I’ve had diarrhoea with stomach cramps for over a month now. Doctor has put me on Fodmap diet which has no gluten, wheat or dairy. I’ve done the diet for over a week now and I’ve got to be on it for 6 weeks. I’ve stuck to it.
He gave me anti biotics at the beginning to rule out diviticulitis. It happens first thing in the morning or/and after eating about twice a day now. Could it be the tablets I’m on? I’m on Statins, Lansoprazole and Aspirin as well as my heart medication. Has anyone else experienced this problem?
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honeybubs
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I have been on them about 3 years now and I am always getting really bad indigestion , stomachaches
I have what I feel is flare ups and have just had one the last 2 weeks feeling very similar to you
I do have IBS but I do believe that maybe one or more of the meds I take are not helping as I never suffered as bad as I am now before
I have mentioned this to my Doctor more times than I can remember all it results in is giving me a different PPI which never works so in answer to your question and I am not a Doctor but for me I do believe or at least think some of these meds can upset some of us the question I would then ask is which one is upsetting us if that is the case
I am sorry I cannot be any more help but I hope you manage to get it sorted and let us know how you get on x
Thank you for letting me know. I think it’s to do with medication but GP wants to rule out IBS, Diverticulitis and a scan. I can’t stop any meds without their go ahead. Will have to wait for my next appointment with cardiologist I suppose. The only problem with that is they say see your GP which I am and they are doing their best I just think I’m a mystery! Once I get over one thing something else goes wrong. I’ve had my little moan now thank you for listening. If it was food I’m sure I would have seen a difference by now after cutting out Gluten Wheat and I already don’t eat dairy I’ve always had Alpro no sugar milk. I’ve always eaten Cheddar with no ill effects but not very often. Thank you for your help. Joy x
Well I have IBS and they know I do I have had a scan and nothing showed up so I can only put mine down to my meds I take but I need to take them and as I say which one is it causing issues when you take so many
I also know that feeling of it been one thing after another and having a good moan helps so moan away
I hope they get to the bottom of it and if they do I would really be interested to know x
To be honest , you can still get flares of diverticulosis symptoms and IBS when you are having issues with other illnesses or you are on new medications even if you have found an ideal pattern of eating for you.I quite often have to strip back my eating plan to the very basics if an illness or medication triggers a digestion flare up. Then when things have settled again , after a number of weeks , I can start introducing the foods back in again.
Sometimes I find that I can't reintroduce the odd food that I are before as I age or other health problems turn up. My heart and my stomach definitely like to keep me on their toes!
Have the ordered a laparoscopy and colonoscopy as well?
It would probably be worth the GP referring you now rather than waiting until after you have tried Fodmap because the waiting lists for non urgent tests are about 8 weeks so if the problem isn't only food or drug related you don't want any extra delay.
It can take 4-6 weeks before you notice a real difference in eliminating good groups because you stomach does need time to settle itself and recover from the inflammation that may have been occurring. That's why you take a while before you reintroduce foods again on the Fodmap.
Your are on alot of medication so it could be a side effect but if this is a new and hasn't affected you like this before then your doing the right thing getting it checked by GP hope it clears up soon x
For more info on IBS/Fodmap/ gastric problems I suggest you watch on YouTube the ZOE broadcasts on these subjects…wonderful experts, proven science and suggestions as to what to do!
Have you been taking your medications on an empty stomach?Even if you are on a PPI medications especially Aspirin can still cause some stomach cramps . I have various digestive issues so I learnt that drug induced upset stomach can be helped by eating a few tablespoons of live natural yoghurt with a teaspoon of honey before taking medications . If you are on a low Fodmap diet you can have dairy free yoghurt and a teaspoon of maple syrup.
Did you have any digestive problems or IBS before?
Have they given you blood tests to check for Crohn's. IBD or Coeliac?
To make life easier doing the low Fodmap diet there are some great resources.
