I’m an ex-health professional, who was accustomed to dealing with many patients who suffered with Irritable Bowel Syndrome, and who, himself, developed severe IBS-C 8 years ago after a severe viral illness against a lifestyle background which profoundly damaged my gut microbiome.
Having suffered abdominal symptoms for many years, and, initially, a severe post-viral fatigue syndrome, terrifyingly distressing, I have come to realise how much the general public regard these two conditions with alarming ignorance, dismissing IBS sufferers as being “ anxious types”, and those afflicted with post viral fatigue, including ME, as being malingerers! Nothing could be farther than the truth!
Moreover, I strongly believe that dysbiosis of the gut microbiome is a very important factor in the pathogenesis of many conditions, including “ Long COVID” , and that the general population should do all it can to follow a healthy diet and lifestyle to minimise the risk of this condition
Hello there. I am so sorry for your position. I suffer with C and it is an ongoing battle of diet management, stress management techniques, probiotic trials, parasite kill offs etc etc. I really agree there is a large lack of understanding of how difficult and consuming this condition is, and my situation isn’t as complex as yours.
However, the reason I respond is more for my severely health anxious 20 year old son. As he now has entered the world of C. He was recently in Thailand where he got food poisoning and couldn’t eat or barely drink for 2 days. He then took a course of antibiotics. He has had blood in his stools so has done multiple tests as he is terrified it is cancer or Krohn’s (2 colonoscopies, endoscopy, scan). He also is quite resistant to my support and had/ has Oppositional Defiance Disorder in childhood. I wanted him to work with a Nutritionist but on speaking to one she said blood in stools was out of her remit and he needed to investigate further through mainstream medicine. We have now had to pay a lot of money for pointless invasive investigations and the mainstream GI doctor suggests it’s an anomaly with a follow up again in a month.
I now can’t afford to pay money for the alternative root with £370 for stool analysis etc. He is very tired (although is able to work atm), is suffering with constipation and abdominal discomfort.
Can I ask - I know it is hard without having seen him, but do you think his symptoms could be post viral from the food poisoning and antibiotics?
I had a vega test assessment a couple of years ago which said I had salmonella, fungus, low good bacteria and a lactose intolerance. I was wondering if my son could follow what I did … a month of grapefruit seed extract to kill the salmonella, a month of Candaway to kill off fungus and then start probiotics. He is currently on Symprove which I have found helpful, but maybe there are too many bad guys feeding off this probiotic.
Nutritionist can advise you on a hethy diet and healthy living, but are NOT trained to treat the sick. For that you need a dietician. I feel for you. My son has crones disease, and it is always at the back of my mind.
Hello, and interesting to read your post. I'm also sorry that you find yourself in this position. I have a complex medical history, including ME and IBS-M and I can only concur with your observations.
In my own case, I have found following a low FODMAP diet, with small amounts of some moderate FODMAP food, to be invaluable. That said, I went on to develop what I think was severe SIBO which was dismissed by GP after GP - and my life was hell. By pure luck I developed bacterial parotitis and was put on two antibiotics, one of which was Metronidazole. A week later my gut was so much better than it had been in a decade and I can now take probiotics again (which had made things even worse). Things have remained improved - using the low to moderate FODMAP diet.
I hope that you find a beneficial way forward for yourself in all of this. Best wishes.
hi Hidden, very sorry to hear of your troubles. I too suffer with IBS C and much more so over the last 3 years, not sure if this was anything to do with the first Covid jab I had in 2021 but throughout my life I have had constipation but much worse since then although I was very anxious at the time as well. I thought I may have SIBO and saw my GP who said it was “just” irritable bowel, after over a year I finally had a colonography which showed diverticula disease, Intussusception, and a rectocoele and then I was put on an irrigation systems which seemed to help for a while but also weakened me and made me very dizzy even though I drank a lot of water. Unfortunately this has stopped working in that the water just stays inside me and nothing is released so I get fuller and fuller but it seems to be the answer for a lot of people, I’m also careful of what I eat and have had to cut out lactose containing food which I think was giving me my symptoms of feeling very sickly. I’ve never had this confirmed by any tests but I know it makes me feel worse. It seems lactose intolerance is also regarded as “just” an intolerance but as it’s added to so many foodstuffs in the form of whey powder these days many people may be unaware that they’re taking it. I notice it’s also in some medications such as Senna. As the irrigation system no longer works for me I’ve been told that a stoma may be the only answer and I’m beginning to think this may be the only option, for me at least although it’s an extreme solution. Kefir has helped me feel more settled in my bowel especially lactose free Biomel and may be worth a shot. Hope you can find an answer
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