stomach issues

I had severe gastrointestinal issues last summer after first being diagnosed with lyme. It started with Gerd and gradually moved through my entire intestinal tract. At one point I became totally blocked, bloated and was miserable. I had been prescribed Aciphex to help with the acid issue and when I was hospitalized they gave me some heavy duty laxatives. Lyme had paralized some of the muscles that are used initiate a bowel movement. It took about six weeks for me to totally recover. And then is was completely gone.... no more issues.

I haven't seen any recent posts here regarding gastrointestinal issues but I certainly had problems with it. Lyme has attacked nearly every system in my body, I even contracted lyme related iritis in my right eye. I had never experienced any medical issues and was in perfect health prior to getting lyme in June 2009.

Hope this helps.

My main problem is ulcertive colitis. I have bloody stool and diarraeh, never constipated always going. Long and skinny stools and always mush and smells to heck!  I have accidents all the time and always when I'm driving. I can't hold back my gas and when I go it's always with liquid mucus. I haven't had a dry poop in 5 years! It's terrible and I wish this on no one. It's dreadful. I'm on a lot of antibiotis, Bicillin shot, zithromax and I just tried Flagl and stopped it. I'm hoping to try Tini next. I just told my doc I can't afford to see him every month at a $160.00 out of pocket expense not covered by insurance. Is this high?

I have to take my anti inflammatories for my UC, time released mesmeline. I take oral Nystantin again, since Flagyl tore me up.

I have much more energy and feel better since taking antibiotics but isn't my gut getting better? I poop for over a hour straight in the morning, basically "dumping syndrom" when I go.

 

I was put on Super Aloe Vera Juice for my intestinal tract. I take it with my probiotic and 2 slippery elm caps.
So far thats not a problem I have.
Aloe is anti-viral, anti-inflammatory and antibacterial. Dont tast too bad either.
Just my 2 cents...

I too suffer from stomach issues. One of the early symptoms that I had after being bitten was stomach pains. The doctor put me on Omeprazole (40mg x 1d) and also gave me an endoscopy. The endoscopy came back positive for some sort of bacteria, which the GI doctor said that it was probably H. Pylori. At this point Lyme was not even in the radar. Looking back, I think that what they found was Lyme and not H. Pylori. The lab could not confirm what it was because they said that the Omeprazole probably killed the bacteria. The endoscopy also found that I had gastritis and an inflamed esophagus. It has been a year now and I am still on the Omeprazole.

As for symptoms, I have regular bowel movements. The feces is a light yellow or greenish (too much information?) and it is supposed to be brownish. My GI says that it is because the low acid in my stomach doesn't allow my body to fully absorb all the nutrients from the food. I went from 189lbs to 161lbs in a matter of weeks, looked like a skeleton and was very pale. I eventually gained some weight back to where I am at 169lbs now.

I do expel lots of gas but that is a side effect of the Omeprazole. I also suffer from stomach cramps and chest pains. I can not eat fried foods, nuts, soy, dairy, gluten, sugar, citrus, tomatoes, ketchup, onions, spices, black pepper, or garlic. I cannot drink alcohol, caffeine, soda pop, lemonade, coffee or tea with caffeine in it. When I eat any of the above I cramp real bad, get the worst chest pains, palpiatations, rapid heart beat and the anxiety kicks in for at least a day. In the beginning, I went to the ER three times because I was sure that I was having a heart attack. That's how bad the chest pains were. Every time they did an EKG and said I was fine. The said it was anxiety and was prescribed Valium and Xanax. I eventually learned to ignored the chest pains and to not panic.

I tried Aloe Vera juice and got palpitations and anxiety real bad after the first drink. I never took it again. I did OK with DGL (licorice) but eventually I stopped taking it. I also started to take probiotics but after I learned to eat properly I stopped them too. Now that I am on antibiotics I guess I will have to get back on them. They are kind of expensive.

We have digestive problems, but my daughter is the worst. She recently started taking a chinese herbal product that is helping her. Shen Ling Bai Zhu San, ginseng and altractylodes formula. It's one I'd suggest you talk to a doctor about before taking it, one trained in oriental medicine. It's from KPC Products Inc. Our doctor put her on it.

I just take digestive enzymes and they help with the bloating and gas. I also drink Kombucha, a little at a time, for the probiotics and enzymes.

Aloe Vera drinks taste okay. Some brands I buy are disgusting, others are nice.

Coconut water tastes good. Can try that too.

I would be getting bowel and gut testing done. Bacteria, worms, other parasites. Leaky gut. etc. All worth knowing what's in there.

Food sensitivity blood panel as well.

Personally for me once digestive issues became prominent it's meant I have to make that my number one focus - everything else has to take a backseat for me.

Diet is really important, but it's so frustrating because often it seems there's no rhyme or reason to what causes GI problems. Things improve when I avoid dairy, rice, beans, and a lot of raw stuff. Lots of probiotics and probiotic foods - also making sure that I don't take my probiotics along with any drugs or supplements that might make them ineffective (just realized I've been taking probiotics with oil of oregano which is not a good combination!).

Bone broth/stock is supposed to be really good for GI health too - I'm planning on adding that into my diet soon. Aloe helps. Avoiding alcohol and stress help. Hormonal changes seem to trigger worse symptoms, so anything to get hormones in check helps me. Also taking an herbal supplement to kill/protect against potential intestinal parasites - never quite figured out if I had them or not in the first place. Sugar is a big one too! Also it helps to keep in mind that there's usually a bit of a delay in when things you do/eat affect your GI system - it's usually about a day or 2 for me.

All of this seems to have gotten the unbelievable bloating and cramping under control for the most part, now acid reflux has become my main issue which is tricky because the acid blockers don't seem to help enough, and long term they're not great for your digestive system because lowering your stomach acid allows for bacterial overgrowth...

Hope some of that babbling was helpful, sorry for being so all over the place!