# Diagnosed with IBS. This is horrible



## canteatalot (Sep 16, 2011)

I was diagnosed with post-infectious IBS last month. It all started when I had my wisdom teeth removed and started taking the antibiotic Amoxil. About 4 days into the antibiotic course I started having D, but I thought it was normal b/c the pharmacist had told me that the antibiotic could cause temporary upset stomach. Well, it wasn't temporary. I went to the doctor finally after a month and they did a stool culture and test for c-diff. It came back negative but I did have a high white blood cell count in my stool. The MD told me to eat yogurt and bland foods. He said if it didn't get better I need to see a GI doctor. I was in Los Angeles at the time on a travel assignment for work. I waited until my travel assignment was over and came home to see a local GI doctor. He looked at my stool culture and said I probably have post-infectious IBS, but I needed a colonoscopy since the D had been ongoing for so long. He said he didn't think the Amoxil caused the problem. He said I probably had some stomach infection at the same time I took the Amoxil. I don't know. It just seems weird that I was completely normal with regard to my BMs until I started the Amoxil... The colonoscopy was negative for ulcerative colitis, so I was diagnosed with IBS. I was started on a medicine to control cramping, but that didn't work. I was then started on Welchol with mixed results. I have not been able to eat much b/c I feel nauseous and bloated. I've lost 6 pounds with this last bout. I alternate between really bad bloating and constipation to severe D. It's like a vicious cycle. I take medicine to stop the D, then I feel terrible from bloating for several days. Yesterday I had to leave work because I was so nauseous and dizzy. I felt my heart racing. Felt like I was going to pass out. I am scheduled to work a 12 hour night shift tomorrow. I really don't know how I will get through it. I'm so weak. Anyway, I'm 32 and I have "good days and bad days." It's really not fair. I feel a little hopeless right now. I never in a million years thought I'd be dealing with this kind of problem. I am very athletic, exercise almost every day. Now kind of feels like I'm wasting away from depression and not being able to eat. Anyway, that's my story so far.... :/


----------



## BQ (May 22, 2000)

Now, now.. there is Always hope!Try taking a Good probiotic... The Amoxicillin probably killed off some of the bacteria that you need for a good gut bacterial balance. So maybe you were negative for C-Diff but you still could have an unbalanced gut bacteria. A probiotic can restore a good balance. So take a probiotic for awhile and see how you do. If one strain of bacteria in a particular probiotic, like let's say Align, doesn't help.. try another probiotic with different strains of bacteria.. like Florastor. Give it a decent time trial like a couple weeks (maybe finish the one bottle)... and move on to a different probiotic after that if it doesn't work. Also Ginger works real well on nausea for me. So get some Ginger tablets in the house. Loperamide or imodium can cause some bloating and cramping itself. So if you are taking that.. try taking an anti-gas WITH it. (Like Phazyme or the store brand of it... as long as the main ingredient is simethicone.)So see if you can get out there and get some of this before your shift!


----------

