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    franneh's Avatar
    franneh Posts: 134, Reputation: 7
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    #1

    Jun 16, 2010, 10:51 AM
    What's wrong with my stomach?
    I did something really stupid. I bought some Kellogg's Fiber Plus granola bars 3 days ago. I wasn't paying attention to the "fiber" part. I just thought they looked good, and they were on sale.

    So I ate 3 or 4 of them on my lunch break. I know, very stupid. Each bar has 35% of your daily fiber. I know that now.

    So obviously I had the worst gas/bloating/diahrrea I've ever had, and it was funny at first.

    However, it went beyond that. The next day I couldn't eat at all. If I so much as just MOVED, my stomach hurt so bad I had to just stay still. I couldn't even sit up without being in terrible pain. This was happening even though I had already been to the bathroom more than 5 times.

    And I am still feeling stomach pain, 3 days later. I can barely eat without feeling so full I could puke. When I try to breathe deeply it hurts my stomach really bad. I can't sleep laying on my stomach or my side because it hurts my stomach, right there between my ribs in the center. Feels like someone's punching me. Also it's hurting across my back as well, making it very hard to move around.

    I have a constant feeling of bloat and stomach pain, and feeling like I need to throw up. But using the bathroom, trying to throw up, nothing is relieving this "full" painful feeling.

    This feeling is horribly similar to what I felt whilst laying on the bathroom floor at work an hour before they took me to the emergency room and found a gallstone. I mean, my stomach and back hurt so bad that it hurts to breathe in all the way, making me breathe shorter, faster breaths. I have noticed that if I lift my breasts (they are size D so they can be heavy) and stretch out my torso, it hurts less to breathe in. So that tells me it's my stomach, right?

    I looked online and found that a lot of people had similar reactions to the same granola bars, and they ate less than I did. =P

    Will this feeling pass on its own if I just give it a few more days, or should I be worried? I don't like feeling like I've just left an all-you-can-eat buffet 24/7. :(
    tickle's Avatar
    tickle Posts: 23,796, Reputation: 2674
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    #2

    Jun 16, 2010, 12:17 PM

    Yes, you must be so uncomfortable, probably you are realizing now you didn't need all that fibre, and on the other hand, there could have been something wrong with the granola bars. Did they have an expiry date on the package ?

    Please try an over the counter med that relieves gas and bloating, something similar to Immodium for diahhrea. If that doesn't work, go the doctor and he will probably send you for a colonoscopy. Which is a good thing, doesn't hurt, tells the doctor a lot about your bowels.

    My guess is the granola bar seriously irritated your upper and lower bowels.

    Tick
    franneh's Avatar
    franneh Posts: 134, Reputation: 7
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    #3

    Jun 16, 2010, 02:44 PM

    What if I'm not having diarrhea anymore? I'm just feeling like my tummy will burst. Should I still take immodium, or something else?
    franneh's Avatar
    franneh Posts: 134, Reputation: 7
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    #4

    Jun 16, 2010, 02:46 PM

    They were not expired. Shortly after getting sick I remembered months ago some of my coworkers complaining about getting sick from granola bars. So I called one of them and asked what brand they had eaten... surprise... it was the same ones.
    tickle's Avatar
    tickle Posts: 23,796, Reputation: 2674
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    #5

    Jun 16, 2010, 04:18 PM

    Did they have the same symptoms, did the symptoms pass, and how long did it take. How did they deal with it ?

    Sounds like you are full of gas, fran. I would go get check out.
    franneh's Avatar
    franneh Posts: 134, Reputation: 7
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    #6

    Jun 16, 2010, 06:56 PM

    Yeah my other 2 affected coworkers just had diarrhea and gas and it passed in a day or 2. But they each only ate 2 bars lol. I may end up going to the doc tomorrow if it's not better :(
    franneh's Avatar
    franneh Posts: 134, Reputation: 7
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    #7

    Jun 25, 2010, 09:24 AM

    Update: yesterday, one hour before my doctor appointment, I started throwing up blood and was told to skip the dr and go to the ER. They ran bloodwork which suggested pancreatitis but the CT scan showed nothing wrong with my pancreas. They said I have some inflammation and still don't know exactly what's wrong. More tests in the next few days. Still can't eat. The most I managed to eat in one day was half a can of progresso chicken noodle soup. And I literally could not force myself to eat any more.
    tickle's Avatar
    tickle Posts: 23,796, Reputation: 2674
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    #8

    Jun 25, 2010, 10:05 AM

    Your symptoms couldn't have been from the food bars; unless they had some harsh chemical stabilizer in them. Too bad you don't have one of the wrappers.

