Several years ago-prior to diagnosis, I had a lot of intestinal cramping, stomach pains and problems with bowel movements. I would not have a bowel movement for up to 5 days, followed by very loose stools that would have me running to the bathroom every 15 minutes over the course of a few hours.
It felt as if the food would sit inside me and ferment. Horrible, horrible headaches would accompany these episodes. This went on for about a year and then went away-only to be replaced by other horrific symptoms of course.
Fast forward three years and I am once again having the same intestinal spasming. I am not constipated ie. hard stools, it's just that nothing, I mean nothing moves-kinda like the muscles that move the food along are not working.
I can't tell you how uncomfortable this is after several days. Does anyone else experience this? Any ideas on how to get the food to move along more quickly? Laxatives don't work at all.
Appreciate any suggestions or input from anyone else that has this symptom.
Diana
Posted by surg (Member # 6937) on :
Yes, I have the same thing. Not sure if it's lyme, babesia, bartonella, or something else. The only thing that helps is zithromax.
I tried antifungals, fiber, vit C, garlic and it didn't make much of a difference.
I hope someone else answers because it's a big problem for me too.
Posted by Beverly (Member # 1271) on :
I hope you find out exaclty what it is, and feel better.
Posted by diana (Member # 7466) on :
thank you Beverly!
Diana
Posted by trails (Member # 1620) on :
yes---gut motility does seem to be a very big issue with lyme and bart. Many folks discuss this and have much suffering as a result of it.
For me this issue was because of endometriosis and adhesions. It took 4 years to figure out. The adhesions had pulled on my colon and kinked it. Adhesions can form in your gut even if you have never had surgery. They cant be seen by any scan or detected by any test, but can be seen only in surgery.
My problems have been GREATLY improved with endo removal and proper adhesion removal along with adhesive barriers during surgery.
I dont know if this could be adding to your own situation, I just know it was for me.
It is a most uncomfortable and depressing problem, but you arent alone.
Posted by tdtid (Member # 10276) on :
I can definitely relate. I got clogged right off the bat in my beginning of treatment and tried all the things listed above, ie Fiber, Vit C and nothing was working.
My LLMD told me to then try Magnesium Citrate and again, NOTHING. I was getting sicker and sicker and had to resort to enemas, but that was only a temporary fix.
In desperation, I was given two tablespoons of liquid NF CalMag (500 mg each) daily. It tastes like marshmellows but for whatever reason, it got me going many times a day until I was out of this mess.
I don't know if it would work for everyone and this is the naturopathic way which if given in smaller doses is just some calcium and magnesium.
What is your LLMD telling you to do because I was so darn ill as the die off just builds up. What a world of difference it made.
Good luck to you.
Cathy
Posted by Lymetoo (Member # 743) on :
That's the link I was going to give you [Bev's]...great info!
I would also seriously consider eliminating gluten from your diet and see how you feel. I had problems such as yours for years, then it all got really bad this summer.
Went TOTALLY gluten free and felt MUCH better within a week. I'm also eliminating soy, corn, and dairy as much as is humanly possible.
Read this:
www.dogtorj.net [yes, he's a veterinarian....read some of his stuff! You'll be amazed at the info that applies to all living beings who eat grains and dairy!]
PS....Several on this board are celiacs...most likely caused by [drum roll]....L Y M E!!
Posted by von (Member # 8333) on :
My first symptom was this completely stoped intestional problem. Back pain and couldn't go. When I could go, it was soft and incomplete. Your right .... it just does not work.
Posted by luvs2ride (Member # 8090) on :
Let Food Be Your Medicine and Medicine Be Your Food by Hypocrates .
What we eat is SO IMPORTANT to our health and our ability to heal. There are many opinions and posts about how to do this. My doctor recommends a Mediterrain diet. He has recommended several cookbooks. If anyone would like a list, please PM me and I will be happy to look them up for you.
So far, I am doing well by eating only whole foods (things that grew that way). That includes lean meats. No processed foods and no sugar.
I had an ALCAT food allergy test done and I avoid the foods to which I was reactive. I also had colonics done, cleaned parasites from my system and I am chelating metals. All this is an attempt to clean up my insides and reduce the burdens on my immune system.
See this lymenet post for more info on cleaning your innards.
I have much the same problem. As I always put it "food goes in, doesn't come out again". My stomach can get so distended I could sit cross-legged and do a Buddha impersonation... which for a six-foot tall skinny white guy is an achievement.
Nothing helps. No laxative on earth makes a difference. Not magnesium, or senna, or lactulose (awful, made my symptoms flare up like crazy). Industrial strength laxatives like Laxoberal etc only just have an effect, but it takes a day longer than it should, and I'm incredibly bloated again immediately after.
