symptoms... which made me a feel a bit better, but, if it is bacterial then I just have to wait it out? How long could that take?

It probably isn't going to clear up on its own if it hasn't by this point. You can try to find Acidophilus supplements (re-establishes healthy, proper gut flora) from a healthfood store.

If you've survived this long and you're still at least eating and pooping, you'll survive until then no problem.

Hep A can take a few weeks to really present with severe clinical symptoms. Stool samples can easily miss something of that nature.

You can't wait out a bacterial infection that's gone on this long. Your body isn't winning the war on the bug (if it is a bug). You'd need antibiotics to treat it IF it's a bacterial thing.

ask for a vivisection - I know some guys that never had any problems with their gastrointestinal system afterwards again

Did you have a lot of sugar or sugary foods prior?

Thanks. I'm surviving, but barely. Eating bread and maybe some bland noodles for the last three weeks has really taken a toll on me.

Why not just give me the antibiotics and see if it gets better?

Re Hep A, I don't have a fever, dark urine, or clay colored bowl movements.

What's that?

No, I eat pretty healthy.

It could be a LOT of different parasites especially since you're traveling overseas - tapeworms, hoookworms, different kinds of flukes, other nasty little buggers.

In short, as soon as you get back to the States you need to get yourself to a gastroenterologist.

Had you taken ibuprofen, aspirin, or naproxen prior to onset?

I started having symptoms back in the US. I just left the country for business reasons, the doctor said he thought it would get better in a few days...

>a gastroenterologist.
That's who I saw :/ Got a stool sample, blood test. Didn't get the camera and I'm hoping it doesn't come to that. He thinks it might still be bacterial or viral since he has other patients with the same thing, but, I'm not clear if they have been sick as long as I have. Awful. Italy of all places eating fucking bread. :/

Like I said earlier, antibiotics kill most bacteria in your gut - including the good bacteria that regulate your bowels. If it's not the RIGHT antibiotic for a particular bug (and there are a lot of different classes of antibiotics, each with their own "targets") it will wipe out your body's front line soldiers and can allow an infection to straight up destroy your digestive tract.

You definitely do not want to be on an antibiotic in hopes that it MIGHT be the one that kills what's making you sick, especially without a proper diagnosis. Chances are it's NOT the right one, and using it will severely worsen your infection.

Nope, I don't take any medications either. He wrote me a script for omeprazole 40mg to take once daily, I don't think it does anything.

That'll only help if you have stomach ulcers.

So if I come back and I'm still sick, would a camera up my ass be able to figure out what antibiotic to use? If the stool samples didn't work what next?

He thought you'd be better in a few days. He was wrong about what you've got. It's gone on 3 weeks now.

>You definitely do not want to be on an antibiotic in hopes that it MIGHT be the one that kills what's making you sick, especially without a proper diagnosis. Chances are it's NOT the right one, and using it will severely worsen your infection.

This. If anything, find some raw sauerkraut and eat a tablespoon a day and see what happens. Capsulized probiotic supplements are fucking gay. And, yogurt is weak in comparison to raw kraut.

Yeah, not sure what to do next. I mean when I get back in 8-9 days if I'm still sick then what? Anal camera? He talked about an ultrasound at one point...

Gastroenteritis most probably.

A vivisection is pretty invasive - I better spare you the details
But it works, apparently, with gastrointestinal problems so it would be my first guess for you

You may not need any antibiotic.You might need an anti-parasitic. Or something like Mesalamine if you have irritable bowel disorder.

You may or may not need GI imaging. An ultrasound is obviously what you'd hope for as it's non-invasive, doesn't hurt, etc.

If you're still sick you go back to the doctor and he's going to reorder stool samples as well as refer you for imaging is my guess.

Just get what needs to be done, done. Even if you get scoped from above or below, you're going to be medicated to make it happen.

No, a colonoscopy would diagnose/rule out non infection causes like colitis.

Pretty much this. the worst part about a colonoscopy is the preparation for it - you drink liters of what tastes like salty 7up and then shit your brains out for hours and hours.

When you get scoped, you are on a unique cocktail of drugs that wipe your memory completely. It doesn't hurt, your ass isn't sore or anything.

Ulcerative colitis.
/thread

Thanks. And there is a chance it could just go away?

Yeah I took my dad for one, he actually drank only a small bottle. It was expensive but not as nasty as the old one that was giant.

I had blood taken and my cell counts are fine.

Why not try OTC things first.

Take a good de-wormer first. The stool sample may not have picked it up.

Take a good probiotic every day.

Take some IBS treatments. This is what I think ails you. If it's a stressful business trip then IBS can be debilitating. Especially since you're not eating properly so you're running yourself down and stressed even more.

Avoid chilli and garlic and tomato (I know it's Italy, but....). Eat lots of salads with some cheese and fish for protein, rice for carbs. Olive oil dressing is ok. Avoid nuts and whole grains.

Good luck.

Change diet. Take time off, if possible. Stress. Psychological. Second opinion. If you need to pay out of pocket for tests, do it. It’s your health.
X-rays? MRI’s?

The chances that it will "go away" on its own are wishful thinking at this point. You need medical intervention. If your body hasn't beat your infection or ailment at this point, it's NOT going to.

That's about as bluntly as I can put it. You need to find out what's wrong with you.

>there is a chance it could just go away?
Impossible to answer that without knowing the cause. I've had a couple of episodes of colitis and the first time took 11 days of no food, IV fluids and plenty of tramadol to sort out. That said, I had a lot of really painful, bloody diarrhea so I was at the Drs pretty quick.

Benzo’s? Propanolol?

Thank you. I'll see what I can find!

I didn't know tomato was bad, I had noodles with tomato on it the other day. Whoops.

Thanks. :/

Thank you.

Midazolam, I think.

Well I gotta get to sleep for a meeting tomorrow. Thank you medfags for your help. As soon as I get back I'm going to get back to the doctor if it isn't better. Might even schedule before I leave so it can be first day.

Usually Midazolam in conjunction with fentanyl around where I live.

Indeed it is - that stuff rocks

Don't listen to that guy making dietary recommendations. Without a diagnosis FROM A DOCTOR that is concrete, dietary changes are absolutely useless, and putting yourself on a restrictive diet of any sort at this point is cutting your body off from vital nutrients it needs to keep fighting.

ever consider that it's because all you are eating is bread and water? Unless that's all you were eating before a change like that can also fuck you up

Take care and take care of yourself bro.