# Not feeling right after stomach bug



## Patrick70 (Oct 15, 2007)

On New Years eve I came down with what I think was a stomach bug. It started with major bloating and gas and involved 8 or more watery BM together with vomitting (and I rarely ever vomit). Also my mom and dad both came down with the same symptoms a few days after (I was at there house for supper - which I hardly ate anything - on New Years).Well, I have been feeling better since than. My appetite has returned and I am eating okay. And than blam it hit me again last night. After supper I had a normal BM and than horrible bloating and gas began again. It ended with about 4 trips to the bathroom and the movements were fairly watery - esp the last one. Lot and lots of gas too.So I am back to small bland eating again.I should probably go to the GP to get a quick check - get some stool cultures etc. Or should I wait a bit to see if things settle down on there own.Do you think this is normal though to have a touchy go of things after a bug. I should mention that I had milk to drink last night - I am not lactose intolerant. But I have read that stomach bugs can make one lactose intolerant in the short term. So maybe I should cut out the dairy.Just feeling really lousy here.


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## Cherrie (Sep 1, 2006)

Hi Patrick sorry you had a stomach bug. I had two bouts last year and can totally relate. And yeah, for me at least, it's normal to have a touchy stomach after the bug. It'll probably take a couple more weeks for things to get back to what it was before. Going back to small bland diet or whatever your safe food is is a good idea. Milk can be hard to digest etc even if you're not lactose intolerant, 'cause it has more fat than other less fatty foods. I'd give it a few more weeks before giving dairy another go; and I'd probably start with yogurt instead of milk and see how things settle.Hope you feel better soon.


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## Mr_IBS_4life (Jan 12, 2009)

Patrick,Must be something about New Years Eve!







I'm convinced I've had IBS my whole life but wasn't officially diagnosed until after I had my gallbladder removed 2 years ago. My biggest problems, however, started New Years Eve of 2007. Like you, I came down with what was likely a stomach bug and, also like you, was concerned because my recovery was seeming to take forever. To top it off, I was travelling about a month later and came down with another stomach bug (both times family members also got sick immediately after me so it pretty much confirmed some sort of illness vs. anything else wrong). In any case, my GI doc agreed but wanted to be sure so I underwent every test known to man (and a few more I think they invented just for me!) and nothing was found. GI doc explained that your digestive system with IBS is ultra-sensitive and a "stomach bug" is about the worst thing that can happen to trigger your IBS.One of the many things I've learned since being diagnosed is that recovery from anything that sets off your IBS doesn't happen overnight and you need to have some patience. I AM extremely lactose intolerant so I avoid milk, etc. anyway and I've learned through my research that what you said is true (you can become temporarily lactose intolerant following an intestinal virus). In general, I've found you need to "baby" your system back to health and realize it'll probably take awhile.Assuming you've been diagnosed with IBS, I wouldn't be concerned and try to relax and just nurse yourself back to health.Best of luck to you!


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

From what I've read it is considered pretty normal for someone with a healthy gut to have a few weeks (up to six) of their colon being a bit more touchy than usual. So a meal you might normally tolerate may set things off, etc.IBS often starts after the damage from the body fighting off a GI infection, so it might be that it could make the IBS a bit more active in addition to the normal sensitivity post GI infection that anyone can get.


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