# My story of very unusual nausea dominated IBS



## Melissa Lady (May 3, 2013)

Hello, my name is Melissa and I am 21 years old. I will turn 22 in April of this year, 2015.

*MySymptoms:*

Diarrhea (uncommon now)

Intestinal Cramping (gets SEVERE)

Nauesa

Vomiting (Occasional)

Lethargy

Constant Fever

Switched from not being able to stand the cold and always wrapping up to not being able to stand heat and always cooling down.

Every time I ate food before my diet change my body wanted it OUT. So it'd try to make me vomit or give me painful urgent bowel movements.

*How I got IBS:*

It was food poisoning. I decided to eat catfish from chicken express one night and spent twelve hours with severe diarrhea and vomiting. I thought it was all over and gone but about a month later I had my then Aussie boyfriend fly in to visit. We ate mongolian food and while he loved it I get severely sick again. The main symptom was abdominal pain, unbearable pain. I had a fever the next morning but felt better. The only thing is, I never actually got better.

*My trip to the Doctor:*

After a couple months of misery I got in to see a Gastroenterologist. This was May or June 2013 at the time. I had an upper endoscopy, a colonoscopy, blood work, and a stool sample test. They did find blood in my stool but that was it. That's when he told me it was probably IBS. He gave me zofran, hyoscyamine, and put me on the FODMAP diet. The diet cleared up the diarrhea almost completely! However I was still lethargic, slept half of the day, and dealt with nausea spells. The nausea kept getting increasingly worse over time. That's when he decided anitdepressants might help me. I tried a few but had terrible anxiety side effects and quit after a couple days. Finally he put me on Zoloft. Let's just say it was hell.

*Medication:*

Zoloft made me so increadibly nauseated starting out that I didn't leave the house for almost two weeks. I couldn't move around. It subsided after a while and everything was great! But there was one huge issue, the drug made me depressed. Scary self harm depressed (I didn't do anything of course). I talked to my doctor and he told me to stop taking it, so I weaned off of it. The withdrawals triggered anxiety attacks, I have never had any sort of anxiety disorder. Now, because of the Zoloft, I DO have anxiety. I guess my mind was like "We can do that? Let's do that!"

I'm currently on 15mg of Remeron with no side effects at all! It just doesn't help as much as I'd like. Instead of being sick about 6 days a week I'm now sick 4 days a week. We tried to up the dose to 30mg but I started having abdominal pain and intense nightmares, the kind where you wake up screaming. I'm considering sacrificing my mental health for symptom relief and trying again.

*My Relationships:*

Around October 2013 I met a guy and sparks flew. He was probably the hottest guy to ever show interest in me and he had IBS too! Just not as severe. Shortly after we became a couple my doctor put me on Zoloft. As you know, it affected me adversely and we didn't get as much time together as he wanted. After a couple months he told me that I was too sick and he couldn't deal with it despite telling me that he could handle it in the beginning. I understand why he did it, but it doesn't make it suck less. I've been dating different guys but dates are hard when you get sick suddenly then have to bail. I've pretty much decided to put it off for now.

*School and Work:*

School is a touchy subject. I can barely leave the house most days so my attendance is spotty. So, I'm doing terribly in school. I'm on my fourth year at a two year college. As far as work I was forced to quit because I called in sick so often. I moved back home with my parents.

*Where I Am Now:*

Literally right this moment? I'm fighting off nausea with 50mg of promethzine in my system. I love my life and I love being alive! However, I'm at my wit's end. My nausea is escalating to stomach flu level. I'm living from day to day and it's hard. I'm not depressed at all, I'm just so tired of being miserable.

*My Game Plan*:

I have an appointment with Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, Arizona March 9th. Every time I call around for a second opinion I'm rejected because of my IBS label. This is my last resort. I CANNOT live like this anymore. If I can't find help I'm going to march into the local hospital and say "I need help otherwise I just don't want to live anymore". It sounds dramatic but I feel like somebody on chemo.

I can't keep doing this.


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## Groove (Feb 2, 2015)

My story is similar to yours as in I ate something that basically ruined me. It seemed to go away and then it cae back stronger down the road. The only thing that helped me was the FODMAP diet and eventually figuring out what what I was eating that would make me uncomfortble. Are you still doing FODMAP?

I hope you find some relief.


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## athlon4800 (Jun 10, 2013)

I can relate and I hope that by posting my story can help. My gut problems started after a gastroenteritis infection and I got nausea and severe fatigue as my dominant symptoms. I also got pain about 45 minutes after eating which told me that the original gastroenteritis had damaged my small intestine. I figured out from reading the medical literature and joining the dots that it was not healing because the damage caused small intestinal bacterial overgrowth which was causing further damage (preventing healing), so what I did was took a couple of short courses of antibiotics to kill the bacteria overgrowth and I then went on an elemental diet (look up Vivonex) for 2-3 days per week to beat the bacteria back then back on normal food for 4 or 5 days. I would get complete relief of nausea and most other symptoms. If I left it more than 5 days I would get sick again. I did this regime for about 6 - 9 months until I acheived a cure of symptoms. I am still left with some diarrhea symptoms which I believe is due to colonic bacteria dysbiosis caused by high dose antibiotics (I suggest avoiding prolonged and high dose antibiotic courses if possible). The reason that an elemental diet works is it reduces bacteria levels by depriving them of a food source and allowing the irritated/damaged small intestine to heal.

Have you ever tried Lactobacillus Rhamnosus? That is another idea. Culturelle is a good product that has the right strain of Rhamnosus and Swanson also does a very good Rhamnosus strain product. L. Rhamnosus is strongly anti-inflammatory and thus helps heal the gut lining and to counteract small intestinal bacterial overgrowth as it stimulates cleansing movement in the small intestine.

I was as desperate as you which is why I am making this post as I do feel for you! You triggered a flash back saying about feeling like a chemotherapy patient and about feeling life was not worth living in this state! It is horrible. Good luck! I hope you find relief soon.


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## Amy2411 (Feb 15, 2015)

Athlon4800 may I ask what antibiotics you were given? I have had constant nausea for as long as I can remember now, starting with a sick bug years ago and my GP has washed his hands of me. I'm stuck on 3 different anti-nausea tablets with the highest dose every day. I can't plan things to do in advance incase I feel too sick to leave the house, I panic incase I am somewhere without a toilet available and its just miserable. When I first got this, my GP at my old uni gave me antibiotics which I seem to remember helping slightly but I can't remember what they are and my current GP won't even discuss antibiotics. I'd be really interested in hearing from you as I haven't found anyone from the UK with this yet and I'm unsure what the NHS will provide as it seems different to the US medicines they prescribe. Thank you


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