Helping my lower GI tract get its groove back after illness
April 18, 2019 11:30 AM
I spent Monday afternoon and evening purging in a way I didn't even know was possible due to a truly insidious GI bug. I'm technically "better" now but I think my microbiome got all jacked up or other body systems are still out of whack. YANMD, but can I do anything (evidence-based) to help me to feel human again?
So, to get the gory details out of the way quickly: I shat my brains out for several hours. I lost 5 lbs. That part only lasted maybe 8 or so hours and ever since then I've been in slow recovery. No other symptoms since Tuesday. I even mowed the lawn yesterday.
Except: something just ain't right. Food is unappetizing. I can eat, nothing bad happens when I do, it's just... meh. Calories. Blah.
Today, I feel a weird floaty sensation, like things aren't quite as real as they could be. When I touch my skin, it feels a bit like I'm touching someone else, not me.
I'm back at work today, I'm more or less able to brain just fine, but I just feel... bad. Not sick bad, just bad.
Is there anything I can do to speed along a full recovery so I can get back to feeling like myself again?
So, to get the gory details out of the way quickly: I shat my brains out for several hours. I lost 5 lbs. That part only lasted maybe 8 or so hours and ever since then I've been in slow recovery. No other symptoms since Tuesday. I even mowed the lawn yesterday.
Except: something just ain't right. Food is unappetizing. I can eat, nothing bad happens when I do, it's just... meh. Calories. Blah.
Today, I feel a weird floaty sensation, like things aren't quite as real as they could be. When I touch my skin, it feels a bit like I'm touching someone else, not me.
I'm back at work today, I'm more or less able to brain just fine, but I just feel... bad. Not sick bad, just bad.
Is there anything I can do to speed along a full recovery so I can get back to feeling like myself again?
It might be simpler than your biome - it could be simple dehydration. Electrolytes always make me feel a ton better after something like that. I go for Gatorade but there are other less sugar-laden choices out there.
posted by dawkins_7 at 11:51 AM on April 18, 2019
posted by dawkins_7 at 11:51 AM on April 18, 2019
Go get tested for small-intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO). It's a bit of a pain because it involves 24h of severe diet restriction and a few hours in a lab, but if it's SIBO you can get antibiotics that will clear it up pretty quickly. I believe when I had it my doctor prescribed me probiotics alongside the antibiotics to help get my gut flora back into gear.
posted by capricorn at 12:08 PM on April 18, 2019
posted by capricorn at 12:08 PM on April 18, 2019
You may have once or twice heard of people referring to "the BRAT diet" - that stands for "bananas, rice, applesauce and toast", and is sometimes recommended for a day or so after a bout of GI upset. The thinking is that those are all fairly easily digested, and it can be something you can eat that'll still be easy on your system so your GI tract has a chance to recover without you going hungry.
Doctors today recommend the sooner you can get back to a regular diet the better, but still taking it easy on your system isn't a bad idea, especially if you feel like food is a little "yikes" right now. Think like super-boring bland food for a day or so. I had some wacky stomach thing and ate bland for a day or two in the aftermath, and that helped.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 12:15 PM on April 18, 2019
Doctors today recommend the sooner you can get back to a regular diet the better, but still taking it easy on your system isn't a bad idea, especially if you feel like food is a little "yikes" right now. Think like super-boring bland food for a day or so. I had some wacky stomach thing and ate bland for a day or two in the aftermath, and that helped.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 12:15 PM on April 18, 2019
I feel all kinds of weird things when I'm dehydrated and if you lost 5 pounds it was probably a lot of water. Even if you also do everything else suggested please get re-hydrated. I'm not a medical professional so I can't tell how you best to do that, but this is the kind of question the pharmacist would field all the time when I worked at a pharmacy. They'll tell you the best thing to get/do.
posted by bleep at 12:20 PM on April 18, 2019
posted by bleep at 12:20 PM on April 18, 2019
Water and BRATTY (Bananas, Rice, Applesauce, Tea, Toast, Yogurt). If you have something like Gatorade, get the no- or low-sugar version.
posted by sallybrown at 12:22 PM on April 18, 2019
posted by sallybrown at 12:22 PM on April 18, 2019
Nthing the water and BRATTY advice, and maybe try small meals and snacks and try to schedule them regularly (i.e. watch out for blood sugar dips since your body is still recovering). Also, Pedialyte is not just for kids, and sometimes goes over better than the Gatorade/sports drink stuff.
posted by gudrun at 12:39 PM on April 18, 2019
posted by gudrun at 12:39 PM on April 18, 2019
Most of what you lost was fluid, no? So chances are your system is still struggling to get hydration levels and electrolytes back. You may be feeling meh about food because it requires fluid to process it and your body has not yet replenished the reserves. Feeling light headed and oob is pretty standard for low blood pressure and low blood sugar drops, so watch out, because you could pass out. When you fight an infection your immune system burns a ton of calories. You may not have accessible reserves having burned all the readily available. That's why they recommend resting when you are sick.
