I have a friend who has been having severe bouts of diarrhea off and on for 7 years. Was previously dxed wirh fibromyalgia and still has fibro symptoms. She has had one Lyme test but the neg. result may not mean much. I have heard of diarrhea as a symptom of Lyme but never this severe. She and I are wondering if Lyme could be involved. Anyone heard of or experienced anything like this?? She has had dx of collagenous colitis. Internet article says it can be caused by virus or bacteria. Thanks for any help.
------------------ Suzanne Maschmeyer Upstate NY
Posted by troutscout (Member # 3121) on :
Funny...thats what I had in one of my original misdiagnosis.
yes....my bowels are strightening out since treatment..the swelling and inflamatory process will get worse at first..then better...but there are things that will address the bowel inflamation.
Lymetoo and I both know about it..ask if you are interested...in the mean time...get hor properly dx'd and on abx.
Hey...its about time you started to post.
Trout
------------------ Now is the time in your life to find the "tiger" within. Let the claws be bared, and Lyme BEWARE!!! Iowa Lyme Disease Assoc. www.ildf.info
Posted by caat (Member # 2321) on :
fibromyalgia is often undiagnosed lyme. yes.
but *severe diarreah* is not a symptom of lyme.
she could very well have both lyme and another infection that affecting her GI. It's very very common for people who have lyme to have more than one infection.
Giardia tests don't work very well by the way. Beleive it or not, Giardia is also a *clinical diagnosis*. And there are several flagyl (metrodinazole) resistant strains. The old dosage of flagyl doesn't always work for giardia- they often prescribe higher doses now. Try a "google" on it.
Posted by Nancy-OH (Member # 3567) on :
If that's her ONLY symptom then I would hesitate to call this Lyme.
I often have had severe cases of diarrhea, but it's a "family" thing. I am getting it under control through allergy treatments.
It really had nothing to do with my Lyme.
If I were her, I would try a diet free from lactose, wheat, and other foods first. If that helps, then I would look for someone to test me for food allergies.
I hope she's drinking tons of water.
---Nancy
Posted by duke77 (Member # 5051) on :
Lyme can cause IBS and diarrhea. I am not sure if it causes severe diarrhea directly. Like the others said if that is the only symptom it is unlikely that it is Lyme many things can cause diarrhea.
Posted by troutscout (Member # 3121) on :
You said she had fibro..AND ths diarrhee..yes the others are correct ...however,
if she has BOTH ...get her checked for ALL of the above...but, I am still saying..this could be Lyme, OR Babesia...only because of the fibro.
Trout
Posted by Lymetoo (Member # 743) on :
quote:Originally posted by Nancy-OH: If I were her, I would try a diet free from lactose, wheat, and other foods first. If that helps, then I would look for someone to test me for food allergies.
I agree....but it could be Lyme also. And as Trout said, there are natural therapies out there that can take care of this.
------------------ oops! Lymetutu
Posted by snowboarder (Member # 6346) on :
My daughter is 8 and has lyme would get diarrhea on and off but not severe. We did have a bout that lasted ten days and at that time I decided to get a second opinion from another GI specialist who did an endoscopy and colonoscopy.
Many years ago my husband had severe diarreha on and off. He went to a GI specialist and they couldn't figure out what was going on. In 1999 his colon ruptured and he had to have emergency surgery to take part of his colon out. Yes, he also has lyme.
Not trying to tell you this to scare you but I think it could be lyme related and also a GI issue. Your friend needs to see another doc.
Best of luck!
Posted by bg (Member # 46416) on :
I've had this problem for around 30 yrs.
Finally dx correctly last year with late stage lyme.
They've called it irritable bowel/bladder syndrome. BMs 10-15 day. The bathroom is my 2nd home. I need to invest more in paper product stocks!
I'm hoping now with all the abx and other lyme meds I'm on, that this problem will get better or at least under control.
Stress also makes the problem much worse than the above. Best wishes.
Betty G., Iowa
Posted by lmasch (Member # 1145) on :
Thanks for all your responses. She has tried lactose and wheat-free diet for quite awhile. Didn't help. She has also been to a number of gastroeneterologists in Rochester, NY and at least one at Cleveland Clinic.
I will pass along your ideas. Others welcome!
------------------ Suzanne Maschmeyer Upstate NY
Posted by Lymied (Member # 6704) on :
I have had a lot of gastro problems and it was one of the first signs that my world was about to change in a big way. It started out at severe lower left quadrant pain then it moved up my abdomen and then it was everywhere...IBS symptoms and sometimes the diarreah was so bad I was running for the bathroom. I have Ehrlichiosis in addition to Lyme and Babesia. The Ehrlichia can really screw up your digestive tract. I was having a lot of other symtpoms though...migraines, eye issues, fibro, CFS, and then it got really bad and started having dizziness in the morning upon waking, feelings like I was going to pass out during the day, vertigo, nausea, loss of appetite, loss of weight, rash and bruising on legs...short term memory loss...the list goes on forever. I do think that CFS and Fibro could be caused by many different bacteria.
I would recommend she ask her gastro to do the breath tests for her ability to digest fructose, as well they can test her for bacteria gases in the small intestine which I read a study that they are linking CFS to a bacterial infection of the small intestine. You can find this study on the Immune Support board...I believe it is www.immunesupport.com - Great site for those with fibro.
oops! 