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Unremitting diarrhea

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Ulcerative Colitis
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Posted 8/13/2018 12:00 AM (GMT 0)
I've been having loose and watery diarrhea for the past 3 weeks or so that doesn't change no matter what I eat. There's no blood whatsoever, which makes it all the more unusual. Normally if I have diarrhea of this consistency there is always blood. It does, however, smell horrible.

This all started around the same time... I took milk thistle, which gave me massive diarrhea. I read after that it's a laxative, so I thought that was why. But I also went swimming in a lake that's frequented by a lot of people, and the diarrhea started not long after that too.

One thing I can say is that the more fat I eat, the worse the stool gets. Adding fiber doesn't help, it just becomes HUGE diarrhea with the fiber within it.

So I dunno... could it be parasites? If not, then what? Some suggestions might be helpful. I had a stool test not long ago that came up negative.
Posted 8/13/2018 3:20 AM (GMT 0)
Hard to say. I'd get another stool test done. When I had campylobacter (food poisoning bacteria that stuck around for me for months and was severe) and shortly thereafter c diff, my symptoms were very similar to a UC flare and included blood and lots of pain. Mention the swimming to your doctor when you request the test. I dont know too much about parasites though.
Posted 8/13/2018 3:23 AM (GMT 0)
Make sure they test for giardia.
Posted 8/13/2018 5:16 AM (GMT 0)
What meds are you on?

Flaring isn't always with blood.

Have stool testing done for sure.

q
Posted 8/13/2018 12:46 PM (GMT 0)
Standard flare protocol: get a stool test for possible infectious causes, get a test for inflammation levels: either a fecal calprotectin (FCP) stool test, or a CRP blood test. And contact your gasteroenteroligisit. Your past the point of this being just a stomach bug that'll pass on it's own.
Posted 8/13/2018 5:05 PM (GMT 0)
CRP is less than 1. Haven't done any calprotectin tests in a while so maybe I should. I think what's throwing me is that normally I would be bleeding a lot by now so it's not the norm for me to be having this much watery diarrhea with no other flare signs.

I'm going to ask for another parasite test. They looked for giardia before but didn't find it. I'm worried that my watery bowel movements would make it hard to detect.
Posted 8/13/2018 5:08 PM (GMT 0)
Did you get stool tests after the swimming and milk thistle or before? Sounds like after? Ask to be tested for other pathogens as well -- campylobacter, salmonella, parasites, etc. Doesn't sound like c diff to me.
Posted 8/13/2018 5:16 PM (GMT 0)
It's not c. diff...

I will definitely get tested.

Also the stool is quite yellow? There's a lot of dark yellow liquid on the TP, but it's not like the mucous or blood of UC.

So confused.
Posted 8/13/2018 5:34 PM (GMT 0)
Let us know what the results show.
Posted 8/20/2018 4:16 PM (GMT 0)
So I looked back at my IBD journal from the last 3 weeks or so and one thing that changed is that I stopped taking DHEA. Once I re-introduced it earlier last week, I stopped having diarrhea within 24 hours. Now I have formed stools with no blood and go 3-4 times a day or so.

I've been off prednisone completely for a while now and I was using DHEA to help my adrenals come back online. I probably stopped the DHEA too soon.
Posted 9/15/2018 9:32 PM (GMT 0)
So here's an update...

The DHEA definitely makes a difference. As soon as I stop it, within 24-48 hours I start having unremitting diarrhea again, but it doesn't match the IBD type of diarrhea. So I don't get it. The DHEA must be supporting my adrenals somehow because I was taking it before I got off prednisone.

My food seems to digest but it transits fast. No blood, no mucous, no pain really... just frequent diarrhea that burns. It's a bit confusing, I don't get it, and there's nothing online about this.

I mean, I'd much rather take DHEA than prednisone, but I don't want to be on DHEA forever?
Posted 9/21/2018 9:03 AM (GMT 0)
There's a fascinating study that shows correlation but not causation. Either way, it suggests dhea and cortisol variations and timing of the fluctuations are important. They are tied to diarrhea, sleep quality, motility and other studies have shown IL6 suppression.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2848621/

"A low 8-day average dehydroepiandrosterone-sulfate level at awakening was positively related with frequent bowel movements, loose stool, and long bouts of severe abdominal pain"
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