I’ve been doing quite well; down to 15 mg. pred. and eyesight is no longer doubled! Hurray for that!
For over a week now I have had very loose bowels. Stomach feels fine, but it seems like digestion is racing and food goes right through me. It’s very unusual for me because I always had tendencies in the other direction. I used to go once a day, now its a few.
Any thoughts? Should I contact my doctor?
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Lenore58
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Just a long shot.... Are you on a PPI? When I started this long journey I was put on Lansoprazole and i initially had no problems and then after some time I started becoming quite explosive, was switched from Lansoprazole to omeprazole and it all settled. I think, for some people here it has been the other way round and omeprazole has caused a problem.
It could be a bug but yes - any change in bowel habit should be checked out. Suppose Actemra could be playing a part but it doesn't have that effect on me. Any pain or sign of blood?
Have you had a change in diet recently ? Like more Citrus , Spicy food , hidden sugars or artificial sweeteners in a new health food, too Insoluble fibre instead of soluble, more beans , wholegrains or wholefood cereals, seeds and pulses, diet changes can make your bowel movements looser too.
Might be worth keeping a food diary for a couple of weeks just to see if there is a pattern.
And , even if it isn't causing pain or other symptoms yet it's worth discussing the change with the GP.
You might benefit from a change in PPI or something else.
Even a reduction of any inflammation in your body in general , and more activity now you are feeling a bit better can bring on the poops.
Let us know what the answer was, it would be interesting to find out, take care , Bee
Thank you. My diet is pretty consistent healthy keto: low carbs, lots of greens, berries, nuts, yogurt, kefir, cheese, healthy fats and high quality protein. Of course, I might have a minor fluctuation here and there but I mostly eat the same things a lot.
Ah, it could be a combination of changes caused by the meds and the Keto regime depending how strict it is or what fat content you have.Constipation is more common , but as your general inflammation is reducing and you've had a change in gut chemistry with medications you could have started to experience bouts of a Diarrhea specific to Keto called Steatorrhoea, which is a type affected by the type of fat content in the stools and is potentially made worse by a low fibre content.
Update: called my PCP’s office. They couldn’t get me in, but wanted me to go to Urgent Care without delaying a day. While in the waiting area, I reseached side effects of the prophylactic antibiotic I am on (Bactrim.) I read that it can cause C-diff. I mentioned it to the doctor at urgent care. I’ll go to the lab to test for C-diff in the morning.
I had exactly the same problems which unfortunately continued, I was on prednisolone for over 2.5 years and recently tapered and stopped them. My bowels have never been the same but hoping one day they fully recover
I have had some cramps and bloating since finally managing to taper to 3mgs. All tests negative so far, so have wondered if I now don’t have quite enough Adrenalin to make the bowels do their normal thing.
I had a similar problem but for me was definitely a reaction to Lanzoprazole. I moved to Famotidine, based on a recommendation from this site, and I'm much better now.
I have the same issue. They ruled out bowel cancer with a FIT test. Ask them to test your calprotectin levels (it's a poo sample test). This will indicate any inflammation in the gut. Mine was quite high. I then had a colonoscopy and have to wait 6 weeks (three more to go) for the results of a biopsy to test for microscopic colitis which I'm told is quite common in people with PMR. I can't find any pattern in mine, but moving about in the morning sets it off, so I have to sit still and quiet for a couple of hours after breakfast. No good if you're on holiday!
Good luck with your tests. Let us know how you get on.
I have IBS, which gives me a propensity towards an over active bowel anyway, but I found that the pred caused diarrhoea initially, until I started taking omeprazole. Though now I am on a lower dose of pred, I would say that my GI tract is more settled than it was without it.
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