The Monash University was the institution that Fodmap originated from and they have great advice and recipes on their website. They are used by professionals and dietitians to get advice for treatment and diet options.
If you need to eat a low Fodmap diet long term it's worth getting the Monash App ( costs about £5 a year) , it helps you calculate what your Fodmap score is for different meals and it prevents accidental " food stacking".
A lovely recipe site , which has dishes that are great for everyone trying to live a healthier lifestyle is ,
A Little Bit Yummy
Full of lovely low Fodmap recipes . I made the oat and banana pancakes with berries and dairy free yoghurt for my daughter at the weekend ( I reduced the syrup so it was right for my Type 1 Diabetic hubby too) , they were great .
As you go on introducing foods you may find there are only one or two foods rather than whole food groups that effect you.
Just be aware to also be careful about the amount of fat and sugar you eat on the Fodmap, these aren't taken as restrictively on Fodmap as we need to be with our cardiac needs. Drink the recommended water and before and during meals . And avoid all artificial sweeteners.
Yes , didn't notice as much of an issue when I was younger and on less medication but as things changed those artificial sweeteners can cause worse cramps than everything but fats for me.
Hi Bee, Thank you for all the info I will look into it. I had a message from my doctor this afternoon he contacted a doctor in Gastro at the Stoke hospital who he knows and he’s suggested some things for me so I’m going to phone surgery at 8am tomorrow to get in to see him. He did say to stop Lansoprazole and take something else. I haven’t got a gall bladder had it removed years ago because an infected stone was blocking the bile from coming out so I don’t know how this has been affecting my system as I don’t have heartburn or anything like that I was told Lansoprazole puts a lining on your stomach when you take aspirin and the other tablets I take my aspirin and other tablets with my breakfast I did have to be careful over the years what I eat when I go out for meals but if I did eat something that upset me it would just be a one off stomach cramps then diarrhoea then I would be ok What I’m getting now is diarrhoea at least twice sometimes 3 times a day Hopefully when I speak to doctor tomorrow he will sort it for me Thank you for all your help it is much appreciated, Joy x
Yes , I know these things can be complicated by having no gall bladder , I also had mine removed ten years ago. Most GPs and some Specialists don't realise you can still get flare ups of inflammation and stomach pain from bile mobility issues even after having the gall bladder removed.I still get bouts of stomach problems and unusual for me diarrhea now , but I have autoimmune pancreatic problems too that pop up a few times a year and enzyme insufficiency that adds to the problem.
A change in your PPI and trying the two breakfast method I use may help.
I have a first breakfast with the yoghurt mix and medications , then I have my normal breakfast about an hour and a half afterwards.
Your stomach could have just become more sensitive to foods , especially fat and sugar since you have also begun to take medications that change your gastric acid balance. Here's hoping it's the simplest problem to solve.
The Fodmap diet with more care about fat and sugar content is worth using until the problem is resolved .
Hello, your issues sound very similar to my husband’s experience about 3 years ago. He had been on his medications for a while and quite suddenly started suffering from constant diarrhoea. His GP referred him to gastroenterology, who arranged a colonoscopy and various scans. He was completely miserable and no one was getting to the bottom of it. Then (after a terrible holiday during which we spent the whole time in the hotel room) our son suggested that he tried taking himself off his medications for a week or so, one at a time, to see if it made a difference. I can’t remember now which of the heart medications it was, but within two days of stopping it the symptoms disappeared. He stayed off for a week and everything went back to normal. He then went back to the GP and told him. He got moved onto a slightly different medication and never had diarrhoea again. The GP said sometimes people develop a reaction even after they have been taking a medication for years. The gastroenterology people just didn’t seem to be on the ball to us. We couldn’t understand why something so simple hadn’t been tried before all those other tests. He’s been fine now for 3 years.
thank you for that it is very helpful I was thinking along those lines myself. I’m just waiting for 8am to phone and make an appointment at my doctors as he sent a message yesterday to tell me to book an appointment. He’s spoken to someone in Gastro who he knows and they want to swap Lansoprazole to something else so I will see what they say. I will snapshot what you’ve put so I can show him your husband’s experience. Thank you, Joy x
Hello there honey tubs, I went like this and can sympathise. In my case it was the lansoprazole, fairly well known for causing the things it is supposed to prevent. Stopped taking it and was cured!
