Stopping Diarrhea To Rebuild Good Bacteria

[Guest BERNESES]

I saw a doctor in the ER yesterday and my primary care doctor both said the same thing. I did a round of antibiotics for C Diff (antibiotic induced colitis) and as soon as I finished the falgyl, the diarrhea came back. They are retesting me for C Diff but until I get the results tomorrow, they said i should take Immodium and stop the D because sometimes you need to stop the D in order for your system to settle and start reatining the good bacteria.

Does this make sense? I always though that you weren't supposed to stop the D (unless you were getting dehydrated) because it was your body's way of ridding itself of toxins.??????

[mle-ii]

I saw a doctor in the ER yesterday and my primary care doctor both said the same thing. I did a round of antibiotics for C Diff (antibiotic induced colitis) and as soon as I finished the falgyl, the diarrhea came back. They are retesting me for C Diff but until I get the results tomorrow, they said i should take Immodium and stop the D because sometimes you need to stop the D in order for your system to settle and start reatining the good bacteria.

Does this make sense? I always though that you weren't supposed to stop the D (unless you were getting dehydrated) because it was your body's way of ridding itself of toxins.??????

This is a very interesting question. Well interesting in that I've been wondering about something similar.

I'm really of the thinking now that our bodies don't make mistakes, that what the body does shouldn't be stopped as it's the way the body knows how to heal or protect itself. Hell, the body has been working pretty darn well at keeping itself going for how many years now. What makes us think that covering up the symtoms of disease or stopping the symptoms is a good thing, are we actually smarter than biology.

Don't get me wrong I'm not saying to stop all medications, but from what I'm learning about the body I sure do wonder about stuff like this.

In my case I have Colitis (Lymphocytic/Microscopic) and I've been wondering about me taking fish oil to help stop/control the inflamation. I know that the inflamation is all part of the bodies repair mechanism, without inflamation we wouldn't heal from injury. So should I or should I not step in to control it. Should I allow it to go on and run it's course or should I keep it in check so that it's not chronic and does more damage.

I'm curious as to what others think on this topic as well.

Thanks,

Mike

[Judyin Philly]

Bev so glad you did this..i'll ask my chiro tomorrow..you have a week to get better right..i pray for you ok

love judy

[jerseyangel]

I saw a doctor in the ER yesterday and my primary care doctor both said the same thing. I did a round of antibiotics for C Diff (antibiotic induced colitis) and as soon as I finished the falgyl, the diarrhea came back. They are retesting me for C Diff but until I get the results tomorrow, they said i should take Immodium and stop the D because sometimes you need to stop the D in order for your system to settle and start reatining the good bacteria.

Does this make sense? I always though that you weren't supposed to stop the D (unless you were getting dehydrated) because it was your body's way of ridding itself of toxins.??????

Hi Bev--Actually it does make sense to me. I would agree that normally, not stopping the D is best--it's what I generally do. I also believe in letting things "run their course".

In your case, where you've had it for so long, I would be inclined to take the Immodium and give your system a chance to calm down a little bit. Wishing you the best--as always!

[ravenwoodglass]

I agree with Patti. You have had D for so long and if nothing else your intestines could use a break from the contractions. Immodium AD Caplets and AD Chewables are definately gluten-free, I just got their lists today. The others may be also but, and this gives me confidence in the company, they haven't had them tested yet. I would take just 1 to start in the AM after you use the toilet. You may want to also make sure to consume some good bacteria like yogurt if you can tolerate and or probiotics. The Immodium may help hold those in long enough to be able to do some good. If this was a gluten reaction I would say skip the Immod. but in this instance it may help.

[Guest BERNESES]

I agree with Patti. You have had D for so long and if nothing else your intestines could use a break from the contractions. Immodium AD Caplets and AD Chewables are definately gluten-free, I just got their lists today. The others may be also but, and this gives me confidence in the company, they haven't had them tested yet. I would take just 1 to start in the AM after you use the toilet. You may want to also make sure to consume some good bacteria like yogurt if you can tolerate and or probiotics. The Immodium may help hold those in long enough to be able to do some good. If this was a gluten reaction I would say skip the Immod. but in this instance it may help.

