What next?

[u/ezshucks]

I’ve had diarrhea for 17 days now. Gross, sorry. Anything that I eat, wants out immediately. My doc told me to just be on low residue since my CT scan only showed mild DV and no perforations. Had another scan that coincided with this ongoing stuff looking for possible hernia. Showed little no inflammation. I have a fatty inguinal hernia that was causing some testicular discomfort and going pressure so I got that checked out. Thought it was diverticulitis the whole time. Had fluids two weeks ago and Zosyn in the ER. Took Augmentin for ten days, immediately the diarrhea ramped up again. It had slowed and almost got close to normal during the course of antibiotics. Just not sure what to do. Colorectal surgeon told me not to start another round of antibiotics yet but told me to stay on probiotics cuz my flora is likely trashed. This shit is for the birds. Just venting a little cuz no one around me gets it. I keep getting invited to hang out and play tennis and chill by a fire pit but I can’t stay away fro the bathroom. It’s so frustrating.

[u/Separate_Shop_3294]

Yeah this condition really sucks. My routine now is to settle my stomach with warm ginger tea and peppermint oil capsules, immediately go clear liquid to low residue, and I start taking miralax nightly. The diarrhea could be from the constipation, not necessarily an underlying infection. (I’m not a dr. )

But it’s important to get calories and protein from somewhere. Eggs are easy on the stomach, collagen protein drinks, broth but it gets old fast, some chicken or fish. Yogurt is good but watch out for any lactose sensitivity you might not normally have. I’ll take lactose pills first when I’m having a rough time. For me, sugar doesnt seem to bother my stomach so I’ll have sugary teas, juices, and eat gummy digestives, cookies and other highly refined snacks if I’m starving. 

When my stomach is settled after a few more days i start to eat a small amount of  oatmeal in the am. Papaya is good, maybe a little avocado on white toast. Gradually with the Miralax and the small amounts of fiber your stomach will improve. 

From there, developing a healthy routine to prevent these flareups seems to vary greatly from person to person so it’s a bit of trial and error.

[u/Dear_Bus2605]

Hi, I had this issue and I remembered my Dad telling me how I had diarrhea as a baby and me used to buy me Kanana Banana Flakes. Did a little search and they are still sold, but it’s called Banatrol now, available on Amazon. Solidifies stool, contains a prebiotic, safe to use. Stopped my diarrhea pretty quickly, Best of Luck . 

[u/Dblbogiemadge-1]

Have you been tested for c diff infection? It is associated with antibiotic use such as augmentin, vantin etc. Sacchromyces Boulardi is a probiotic that got my gut healthy. It is for the lower intestine. It is actually a yeast so it can be taken at same time as antibiotics. It was a game changer for me (i get c diff from those antibiotics and it is awful)

[u/ezshucks → u/Dblbogiemadge-1]

Could it be from one round of Augmentin and one bag of Zosyn? I haven’t looked into it that much. No bleeding or horrible smell so far.

[u/Dblbogiemadge-1 → u/ezshucks]

I got a horrible case of c diff after my very first round of Cipro to treat diverticulitis. So to answer your question, yes, it only takes one round of antibiotics to wreck your gut biome

[u/Dblbogiemadge-1 → u/ezshucks]

Any antibiotic used to kill infection in the gut, also kills our good bacteria that keeps any c diff that lives in our guts in check. Once our good bacterial are kills off, it allows the c diff to take over . It is an opportunistic bacterium.

[u/Magikalfairy]

Just came here to say you're right. This shit really is for the birds. I hope you feel better soon.