It could be Pantoprazole what is causing your problems. I suffered an upset stomach. It was dreadful. The Pantoprazole was reduced from 40mg to 20mg. I've been ok ever since with my stomach, Hope you get sorted. Take care.
I had exactly the same problem as you early this year. I was on a range of meds which included Lansoprozole. I was fine until they increased my Entresto after a month. The diarrhoea started a short while later and became worse over the next four weeks until I had an “accident “ on my way to my bathroom, luckily I was in my own at home. I checked into my nearby hospital emergency department and they spent a week trying to find the cause. I had read here in the forum about others who were on Lansoprozole having the same problem. After a week on nothing but an intravenous drip not even water and a colonoscopy, I was taken off of the Lansoprozole and I had no more diarrhea. . I read that other drugs ending in “zole” have given patients the same problems. Hope this helps.
Lansaprazole did this to me. Neither I nor my GP connected the dots. It always happened within an hour of taking it and gradually tailed off, only to start again the next day. It eventually caused me to vomit really violently, not a pleasant experience when your body is trying to rid itself of a substance it finds toxic. I was eventually prescribed Famotidine, which is an H2 receptor antagonist not a PPI.Hope you get it sorted.
some years ago I was on Lansoprazole and then put on Simvastatin. I had dreadful diarrhoea. I wasn’t ill but the only way I could cope was not to eat or drink when I had to leave the house. The GP was really concerned but did not think meds were the cause. I lost a stone in a month. Eventually I read the leaflets for the meds and decided to give the Lansoprazole a rest. I improved within 48 hours. I got the GP to prescribe Omeprazole instead and have never had a recurrence but the doctor never accepted in was a side effect of the medication. I am pretty sure it was the particular combination that was the problem.
Like a lot of posts on here I had a big problem with lansoprazole , I literally couldn’t leave the house. Going to the toilet every 20 /30 minutes. My GP realised very quickly that it was the medication and changed to Omeprazole , which actually caused the same problem again . I don’t take any PPIs at all now . I mange with gaviscon if I get heartburn . It is a known side effect of PPIs yet most doctors are reluctant to blame them .
i have not read all th previous responses so i apologise if i am repeating info
personally i feel that a fodmap diet, which imposes significant restrictions on your diet, seems a bit drastic after 1 month of symptoms, unless you have experienced symptoms for much longer
Lansoprazole is a medication which affects the acidity levels in your stomach - this can have knock-on effects for your gut bacteria further down your gut - this can result in a vaiety of problems including the symptoms you have described
antibiotics "in case" it is diverticulitis would help clear up any infection but they can also damage the gut bacteria even more - and i am surprised that your GP prescribed them unless there was sound evidence to support an infection
in addition to whatever your GP is prescribing i suggest that you might consider altering your diet to improve your gut bacteria - there are special supplements you can take to boost your gut bacteria (not commercial gut friendly yogurt products)
Not all dairy products are excluded in a fodmap diet and you should look into what you could have - also some live yogurts and kefir may be "low fodmap" (try shops where they sell eastern european product where live Kefir is much cheaper than in mainstream supermarkets)
Hi I’ve just come back from the doctors and he’s swapped it to Famotidine 20mg for 3 weeks to see how I get on then he says there are other options if that doesn’t work. Thank you to everyone who has helped me I nearly didn’t put the post on incase I was the only one with this problem. X
Hi After my heart attack I suffered from these symptoms and at times couldnt leave the house.I felt though that because I had been prescribed these medications I must continue with them in the end I decided I had had enough. I thought that the one to stop that would cause me least problem would be atorvastatin. Within four days mt stomach problems cleared up and within two weeks the intense tiredness I had had since my heart attack faded away. I am now on rosuvastatin with no problems but due to the other statin have put up with a year of misery. Hope this helps.
