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Hi Judith. Has any of your doctors did a c-diff toxin? The reason I asked is because in your post you state that you feel better on antibiotics. What antibiotic is it that you are taking that makes you feel better?
I had c-diff a few years back. It is caused from actually taking too many antibiotics and the only thing that rids the c-diff is Vancomycin. I was sick for a few months with constant D and pains. The D is unforgettable as it is the worse smelling D you've ever experienced.
I'm sure they've tested for it but if not, you might want to mention it. Hope this helped.
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~~~Lisa~~~
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Were you C before the GB came out?
I too have a nonfunctioning slow GB and I am severly C. I am begging my doc to take it out. He says no because D can be a permanent side effect. The surgeon is willing to take it out for me though. So, I can get it out if I want and I am very tempted as I think the C is caused by the bad GB, although my GI insists C is not symptom of a nonfunctioning GB. I have read otherwise, though.
So, was wondering if you were a C before the GB was removed. Are you sorry you had it taken out? What would have happened if you had left it in? How do you treat a nonfunctioning GB other than taking it out? See, I think you did the right thing. But you sound regretful.
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~ Beth
Constipation, pain prodominent,cramps, spasms and bloat!
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Thanks, Lisa--I recently had a bunch of tests done and one of the things I'm being tested for is C. Diff. I haven't gotten the results yet. My alt doc thinks that this type of infection or one of the many other protozoan/bacterial/amebic infections is a real possibility, since I often feel better on antibiotics. Problem is, I feel better initially on the antibiotics, then I get worse--I think the antibiotics cause other problems, like candida. It's a vicious cycle!
I'm anxious to see what the tests show. Thanks for your post!
Judith
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Re: Judithg
#135009 - 01/04/05 02:51 PM
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Judithg
Reged: 07/14/03
Posts: 157
Loc: California
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Beth,
I just started the no grain thing this week, and breakfast is a challenge. Previously I would eat GF cereals. My favorite thing so far: My grocery store sells frozen pureed winter squash. I heat that up and can get a couple of breakfasts out of it. I eat it with a little bit of honey. It's reminiscent of a hot breakfast cereal like malt o'meal or quinoa. I also like warm applesauce for breakfast. I may eventually try to add eggs, but I'm skeptical about them right now. I also have some recipes for muffins that are made with nut flour. I may try them eventually when I feel better.
I'm trying to find veggies that are high in soluble fiber. Last night I pureed cooked cauliflower so it was kind of like mashed potatoes. It was okay--not great--but it seemed like a pretty good soluble fiber base to go with my other veggies and protein. Winter squashes are good. I made a really good carrot soup that is pureed. Heather lists these non-grain foods as soluble fiber sources: carrots, squash, pumpkin, avocados, bananas, applesauce. I'm also cooking almost everything at this point to make it more digestible.
I've been doing this 3 days now, and I actually feel better today for the first time in months. No D for a change. But only time will tell.
You mentioned in another post that you had trouble identifying your triggers. That has been a problem for me too. I was keeping extensive food & symptom diaries, plus I did an elimination diet where I stopped eating everything I normally ate more than twice a week. At the the same time I eliminated all common triggers and allergens (soy, wheat, corn, eggs, dairy, etc.). I felt better immediately. Then I started adding foods in one at a time. I would record my reaction. If I had a bad reaction, or thought I did, I would take the food out of my diet, then add it back in at a later date. I kept finding that I was seemingly having reactions to foods at one point, and tolerating them fine later. Eventually after months of messing with this, I realized that FOOD seemed to be the problem. I can't figure anything else out. It's truly frustrating.
I'll let you know how the no-grain thing works out. And if you (or anyone) has more suggestions on no-grain soluble fiber, I'd love to hear them too.
Oh, and BTW, I am not taking SFS right now. I have never been able to tolerate them, although I have tried psyllium, cellulose, Equilactin, Acacia all for extended periods--they make the stomach pain and bloating way worse. Some people think that if gut flora is out of whack, some the bad bacteria feed off the SFS. So maybe that's the problem.
