# diagnosed with post infectious IBS- med risks vs benefit



## isreliefinsight (Sep 16, 2011)

I am a 44 year old female and had symptoms(extreme nausea, exhaustion, bloating,urgency, frequency some pain for a month before I had to go to ER thinking it was a female issue(my period was 2 weeks late & when it came, all the above symptoms became severe). I was diagnosed with a bowel infection(given cipro & flagyl).after course of antibiotics now GI Dr, says I have IBS and the symptoms have continued to be severe, where I can't go to work. I was prescribed Vicodin by ER and Bentyl by the IG Dr & though it reduces symptoms it has decreased them enough where I can go to work. I work in a call center for 10 hrs a day with strict adherence for my 2 breaks & 1/2 hour lunch. Because of the severity of my symptoms & need to get back to work my doc has now prescribed donnatal but I had bad experience with phenobarbital when I had to take it before(amnesia,brain fog, passing out, lack of balance etc) so I'm scared to take it, plus there are warnings about heart attack & stroke. Has anyone else had experience with this med? This is all new to me! Please help


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## BQ (May 22, 2000)

Well did you mention this phenobarbital reaction to the Dr??? If not.. call them back & tell them! And if the Bentyl worked better for you.. why not stick with that? Both Bentyl & Donnatol are antispasmodics. So to me if you are comfortable with the Bentyl.. take that instead! Let the Dr know you prefer the Bentyl. Have you tried taking a probiotic? You should be if you are not. ANY time one has an intestinal infection it is good practice to take a probiotic to restore a good gut bacterial balance. (Many Dr's don't mention this though...) Some intestinal infections are from those bacteria being OUT of balance! So get yourself some Align and see if that helps. It could take a bit for it to work.. so try to be patient. If Align ends up not helping.... try another probiotic with a different strain of bacteria.. like maybe Florastor.. etc.And of course in the meantime... if you are having D... get yourself some imodium. I take it WITH meals and I take an anti-gas product WITH it(something with the main ingredient of simethicone. I use store brand and it's fine). I use the anti gas with the imodium because sometimes the imodium can bring on some cramping and bloating.That's for the short term...so see how you do. If you want you can try calcium carbonate for any D you may have. But all of this may be just because your gut bacterial balance is out of whack... well I'm hoping that is the case for you!Keep us posted!


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## isreliefinsight (Sep 16, 2011)

I did mention my issues with phenobarbital & the GI dr said it is such a low dose he still wants me to try it.The bentyl along w Vicodin had helped reduce the pain of spasms somewhat but not the frequency of my bm's or the urgency(constant feeling that I havn't fully evacuated). I have to get back to work, I could lose my job. How long does it usually take for bentyl to fully work, because I would have continued using it instead of donnatal. It's an expediency issue due to my job. Our short term disability group has denied disability to some of my coworkers stating the Dr. was not aggresive enough in dealing with medical issues or didn't demonstrate the need for disabilty benefits .I had been eating greek yogurt for the probiotics. Thanks for the advice about probiotics, I'll try the Align


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## BQ (May 22, 2000)

And try the imodium too!


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## isreliefinsight (Sep 16, 2011)

BQ said:


> And try the imodium too!


I'll definetly try it. Right now the burning diarrhea is killing me, I'm using all the advice I see in these threads re diet,tucks, prep H but nothing is helping, it's unbearable. I don't know what to do!


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## BQ (May 22, 2000)

Get in the tub and soak your poor butt. (If you don't want to get in the tub.. try a sitz bath) Also...Try using flushable wipes (Instead of toliet paper) and try not to rub.. just pat to clean up. You can use anything (besides Prep H) that's used for diaper rash. So try something else besides the Prep H. Something healing.... and keep re-applying it during the day. (A&D ointment, Balmex, Aquafor.. etc....)Here's hoping you get that fire out down there real soon!


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