Also, you likely purged your normal intestinal biome, and you need it to digest. Lack of appetite could be because you need to replenish all those tiny citizens whose job it is to break down the food into something you can absorb. You need to eat, but maybe not much, and maybe nothing that would take effort to digest.
Chicken soup is the classic solution to this. So is gingerale. The one is salt water, the other is sugar water. Don't make yourself eat if you don't want to, but have as much fluid as you are comfortable taking, and try to avoid doing anything strenuous. This would be a good day to loll on the couch with a hot mug of chicken soup beside you and the cat making it impossible to get up. Give yourself another three or four days to recuperate.
posted by Jane the Brown at 2:18 PM on April 18, 2019
Also, you likely purged your normal intestinal biome, and you need it to digest. Lack of appetite could be because you need to replenish all those tiny citizens whose job it is to break down the food into something you can absorb. You need to eat, but maybe not much, and maybe nothing that would take effort to digest.
Chicken soup is the classic solution to this. So is gingerale. The one is salt water, the other is sugar water. Don't make yourself eat if you don't want to, but have as much fluid as you are comfortable taking, and try to avoid doing anything strenuous. This would be a good day to loll on the couch with a hot mug of chicken soup beside you and the cat making it impossible to get up. Give yourself another three or four days to recuperate.
posted by Jane the Brown at 2:18 PM on April 18, 2019
A lot of pedialyte and coconut water. But also that almost sounds like weird dissociative stuff, and anecdotally I know people who have had similar issues when their microbiome / GI business lost its mind for various reasons and theorized it has something to do with serotonin. Idk. But I would (and do) get a reputable probiotic with a bunch of different strains; they really, really help. Jarrow makes a few, and iHerb stores and ships stuff with climate control. I like to get the lowest dose of like two of them, double up for a few days, and then alternate.
You can also eat dirt. Which...I know, I know. But it’s a traditional thing people do.
posted by schadenfrau at 3:23 PM on April 18, 2019
You can also eat dirt. Which...I know, I know. But it’s a traditional thing people do.
posted by schadenfrau at 3:23 PM on April 18, 2019
Yeah, it sounds like you're dehydrated and maybe have low blood sugar from not eating enough, you don't need a fancier explanation. You'll almost certainly feel better very soon whether or not you ingest probiotics.
posted by momus_window at 4:17 PM on April 18, 2019
posted by momus_window at 4:17 PM on April 18, 2019
Try Pedialyte. Gatorade has the electrolytes you lose from sweat, not the ones you lose from cholera. I have seen four ounces of pedialyte bring people back from grey-faced post-noro misery in a quarter of an hour.
posted by KathrynT at 11:42 PM on April 18, 2019
posted by KathrynT at 11:42 PM on April 18, 2019
Good suggestions, I think-I’m sure dehydration is part of what whats making you feel strange.
Natran Trinity probiotics are a good restart to your system, too—if you have any trouble taking them orally (some people experience bloating, cramping, etc.) you can buy the powder version (or break open capsules) and make a diy enema.
DM me if you have any questions!
posted by ygmiaa at 2:01 PM on April 20, 2019
Natran Trinity probiotics are a good restart to your system, too—if you have any trouble taking them orally (some people experience bloating, cramping, etc.) you can buy the powder version (or break open capsules) and make a diy enema.
DM me if you have any questions!
posted by ygmiaa at 2:01 PM on April 20, 2019
This thread is closed to new comments.
Unaware of non-anecdotal evidence in support of this practice but it costs next to nothing, has a completely plausible mode of action, and has worked reliably for me on all three occasions when I've had a strong need for something that would. Faster and more effective than anything that has had to navigate the upper stretches of the GI tract before reaching the war zone, in my experience.
posted by flabdablet at 11:50 AM on April 18, 2019