I’ve been sick since the end of September with on-going stomach issues, namely diarrhea. To date, I’m probably almost down 10 lbs, which is a lot for someone who was less than 100 to start with. I’m being treated by a Chinese medicine doctor who helped me get through IMFL with a combo of bland foods, strong Chinese herbs, probiotics, and acupuncture. But we agreed that if the problems didn’t clear up after the race, it would be a good idea to get checked by a GP - particularly for parasites. I have already scheduled an appt to see a doc.
I haven’t gone anywhere or done anything unusual recently that would cause something like this. Anyone have experiences with intestinal parasites… other than in dogs? I know this is gross. Sorry.
Get your poop tested for at least three days in a row! You are a triathlete… you can get the critters from dirt, dogs, lakes/ponds, etc. etc. etc. Or it could be something else…like a stealth gram negative bacteria, or e-coli, or… I would NOT delay… get to a GI doc ASAP.
Lauren, if this has been going on that long and you’ve lost, what, 10% of your body weight, I’d see an internist and not a general practitioner. Parasites as a cause can be confirmed or eliminated with a simple stool test, and at the same time they’ll probably test it for several other things. Be forwarned, though, that a litany of things (food allergy, irritable bowel syndrome, crohn’s and other inflammatory bowel diseases) have similar symptoms and it might take a while to diagnose by process of elimination.
Yep, same thing happened to me last year. I picked something up in a mountain lake I swam in while on vacation with the family. It was miserable and you need to get tested.
Actually, I think it is an internist that I am seeing… originally, i though it was related to some antibiotics I had to take. And then I thought it was hormone-related. But now, it’s been going on too long…
At this point, I just want to freaking EAT! I can’t afford to lose more weight, either… I’m at the same weight I was as a freshman in HS.
That sounds an awful lot like giardia, a protozan parasite picked up in contaminated water. It requires a long course of antibiotics. Get thee to a serious doctor pronto. I think it is possible to kick it without antibiotics occasionally, but it can also turn into some very serious stuff if not treated.
I have had giardia. Somewhat different symptoms than what you’re describing – it came on suddenly (I went from normal to severly ill in about 6 hours), I had equal amounts of vomiting and diarrhea and it was quite serious. I thought it was bad enough to kill someone who had weak defenses. It was the only time I missed work due to illness in 22 years. The test for parasites is a little gross, but easy and painless. The antibiotics helped quickly – I started to feel better within a few hours and was back to normal within a day or so (though the treatment ran longer). Good luck.
Besides the usual stool cultures and ova and parasite tests, get a Giardia antigen and Clostridium dificile toxin test on the stool. Antibiotics can allow C.dif to ‘take over’ and cause chronic diarrhea, and even very serious illness and death (mostly in the very old anvery young). If these are negative get them repeated. If all perisists you need to see a GI doc.
Occasionally, giardia can become a resident of the lining of your upper small intestine. this can be difficult to diagnose. It can require endoscopy. Other conditions can require endoscopy as well.
I caught something swimming in the Hudson River this summer. Did not get tested by a GP as suggested in this thread. I tried a natural supplement as part of a cleansing program. Symptoms went away in a few days - and no antibiotics. Link to the product: http://www.drnatura.com/paranil.php
Incidentally, last week I took an antibiotic for a nasty sinus infection and this week my stomach is all screwed up.
I’d second the motion that you see an internist. You don’t know what you have, and self-diagnosis is likely not going to be accurate. Those symptoms could point to one of a myriad of illnesses/parasites/syndromes etc. Better safe than sorry. Seeing an internist doesn’t mean giving up on natural remedies either. My TCM Dr. also uses western diagnostic tests to diagnose illnesses, much like many Naturopaths do, and then uses non-western medicines to treat the illnesses wherever possible. As he says: “TCM is great to keep the engine running well - like tune-ups and fluids cleaning etc - while western medicine is far better at fixing the broken parts.”
There are many links on http://www.ostomyathlete.com to other sites dedicated to providing information for people having gastro-intestinal issues. You may want to start with the North American Intestinal Disease Education and Awareness Society at http://www.ideas-na.com, to get a general sense of the range of illnesses.
I do not mean this post to be at all alarmist. Armed with information you will be much better off, and informed to help out those around you down the line. If you look at the statistics, it is highly-unlikely that you have any of these illnesses.
Sounds a lot like the Giardia I had a few years ago. First test came out negative but the symptoms persisted. Doc had me take the test again and was positive for giardia. Medication cleared it out quickly and I just wish I had gone in sooner.
Definately get a stool sample!!! I had the same thing and started getting sick before IMWI, and the doctors diagnosed it as IBS…after the race, things got worse and worse…turns out i had an intestinal infection on top of that (Only diagnosed by stool sample). Considering you just did an IM, your immune system will be low, so it is best to get this fixed now!! They eventually had to do a bunch of tests to rule out IBD, but start with the stool samples and ask for a blood test called p-ANCA and ASCA that test for IBD. Good luck!!