POZ Community Forums
Meds, Mind, Body & Benefits => Questions About Treatment & Side Effects => Topic started by: positivmat on July 31, 2013, 08:31:37 am
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I have been having chronic loose stool since i picked up a rectal lgv infection. I was on two courses of antibiotics for a total of 30 days. Before i realized i was infected, i suffered from loose stool movements (only needed to go once a day). However, since treatment, i have still not been able to get regular for the past three months. I just had a colonoscopy and ruled out anything there. My gastroenterologist said that there was no detectable inflammation up there, he removed a few polyps. I have been eating yogurt and taking probiotics for a while now.
I have been on atripla for 4 1/2 years and these last six months have not been pleasant. My other ID doesn't think it is medication related.
Anyway, I was wondering if anyone had any advice on what could help me slow down my motility issues.
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Keeping up with the yogurt and a probiotic is the right course , you may want to include fiber and rice into your diet as well . You can take Imodium with every watery stool as well .
A few years ago I got some kind of bug in my gut and despite many doctors best efforts we never figured what was causing my diarrhea , it took months for me to get my tummy back in shape . You know what caused yours so it just may be a while longer until you are back on track .
Check out this link ... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BRAT_diet
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ok - thanks Jeff
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There's also the possibility that your lgv triggered hiv-related diarrhea. Any localised infection can cause an increase of hiv activity in that area, such as is the case of having an STI increase your seminal viral load.
The gut is one of the reservoirs where hiv can hide from the meds, so being on hiv meds isn't going to do much for hiv-related diarrhea. I've dealt with this for years and going on meds didn't change a thing where that's concerned.
And again, it still may improve in time, as Jeff suggests. In the meantime, talk to your doctor about using loperimide aka Immodium. You can get it over the counter, but it's always best to talk to your doctor first.
Good luck. Dire-rear certainly is a pain in the nether-regions, as I know all too well.
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Thank you Ann - tomorrow, I am going in to get an endoscopy and talk with my gastro dr. I will ask him about immodium. I have been reading some of the hiv gut flora discussions. Interesting stuff - and definitely a pain in the rear. I have noticed an occasional green tint to my stuff - so i will be asking him about bile acid malabsorption which can be caused by gut damage from a bacterial infection. It's not a condition commonly approved for testing in the U.S., but appears to be getting some attention in the U.K.
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Good luck, Mat, I hope the endoscopy gives you some answers.
Let us know what happens, ok? Thanks. Your experience may help others down the road.
(And besides, I'm nosey! ;D I care too.)
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This is most likey an after effect of the LGV .. if it started with the LGV. Time is the best healer - matt
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well the colonoscopy biopsy was fine and the endoscopy appears to be ok. The good news is that the immodium has brought a degree of normalcy to my life! thanks for that Ann - what a relief. The gastro dr is holding out that this may be a case of microscopic colitis -
I agree with you Newt - I think that this is an after effect of the lgv - It's been about 10 months since i had a normal movement - i am just hoping that time and immodium get me back to regularity
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I'm really glad to hear the Immodium has made your dire-rear a little less dire. :)
Fingers crossed here that it subsides completely in time.