Help Diarrhea at its best!!

[terodac]

Ok, I would not wish this problem on my worst enemy if I had one! I have had diarrhea for a week now it got so bad this weekend imodium was not working my GP called me in some pills to take, told me if not better by Monday come in. Well he was booked Monday so today I went and he said he thought I had this stomach virus that was going around here he gave me Cipro 500mg and Flagyl 500mg to take twice a day! I was trying really hard not to get dehyrated because of AF! I was watching my bp drop and my heart rate go up, I have not thrown up and have been pumping gatorade and water and not gotten dehydrated yet. But one of my problems is my INR, on Sunday was 4.3 because of no food I skipped my dose that night, which would have been 10mg (I take 7.5 Mon, Tues Wed and Friday and 10mg on Thursday Saturday and Sunday) I called my Cardio yesterday and she told me to skip a dose (which I already had done) and resume my dose. I am not sure she understands how I can't eat, all I have had is the Bratt diet and am sick of all of that. I took 5mg last night and 5mg tonight along with these antibiotics. Which I was reading will also increase my INR, I also see some blood in the toliet, not much could be because I am raw. What should I do?? should I call my cardio back tomorrow and tell them what my GP has given me and now what?? Also, I am out of test strips had to order those as well. Thank goodness for home testing!! I am stuck between a rock and hard place on this one!! Help any good advise would be greatly appreciated!!

 

[Ross]

I don't know what to say besides test every 3 days and see where your going. Being out of test strips, do you have a clinic you can go to?

As for the blood, is it bright red or black and tarry?

 

[Maryka]

I am so unhappy for all that you are going through! You probably know to go on a sort of bland and "binding" diet while fighting the runs? That is, eat a lot of baked potatoes? Avoid the sour cream and chives, ha ha! In my family, drinking orange juice and other acidic fruit juices will just make things worse. I have had amazing luck with Gatoraide (which I notice you are taking). Also, for me, a food additive hidden in a huge number of products gives me the runs. This "natural" food item, carageenan, is hidden in all sorts of things and used to give me cramps followed by the runs before my heart surgery. I will explain how I deal with carageenan now below.

My problems are the opposite of yours. now Something about my post-heart surgery meds can quickly push me over to severe constipation if I am not careful. I now use my sensitivity to carageenan to help prevent constipation. (Interestingly, if you google carageenan and read all of the entries you will see that historically this sea-moss product was used as a laxative. Yet, it is in so many products in the US, it makes me wonder what is so different about Americans that they can consume this stuff constantly.) Today I drink a glass of chocolate milk daily to help me to not get constipated. Chocolate milk, other "flavored" milks, creamy spreads like cream cheese and some sour cream, are likely to contain this item. It is hidden in all sorts of yummy stuff from fast food places. Anything creamy, like some salad dressings, is likely to contain it.

Being at either extreme of the "elimation process" is quite annoying! Hang in there!

 

[Nancy]

You need to have a stool sample tested, asap. You want to make sure you don't have something like C-Difficile diarrhea. Sometimes when a person has C-Diff there is a very strong, foul odor to the stool, so if you have noticed this, it is doubly important to have a stool sample tested.

Joe contracted C-Diff diarrhea while in the hospital. It was a really nasty problem to overcome. It took several months, maybe 6 months to recover from, and numerous appts. with various doctors. The gastro doctor finally got it under control.

And ever after that episode, his GI tract was "pretty" touchy and given to frequent diarrhea.

 

[lance]

Terodac
Recent advertising about Immodium mentions it affects the small bowel to counteract diarrhea. I think warfarin is absorbed there too. If so, Immodium use will increase INR because more warfarin will be absorbed--not elimated along with everything else.
I have IBS, it's been bad recently so I have been taking 6 Immodium tablets per day and my INR has gone up. Thankfully I home test.
I hope your troubling symptoms clear up soon.

 

[Nancy]

I should mention that Joe's gastro doctors were not in favor of repeated use of Imodium. They told him it stagnates the intestinal tract. They thought a couple of times was probably OK, but not continual usage of it. Just ask your doctor about a stool sample test and find out what kind of diarrhea you really have.

 

[Philip B]

Diarrhea?

Diarrhea?

Sorry, I don't know enough about diarrhea to offer much advice about making it stop. It is important to stay hydrated and it sounds like you're doing your best to keep your fluid intake up. Personally, I've never been a fan of the amounts of sodium in regular Gatorade.

It's tough to know what to do with your dosage unless you're monitoring regularly. This is particuarly true if your system is screwed-up. It sounds like you need to expedite the delivery of test strips. Opinions will undoubtedly vary, but I've actually tested on an every other day basis on a couple of occasions when I've encoutered problems that may affect my INR.

-Philip

 

[Maryka]

Philip and Terodac: The reason Gatorade is considered good is because it is supposedly Ringers Lactate (the IV fluid) with flavoring. It has sodium because it is to mimic IV fluid, which is to mimic a quick way to replace fluids leaving the body due to bleeding, the runs, or severe sweating. But, you probably knew that...

C-Diff: My friend, Patricia, in FL (who died due to her Marfan Syndrome side effects) got C-Diff diarhea (excuse my spelling--that is why I keep calling it "the runs") in her last few months. She spread it to her sister (who was her caretaker) who was very, very ill for some time). Patricia eventually died from another hospital-acquired infection (MRSA) when that uncured infection eventually attacked her recently-repaired heart. It all made me and her family very sad. We must all be vigilant of the hospital-acquired-infection controls in the hospitals where our surgeries are performed!

 

[Philip B]

Sodium?

Sodium?

I simply prefer other products that have less sodium like Gatorade G2. Regardless of what you choose, you're wise to make an effort to stay hydrated. It's hard to beat regular ole tap water.

I'm sure that the doctor who developed the original Gatorade formula for Florida State University factored in ingredients to help high performance athletes recover quickly when they were engaged in rigorous activity.

-Philip

 

[Luana]

I totally agree with Nancy. You do need a stool sample to be analyzed. I had clostridium difficile diarrhea years ago. Fortunately I had a very on-the-ball doctor and the first thing she ordered was a stool sample. I think treatment was vancomycin (pills) and it sure did the trick. BRAT diet will do nothing for you if this is what you have, because anything and everything you eat will give you diarrhea.