# How many are post-infectious IBS?



## 20250 (Jul 14, 2005)

Not that I am aware of. I think I was born with 42 years ago.


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## 18680 (Oct 7, 2005)

I, too, was born with it 44 years ago. I wonder if it might be something our mothers were exposed to?


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## magicjenjen (Sep 23, 2003)

Born with digestive issues too. Am now taking the same medication that they first gave me before I was a month old again. BTW I am 37 now.


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## 13630 (Jan 2, 2006)

It all began after infection...8 months ago. Before that day, I loved all types of food. Now, 50 lbs lighter, I hardly think of food.


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## 19006 (Feb 17, 2006)

I am definitely post-infectious - had a horrendous bout of gastroenteritis and hardly ate for about 3 weeks - lived on water and rich tea biscuits! Lost loads of weight and have never put it back on...ever since I have had IBS - I am lucky that my symptoms aren't as bad as some people's on this board - you truly have my sympathies.


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## 23392 (Jan 31, 2006)

Definitely post-infectious. Before that, could eat cast iron. Spicy Thai food for breakfast. NO digestive problems!I think in my case the particularly harsh antibiotic [flagyl] had a heckuva lot to do with it, too...


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## 23392 (Jan 31, 2006)

Let me amend that. Some have no problem with Flagyl; I did.


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## 20745 (Dec 3, 2005)

I had a severe case of salmonella when I was 19 an d then it developed into Ulcerative colitis and I almost died. They controlled it medically and I was in remission for about 10 years and then it surfaced again and they called it IBS At first I was both alternating D and C and then it was really bad C for many years I finally got with a great doctor I go more often then not but I have a lot of flareups with pain still but I have meds for thatKAren


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## 20149 (Jan 1, 2006)

I am with angry optimist on this one, 8 months ago I had my appendix removed, then they thoughtI had cdiff so they gave me flagyl, got back to normal for three weeks then had a tooth pull and had an infection. They gave me another antibiotic, again had D and gave me flagyl again in case of cdiff, never had cdiff and never recovered. I belive it was from 5 different kinds of antibiotics screwing up my system.


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## Talissa (Apr 10, 2004)

That was me chipper. I normally don't go into it all, but as a teen I took tetracycline for a YR, then at 29, took some type of antibiotic? for a bug from mexico, then 6 months later I had dental work, more antibiotics, then a giardia infection abt 6 months later, treated w/ flagyl, and BAM...IBS-D...The doctors were useless.btw, the peeps who've always had stomach problems/IBS should ask their moms if they were formula-fed instead of breast-fed(which helps build up colostrum, lactoferrin, and probiotics) & also if they gave you many antibiotics your first few years...I saw this one woman on the news who'd given her baby antibiotics 7 times in one year, ag her MDs wishes, but she insisted(it was a Canadian news story on antibiotic-resistance.) Just my 2 cents anyways.


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## 17043 (Apr 12, 2006)

Definately Post-Infectious here! I had a really bad Influenza flu which I was bed ridden for three weeks.Mild symptoms of IBS started right after, and 9 months later had a very bad bladder infection which infected my kidneys.Since then,my IBS-D has gone from mild to severe and I am now confined to my home as a homemaker because I need a washroom by my side at all times.No fun


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## 22260 (Apr 11, 2006)

Not quite sure. I have relly had this for about 6 years, but nothng as compared t owhat I have now. I had my gallbladder removed lat July, and since then this has been in over-drive. I am seeing my third GI doc currently...the first on to finally listen to me.


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## 15341 (Jul 5, 2006)

i am 99.99999% certain it was a bout of gastroentoritis that set me off, i had a horrible night of it 11pm through to 6am sat on the loo with my head in a bucket if it wasnt one end it was the other or both at once. Before then i could and did eat whatever i wanted and i enjoyed my food what i would give to be like that again, now i can hardly eat anything and i mean anything i live on biscuits and pretty much nothing else and have been doing so for months now some days i dont eat at all it is horrible part of the not eating is due to fear of the gastro...itis starting up again as it was an awful night and part of it is because 99% of food plays hell with me the amount of times i have wanted to bang my head against a wall is unreal


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## 22659 (Jul 1, 2006)

I don't really know. I've had IBS for about six months, and I know I got a really bad stomach flu somewhere in there but I think the symptoms started before then. That was the worst stomach flu ever though. Just when you think, that's it, I've hit rock bottom, nothing else could possibly come up. Ew. Weird thing is, the whole vomiting thing was like on a schedule (i wrote down when it started and every time after). 1st and 2nd were half hour apart, then an hour, then an hour and a half. It stopped once they were three hours apart I think. Rough night. lol


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## 23212 (Apr 27, 2006)

Postinfectious here. Got C Diff from taking an antibiotic for bronchitis on January 2nd. It took three rounds of Flagyl to beat it. I immediately developed lactose intolerance and IBS as a result of my infection. I can now tolerate some dairy with Lactaid pills and drink Lactaid milk regularly. I love how the GI's just didn't want anything to do with me after my bout with C Diff was over, basically telling me, "don't worry about it, IBS isn't caused by C Diff". Whatever. Prior to all this I used to eat an entire pizza in one sitting and then go to Cold Stone Creamery for dessert. I've lost 20 pounds and have managed to gain about 5 in the six months I've been C Diff free. I pray that I never grow tolerant of Immodium like I have with Donnatal after just 2 short months.