Docs didn't believe me, thought I just needed to "drink more water, eat more fibre". Nuts. I've never had an issue with my digestion in 40 years, could always eat any damn thing I liked, no problem. Now I'm on the healthiest diet imaginable and still ludicrously ill.
I had every GI investigation known to man, some three times over, and nothing was ever found to be wrong. The docs refused to do a laparoscopy to investigate further though (this all started after an abdominal injury, which is still very painful), were happy to just leave me in agony. US docs for you I guess - unless the patient is actually dying, never do anything invasive in case the patient sues.
The one thing that did help - and I'm not necessarily recommending it for Lyme sufferers - was hydrocortisone. Over the first three weeks of taking 20mg a day (prescribed when docs finally discovered my adrenal glands were just not working) my guts slowly started functioning relatively normally. Some glorious moments - imagine how it feels when you haven't "been" for a year!
But it didn't last, and slowly things jammed up again. It only seemed to get the colon functioning, but food still backed up in my small intestine (its amazing how you can become aware of different parts of your digestive system when you go thru this. Until a year ago, I didn't know the difference between my stomach, small, large intestine... didn't even know where my liver was. But then, who cared...? I was never truly ill a day in my life up until this happened.)
I'm off the hydrocortisone now (because of the issues with steroids and lyme), and things are back to the horrible state they were in over the summer.
Oh, the other thing that might have worked recently is Amoxicillin! I can't be sure, but it certainly seemed to have a very beneficial effect on several things. Only problem is that I can't use it to combat Lyme because we can't get Probenecid here in the UK.
But I feel your pain. Literally. You're not alone.
P
Posted by Lymetoo (Member # 743) on :
quote:Originally posted by Lyme ED: I wonder if it might be from Lyme affecting the nerves along the GI tract?
Read Beverly's post.
Posted by leogrl54 (Member # 10770) on :
thanks so much!!
everyones suggestions are very helpful. sipping green tea as we speak.
am taking a milk thistle/dandelion herbal capsule. is this as good as the tea bags and drops?
it's nice to know others are on such low doses. i thought i was the herxing queen. Dr M.says "low and slow". sometimes the herxing is worse than the lyme symptoms
truthfully, i am better. i can get up in the morning, get dressed, let the chickens out and sit at the computer. 6 months ago i couldn't do any of these things.
just have to keep up the hope. Posted by Lymied (Member # 6704) on :
I have had so many gut problems from the beginning before I even started treatment...then treatment with abx helped in some ways (nerves) and hurt in others (wiping out the beneficial bacteria).
I have started doing a parasite cleanse and let me tell you things have been a lot better.
Antibiotics set us up for an envirnoment that parasites love some have said...
I would do a little research in this arena.
Good luck, I know how NOT fun this issue is. Posted by Lymetoo (Member # 743) on :
quote:Originally posted by leogrl54: sometimes the herxing is worse than the lyme symptoms
Absolutely! I was WAY worse the first two years of treatment than I was before treatment.
Posted by tdtid (Member # 10276) on :
Just another thought, but first I'd do as posted and make sure it isn't a problem the lyme perhaps started.
But before my diagnosis and before I was on "healthy diets" or abx or anything, I was seeing an accupuncturist.
I wasn't totally sold that she helped my "mystery illness" but what she did was put needles in certain spots that she said would unclog me.
I believe it took a couple tries, but I went in totally constipated one day and had trouble getting home after the treatment in time.
From that point on, I seriously was pretty regular, but then the lyme diagnosis, diets, meds, all the shake up and I was back with the same issues.
Been thinking about the chiropractor aspect again, but maxing out my "get well fund" since my LLMD is an N.D. and not covered by insurance.
Just wanted to toss in another possibility though.
Cathy
Posted by diana (Member # 7466) on :
I think I have found the answer to my own question..magnesium citrate. It does not appear to be because of the laxative effect.. I am pretty sure it helps with the muscles and contractions -to help the food move along.
I strongly recommend anyone that suffers from this problem to give it a try.
Diana
Posted by Robin123 (Member # 9197) on :
Drinking ultra mangosteen juice(with lots of water) works beautifully -- it cleans out the intestines. Along with cleaning everything else too, I think. I mean, my sinuses ran, my gum bleeding stopped, etc.
Posted by tdtid (Member # 10276) on :
Diana,
Glad you got some relief from Magnesium Citrate. As I mentioned in my first post here, that was the very first thing my LLND told me to try.
For me, it didn't work, but I was so backed up, I think I needed something strong to get the process started and then perhaps the Mag Citrate on a regular basis would have been helpful.
I'm in more of a regular state now myself but have tried so many different things, it's hard to know which one was actually the "magic bullet".
Hope you continue to have success with this protocol.
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