👋 Hi honeybees, I experienced a similar situation following on from Bypass Surgery last September. I found myself on the usual cocktail Lansoprazole + Clopidgrel + Atorvastatin + Ramipril + Bisoprolol + Aspirin + water table. For the 1st few months other than feeling nausea most days I could tolerate most of the side effects. That's until January 2023 like yourself I felt as if I was suffering from dysentery and decided I'd had enough.
Dropped all the meds and switched my proton pump inhibitor to Omeprazole.
Still stuck with a daily Aspirin though!
Within days the diarrhea vanished and up until recently my digestion etc has been back to normal. Though it's gone off abit but that might be due to the fact we're downsizing and all the stress that entails.
I would not advise anyone to follow my example. I was fit as a fiddle prior to my Bypass with no underlying health problems and I did not do it without speaking to my Cardiologist & GP.
One thing you might find of interest I also sought advice from the lovely nurses at the BHF one of whom told me it could well be the Lansoprazole that was causing my symptoms.
I like many other people find themselves on it because they're taking Clopidgrel.
Hello, I have some similar problems but no stomch pain, just vomiting . I'm presently sorting out my medication with GP as I'm almost certain there's a problem with it. I've stopped stain, Avorastatin?. aspirin and Bisoporole. I gradually phase them in to try to eliminate any culprit. Twice have stopped Clopidogrel then reintroduced it. Trying to balance what's best all round and for my heart problems. I've trid the no wheat or dairy diet but it didn't solve my problem. I'm beginning to think it's ust a necessary process as I'm healing. Sometimes it;s confusing. I gave in last night as I was craving curry and prepared to accept the consequences yet I haven't been sick at allsince eating it. Leep in touch.
Hi honeybubs, I am so sorry you are having this problem on a daily basis, it's horrible and I can relate as I too suffered the same a while ago. I wasn't surprised when you listed Lansoprazole as one of your meds. I have suffered with IBS for 40yrs and this was different. Sometimes there is no tummy ache and it got so bad I went to my GP and he did not think it was my meds. It got far worse and I was running to the loo which made it hard when going to work. I had a talk with my fantastic pharmacist who looked at my heart meds and instantly said the only tablet that has a habit of causing this was Lansoprazole. He advised me to ask my GP for a prescription for a lower dose. I stopped them for one week, then went from 30mg down to 15mg. It worked for me xx
Oh my goodness how this brings back memories after I had my triple bypass. I often couldn’t reach the toilet in time and felt the shame of what happened. One nurse told me it was”all in my head” I had an awful time on the post op medication and the “prazoles” made it worse. I was tested and even isolated in case I had a stomach bug . Also Statin. As soon as I came off the drugs that the truth emerged and it was not “in my head” My bowels returned to normal . I really feel for people who find themselves with this dilemma. Some of us have very sensitive stomachs
Oh my, I am so glad you have not listened to being told it is "all in your head" or nervous tummy 👍😂😂 All in your head my backside. I can't believe I suffered all of a sudden and for 2 years so My golden rule is, if it has anything to do with my medications, my pharmacist is the man to go to 😘
My GP is really good and listens but had a few routes to go down and said he would explain each one to me and it would be my decision. He was leaning towards a different approach but that morning before I saw him I had more than 10 people on here replying to me mostly saying their experiences was due to Lansoprazole! I told him. I stuck with this and he said he didn’t think it was this but knew I would be thinking about it all the time so he swapped Lansoprazole for a different tablet at a lower dose. Today has been good but he said if it was this drug it would take over 48 hours to get out of my system. Im looking forward to the next 2 days. I’m pretty sure it is this and i’m also sticking to the fodmap diet just in case. I will let you all know the results in a few days but it’s looking good already. Thank you everyone for letting me know. Joy x
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