Or, I'm just a delicate flower! 
Thanks,
Judith
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I had blood tests done several years ago (can't remember the lab), and that first showed the gluten intolerance, among other things. Actually on a list of 99 foods tested, I had some sensitivity to all but one! Again promoting my theory that I'm allergic to everything.
Blood tests aren't the most reliable, however. My latest tests are through a company called Diagnostechs: http://www.diagnostechs.com
Many people swear by the testing done by Enterolab ( http://www.enterolab.com/ ), especially for gluten and dairy allergy. I am interested in having that test as well, depending on what Diagnostechs shows. The doc recommended going with Diagnostechs first, as they are particularly good with various bacterial/parasitic problems.
You'll notice with Enterolab that you can do the tests without a doctor's order, though a doctor's order may help you get insurance reimbursement.
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Thanks for the info. I've been curious about the gall bladder connection. I've seen several posts where people mention GB as the reason for their IBS symptoms. What kind of testing is done to see how the GB is functioning? I would think that would be a pretty routine test, but I'm not sure if I've had that one done or not.
Did you have your GB removed? If so, did it make a difference? Do you have to take enzymes or something after removal?
I have also read that pancreatic insufficiency can cause D and that it's not always found in testing.
Quite the riddle, aren't we?
Judith
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Beth,
Sorry to keep posting--I keep reading more posts from you!
If GB removal results in chronic D, I would avoid it. I'm not sure how severe your C is, but I was C for years, and now I long for those days. Not that it's any fun, but I have found the chronic D to be much more debilitating.
I'm wondering if there are any alternative methods for dealing with a slow GB. I'll do a little research on that. Maybe there are supplements or enzymes or something that can help. Any alternatives to surgery?? That's just so final! Although I totally understand the desire to go for it when nothing else seems to be working!!
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if it is c-diff. I have a lot of information on it and a great c-diff support group to refer to you. C-diff is known to have a false negative so you may have to test a couple of times. Lucky for me I tested positive right away. I hope for your sake it isn't it. It's just nasty! 
When I was on Flagyl that gave me terrible thrush in my mouth. That's a side effect of Flagyl so I know what it's like to take an antibiotic and then get a side effect from it.
Were you on any large amounts of antibiotics? Or did you take a strong one recently? Did you travel to another country? Have you lost a lot of weight in a short period of time? I'm sure the docs have asked you all this already.
Hope you are feeling better real soon and you get some kind of answer. I feel for you. Being sick in the pits!
Take care of yourself.
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~~~Lisa~~~
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~ Beth
Constipation, pain prodominent,cramps, spasms and bloat!
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Hi Judith. I can totally sympathise. I'm not currently on Heather's diet as I had gone on so many diets trying to correct my overactive bowel that I was bordering on having malnutrician (sp?)! Now I'm on a regular low fat diet and still having dairy just not too much and still avoiding whole wheat. My doc. explained to me that there are certain types of things in food that can cause problems and we have a tolerance level for them. For example we might be sensitive to fructose (the natural sugar in fruit). So maybe we might eat an orange one day and be fine, we might have another one the next day and still be fine but on the third day we might introduce kiwi fruit and have pain or d or both, so we blame the kiwi fruit right? Well no cause it's not actually the kiwi fruit that did it. It's the fructose in the kiwi fruit and we over exceeded our tolerence threshold by eating it. But anything with fructose at that point would have made us sick. So that's why elimination diets can be tricky. I thought it was interesting and explained a whole heap about some of the foods I thought I couldn't eat. We have to learn what our threshold is for certain foods. I hope this helps. Good luck with getting better. I understand the frustration. All my tests bar an iron level test have come back as normal, but I feel anything but every day. My whole life revolves around toilets, pain and whether or not I'll ever live a somewhat "normal" life.
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Amy
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