This was the theory- that putting in all the good probiotics in the world in was worthless if they just come out the other end. They said your bowel gets stuck in a vicious cycle it needs something to help it.

Mike- I think the fish oil is different because in many countries (areas like sweden, Norway, Alaskan Inuits) people get it naturally from the amount of fish in their diet. Because our foods are so over processed (and even our fish is farm-raised in many cases) that we lack this. You are just replacing what your body would have if it wasn't eating deficient foods (I'm not saying this about you- just about how proccessed our food is). Fish oil is good for so many things.

[mle-ii]

Mike- I think the fish oil is different because in many countries (areas like sweden, Norway, Alaskan Inuits) people get it naturally from the amount of fish in their diet. Because our foods are so over processed (and even our fish is farm-raised in many cases) that we lack this. You are just replacing what your body would have if it wasn't eating deficient foods (I'm not saying this about you- just about how proccessed our food is). Fish oil is good for so many things.

Excellent point, back to the fish oil... only stopped it yesterday. LOL

[Lymetoo]

It makes sense to me. If you're not getting results from probiotics, try Theralac. It is FAR better than anything else I've tried.

Hope they can get this under control soon. You must be exhausted!

Mike, CHRONIC inflammation serves no purpose. So stopping it is good in that case.

[jesscarmel]

what kind of antibiotic causes c diff? i have never heard of it.

when i had ongoign d from a virus the er also gave me prescription strength anti-diarrehal to stop it and i felt better wihtin days.......have you tried culturelle its a probiotic that i really like. you can get it at cvs or wholefoods. i hope you feel better real soon!!!

[2kids4me]

In my case I have Colitis (Lymphocytic/Microscopic) and I've been wondering about me taking fish oil to help stop/control the inflamation. I know that the inflamation is all part of the bodies repair mechanism, without inflamation we wouldn't heal from injury. So should I or should I not step in to control it. Should I allow it to go on and run it's course or should I keep it in check so that it's not chronic and does more damage.

This is a good thread. So many good questions and advice.

First I will answer the question from Mike re: inflammation. Yes inflammation is the bodies reaction to injury - it is: increased blood flow allowing platelets, white blood cells etc to be "on scene" reapiring the wounded tissue. that's the normal response. Inflammation can also be the cause of further injury - swelling that causes pressure on surrounding nerves/muscles, swelling of any tissue in an enclosed space can cause incredible pain (think swollen finger in the most minor example and swelling around the spinal cord as the worse case scenario), this type of swelling must be controlled either by applying ice or using drugs.

Rheumatoid arthritis is one example of inflammation that must be kept under control or it will be debilitating.

Autoimmune inflammatory process (arthritis, Lupus, some forms of colitis) are not the body attempting to heal - it is an attack on self. This type of inflammation - if left to run its natural course - causes harm, not healing.

the D questions -

Acute bacterial or viral diarrrhea - you are all correct in that it is best to let it happen, and treat the symptoms with a natural approach - bland diet, rest and water/electrolytes. In the young and elderly, diarrhea can quickly dehydrate and sometimes IV fluids are needed.

Diarrhea that is secondary to antibiotic use or chronic diarrhea can present a different challenge. It needs to be addressed - stopping the diarrhea allows the gut to restore normal patterns of movement and re-establish the good bacteria. (Diarrhea can flush toxins ot be sure but it also alters the balance- good bacteria are lost too).

Easy to digest foods that slow the gut naturally include rice and lean (no fat) meats. Skinned chicken, boiled ground beef (yup that's what I said , the boiling removes a lot of fat). Steamed fresh veges (no butter).

I'm no doctor but have been involved in vet medicine for 25 years, have kids with autoimmune disease and I read a lot - but most of my knowledge comes from dealing with owners and pets, and being a mom.

[Guest BERNESES]

Thank you for all that info! It made so much sense.

I've been looking for Culturelle and can't find it. CVS? What does it look like? And what is Theralac?