I’ve avoided Covid up until now. My partner and I picked it up in Cuba. Started with what we thought was food poisoning, the dreaded diarrhea. It’s now been 14 days. We’ve had chills, fevers, fatigue and daily diarrhea. I’m at the final three months of V treatment so was advised to start the antiviral Paxlovid on day 4. Diarrhea was unbearable so only used Paxlovid one day and quit. Ventoclax cannot be taken with Paxlovid so I was off it for 7 days. Interestingly, my hip and body aches were gone…however, the diarrhea is getting worse. Also interestingly, my partner’s is the same pattern. All other symptoms gone. I was told by oncology nurse to use Imodium which I used yesterday. Then I read that it blocks the body from expelling the Covid virus. It’s exhausting and I am eating very little. Anyone have any suggestions?
Covid question: I’ve avoided Covid up until now... - CLL Support
Covid question
I tested positive Day 2 and continue testing positive at day 14. You’re suggesting calling oncology again? They suggested Imodium.
What have you been eating or drnking? I know you say very little, but you have to keep drinking (and eating), so what did the docs recommend?
Water, juice, crackers, plain rice, soup, yogert.Docs only recommended to stay hydrated. But it goes straight through.
I would go buy Pedialyte and start adding a cup or two a day. If everything is going straight in and straight out, you don't want to get out of balance.
I also might add in bananas and potatoes, b/c both have been known to help slow things down.
And yes, you have to stay hydrated, so when you have the extra Pedialyte, don't stop drinking all you've been drinking before, even if it's a pain to keep using the bathroom...
Thanks so much.
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...
Info in the link above discusses the issues with Imodium type drugs and covid that your raise, and then suggests some alternative anti-diarrhea options.
If you consider any of these options, it would be best to run them by your doc first. I hope you get better soon.
Thanks for the link, very interesting and scary. I googled hypovolemia and also the alternative drugs mentioned in the article. I’m going to call oncology now. Thanks everyone for replying so quickly.
That sounds horrendous. I hope that you and your partner will feel better soon. Have they cultured your stool?
Impossible to do….I’ve spoken to oncology and they’re saying use sugar free Gatorade, pedialyte, call back Monday. It’s awful but hopefully it will end soon, thanks!
Hi Cottager , i have been all over the tropics for the past 40 years got back from mexico again 2 weeks ago . and yes i have been to cuba as well more than once. .. i have tried drugs but i didn't like the side effects nor did they work as well , but sometimes you have to put up with the side effects to help yourself get well again ... i have found that activated charcoal powder works the best for me .. not the little capsules but if that's all i can find i open them up till i get at least a heaping teaspoon of powder . i usually buy the charcoal a quart at a time ..it lasts for years ---- i stir that up in a glass of warm water and drink it .. it is a bit messy .. if it comes out like water , then i add 2 teaspoons of charcoal ... I am on V and it gives me loose stools all by itself so if i were you i would quit taking it till my bowels normalized .. then once the charcoal slows down or stops the diarrhea ..usually in a day or 2 at the most ....i quit taking it and start taking a couple of goldenseal ROOT powder capsules twice a day ... for 2 or 3 days .. and by then i am usually fine .. i drink plenty of water ,or soups but i do not drink any juices or eat raw food except for bananas till my stools are firm .. no fatty food either not even avocados ...but rice ,cooked potatoes , cooked carrots ,etc.----foods like that . and i always ask God to help me get well and so far it has been golden even when i had food poisoning or in honduras where i was brushing my teeth using the tap water that came out of a stream with cattle drinking/bathing in it.. i can truly say i know how you feel and will pray that you get well .. blessings , james
i keep activated charcoal caps even in my cars. One issue, if you take it near your other drugs/medications, it'll absorb those too.
right on ,, me to .. yes it can absorb the good with the bad .. more proof that it works .. 
Have you told your GP that you have been in Cuba, I ask because you could have picked up an intestinal infection or something and you actually should have your faeces analysed. Having lived abroad myself for a number of years I was surprised at what you actually can pick up.
Charcoal pills. They absorb water like crazy. Make the poop black too. Plain coconut flour mixed with a little bit of water just to make it swallowable would be everything I'd eat in that situation. It's hygroscopic like crazy. Closest thing to a stomach plug I can think of.
the charcoal absorbs the toxins from the gut bugs that are causing the problem ..
How does it know what is a toxin and what is not?
I recently contacted Covid and went to the hospital because I thought I might be getting pneumonia. They tested me and discovered I had covid. They then put me on a daily transfusion of remdesivir for 3 days. If you can get it please do it is 10 times better then Paxvolid.
Good Luck,
barger1951
My family doc recommended Paxlovid and only after I took it did the oncology nurse mention remdesivir. I was surprised there was an alternative to Paxlovid and that it wasn’t mentioned by my family doc. It seems no one here knows much about this new strain of Covid. I hope you’re better! I’m feeling better today, day 15, now Imodium has stopped me up! Good grief!
If salicylates aren't contraindicated, you can take a small amount of Pepto Bismol in addition to Imodium. The bismuth salts adsorb various bacterial and viral proteins. So you would be inactivating at least some of any virus, and slowing the dehydration (which as others have noted, is the immediately potentially serious problem).
Maybe you can get a stool test to make sure you didn't pick up a microbe in Cuba. i.e. travelers diarrhea on top of COVID. Good luck, I hope you feel better soon.
Hello Cottage 1989, I caught Covid for the first time in July, following a trip to Australia and it started with diarrhoea and sickness, within 2 hours of getting home. I thought it was something i’d eaten on the plane, but by day 3 I tested positive for covid and continued to do so for 14 days too! The symptoms were very different to what others seemed to have experienced with covid, the fatigue was the worst and I did loose my sense of taste and smell for about a week. I caught covid again in October , but hardly knew I had it this time. I’m 11 years post FCR, so not on any treatment. Glad you’re feeling better and take care.
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