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## 19506 (Oct 7, 2006)

Post-infection, although I have always been susceptible to GI problems. Seven years ago I caught something from a pizza we ordered from a restaurant. The funny thing is, I didn't get vomiting or diarrhea at first. Within a half hour of eating, I just started feeling weak, I thought I would collapse. The GI symptoms started about 4 hours later. I vomited for about three days, and had diarrhea for thirty days. (I didn't take anything for it because I am a firm believer in letting your body get rid of stuff it doesn't want.) After the vomiting stopped, I found that I had no appetite whatever, I felt if I tried to eat something I would have choked on it. I lost thirty pounds that month. Docs had no answers. Seven years later, here is my theory: I caught something from the pizza, and my body has mistaken wheat (or gluten or yeast?) as the culprit and now whenever I eat anything made from wheat I can depend on awakening the beast.


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## 19506 (Oct 7, 2006)

p.s. - Another strange thing is that I shared that pizza with 5 kids, and I am the only one that got sick (Thank God). I don't know how that happened; maybe whatever I got sick from was unrelated.


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## Yaretzij (Mar 31, 2009)

I am a Post-infectious IBS and still in a denial stage. I had giardia, flagyl 500 mg for 10 days and GI problems started. Does this goes away eventually??


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

IBS is chronic but not always permanent.It is fairly common for those with post infectious IBS to have it start to fade after a few years. It isn't a quick heal, but it does go away for some people.It probably helps to hope you are going to get better rather than be convinced it can't. Even if you have it for longer than a couple of years most people find treatments or strategies that control it pretty well. Some people are not lucky and we tend to accumulate the worst cases on this site.


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## MARK6331 (May 10, 2000)

I had giardia 15 years ago I was treated, ever since then I have had ibs-D four weeks ago I decided to eliminate wheat products from my diet (glutens) For the first time in 15 years I do not take any more diarrhea meds. This has been a real breakthrough for me. If you can just give up wheat products for just four days I think this will help you just like it’s help me.Mark


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## diogenes (Jan 2, 2009)

I had something like giardia decades ago. They gave me antibiotics and I have never been the same. I guess I'll never know if it was the infection or the antibiotics (or even both) that screwed me up, but my hunch is it was the antibiotics. Eventually they found colitis as well. It was funny, originally I was diagnosed with just IBS for a few years. I kept pressing my doctor for more tests and they eventually found colitis. The doc then tells me that in fact I did have IBS, and now he has found an unrelated case of colitis! I guess it is possible it was unrelated but the fact that he was certain was ridiculous. The main thing I've learned through all this is not that doctors don't know anything, but that compared to what they act like they know they don't know sh*#. And the pharmaceutical companies are even worse. At least the doctors tend to be relatively well intentioned. Basically the entire medical establishment is full of sh&* in my opinion. I mean that in the sense that they lie to patients and themselves about their level of ignorance in regards to ailments and the human body. The body is so complex that I don't blame them for not knowing more about disorders, but I do blame them for acting like they know much more than they do. Almost every sentence that comes out of a GI doc's mouth should begin with "well, we don't really know, but our best guess at the moment is..." Sorry, I'm done venting now







.


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## Puppy3D (Jul 28, 2004)

I have a classic case of post infectious IBS. 10 years ago, I went on trekking holyday in the tropics. i`d picked up a bug called Strongyloides stercoralis, thats a small worm. Funny is, that this worm dont get into the gut over nutrition. They go directly through the naked sole of the food into the body. Never walk around barefoot in a tropical country.







My gut reacted with diarrhea. After two weeks of diarrhea, my gut developed constipation, bloating and pain. I went to a doctor who treated me with antibiotics, antispasmodics and fiber, and I got a clonscopy. This bug changed my life dramaticly.


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## Gabriel (Aug 23, 2009)

Funny some of you mentioned dental work, we could start a conspiracy. I actually feel mine started after swimming in a river that might have been polluted with something. Felt nauseated that night and then had D the next day. Started having chronic nausea and GERD like symptoms which progressed more into IBS symptoms. I did have some dental work done around this same time and even mentioned it to the doctor when my mom took me to see him, suggesting perhaps I swallowed something I shouldn't have. That was when I was 13(25 now). He didn't think much of it, but thus my story began there. Didn't really have many problems beforehand though.My symptoms were mainly D related up until 2006. I then had a "24 hr bug" which lead to gastroparesis which was an awful ordeal for about 3 months straight, which I luckily did recover from. Since then my system has been in flux and during the year after I was more prone to sudden D attacks. Those have waned and I am finding myself dealing with more bloating & C now. Surprisingly pro-biotics and fibers seem to make my C worse, bah







.


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## IanRamsay (Nov 23, 2008)

Hiyep i was PI.GabrielProbiotics can make things worse for up to 2 or 3 weeks after you start to take them before things start to get better. cheersIan


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## Gabriel (Aug 23, 2009)

@IanRamsay, I'll have to give it another go at lower dosages perhaps. I was checking out your blog stuff on here, it's got some good info in it







! Also I too had(still have) emetophobia as a kid, long before my problems started.


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## IanRamsay (Nov 23, 2008)

Hi GabrielYea, emmet is a pain in the arse. although i no longer suffer from IBS etc i still suffer from teh fear. probably always will. i have tried everything from CBT to Hypnosis. i guess there is a reason for everything!CheersIan


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