Mystery Symptoms *HELP*

[StevenTi]

I'm really hoping somebody can offer some advice...my family and I are at a loss after about 6 months of no progress.

I'm a 19 year old male and have been sick since May of this year. It all started when we'd go out to dinner and I would get a really upset stomach. (You know the kind, when you eat something bad and your stomach starts gurgling and cramping, and you KNOW you're in for a long night on the toilet.) Well that's been my problem, except it was happening BEFORE I even started eating. It has gotten progressively worse, from once a day or so to all day, everyday. Now, it doesn't seem to matter what I eat or even IF I eat, my upset stomach hasn't gone away in months and has really taken a toll on myself and my family. I can't go anywhere or do anything really because I never know when it's gonna start hurting and when it starts, I need to get to a toilet immediately. At one point I lost about 15 pounds in a period of 1 month. I have since gained back the weight, but the abdominal pain continues.

I know it sounds like IBS, but the doctors have been pushing that idea away since day 1. I've been tossed around from doctor to doctor and have had extensive tests and procedures done, testing for an incredible amount of different diseases and conditions such as crohn's, celiac, hyperthyroidism, inflammatory bowel disease, lyme disease, liver disease, vitamin deficiencies, you name it. I've had numerous tests done such as an ultrasound, CT scan, colonoscopy/endoscopy, upper GI w/ small bowel follow-through, countless blood panels, etc.

All of my results have been normal, and even those which were slightly abnormal have been tested again and came back normal. They DID find that I have a minimal hiatal hernia and I am taking Prilosec once-daily.

We're completely out of ideas and are feeling very helpless and frustrated. I had to drop out of college and cannot go back until I'm back to normal. This is taking over my life and I need help from anyone who can offer any good suggestions, please.

Steven

[kenneltech]

Do you have a dog?  Does he drink out of puddles or out of a river or pond?  You could have giardia, and yes, you can get it from your dog and vice versa, so he should be checked too.  I know this sounds gross, but there is one surefire way of knowing.  When one of your stools is pretty normal in form, look at it.  Is it a greenish color and does it float??  If the anwer is yes to one of these questions, you have giardia.

But, I'm no doctor, just that I work with them, and have had it alot.

[wantonwonderer]

I would recommend trying a good probiotic. I have had success with Align (you can get is at Walgreens, etc). It is a bit expensive ($30/month), but it will replenish the beneficial bacteria in your gut. It can't hurt!

[ladeanjanel]

I would ask the doc to also check and see if it is C Diff or something similar.  My grandmother had the same problem and that is what she had.

[StevenTi]

*NEGATIVE, not positive.

[StevenTi]

We were also suspecting a parasite and I've had 2 stool samples, but both of them came back positive.

I can't think of anything at all that happened around the time all of this started, it just kinda came outta nowhere.

[suzieq253]

To me this sounds like you may have some sort of parasitic infection so maybe you can ask your doctor to do a stool sample check.  Also has anything major happened around the time this all started, like some sort of injury?  If so, you may have a spinal misalignment which could be corrected by a chiropractor and relieve some of your symptoms.  I hope you soon find some sort of relief.