    I would go with the bloodwork over the CT scan, but that is just my opinion.

    Tick
    J_9's Avatar
    J_9 Posts: 40,298, Reputation: 5646
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    #9

    Jun 25, 2010, 10:12 AM

    Your symptoms also sound like it might be diverticulitis.

    Here's hoping you feel better soon and get properly diagnosed and treated.
    franneh's Avatar
    franneh Posts: 134, Reputation: 7
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    #10

    Jun 25, 2010, 10:06 PM

    Well right now I'm laying here with a fever (waiting for aleve to kick in) and horrible back pain that isn't being touched by medicine. Middle back, not lower. Like the unbearable back pain I had when I had a gallstone.

    Also I'm finding that when a fever is near or fullblown, I have a hard time being able to breathe in completely and exhale slowly. I end up making the most embarrassing "huuh" sound and expelling all the air quickly involuntarily. Also happens when I'm trying to speak. This may just happen coincidentally around the time the fever kicks in, I've just started logging it.
    franneh's Avatar
    franneh Posts: 134, Reputation: 7
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    #11

    Jun 25, 2010, 10:37 PM

    Yeah I have an appointment to set up a colonoscopy and whatever it's called when they put a camera down your throat. :(
    tickle's Avatar
    tickle Posts: 23,796, Reputation: 2674
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    #12

    Jun 26, 2010, 04:35 AM
    Quote Originally Posted by franneh View Post
    Yeah I have an appointment to set up a colonoscopy and whatever it's called when they put a camera down your throat. :(
    No, it doesn't go down your throat, franneh, it goes up the other end :eek:
    franneh's Avatar
    franneh Posts: 134, Reputation: 7
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    #13

    Jun 26, 2010, 06:23 AM

    I'm having both procedures done. Colonoscopy AND the one where they put one down your throat. :)
    tickle's Avatar
    tickle Posts: 23,796, Reputation: 2674
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    #14

    Jun 26, 2010, 07:44 AM

    I am pleased that all of that is being done to get to the 'bottom' of your problem.
    franneh's Avatar
    franneh Posts: 134, Reputation: 7
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    #15

    Jun 26, 2010, 11:34 AM

    Right now I'm just in tears 24/7 because the back pain in unbearable. I can't take medicine for it because you can only have 3 in 24 hrs and I have to save them for WHEN my fever comes back because its been getting high. And that's when-- not if. I've had a fever like clockwork every night, and sometimes in the daytime. And when I do take medicine (aleve, tylenol etc) for my fever it never even touches the back pain. I feel like I felt when my gallbladder attacked. I can't lay in any position and find relief, standing doesn't help. Neither does standing and leaning on something. The closest I can get to relief is sitting straight up on the couch with a pillow behind me. And the pain doesn't stay away long. It's basically right across from my stomach on my back in the middle. Even when I completely relax all my muscles it doesn't help.

    It feels better only when I'm bent over in the shower with the shower massage blasting scalding hot water on it. But as soon as I stop, it's back. Sleep is only a memory for me now. :(

    Sorry I don't mean to ramble or whine. It's just I wanted to tell someone, and it's even better that I tell health experts.
    franneh's Avatar
    franneh Posts: 134, Reputation: 7
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    #16

    Jul 29, 2010, 09:06 PM

    I know this thread is old, but I would like to post the rest of the story.

    I wanted to let you all know that I ended up in the ER again only 2 days after my last post. I went to a more trusted ER this time, even though it was further away. They admitted me, ran tests and found pancreatitis. However I do not drink alcohol at all. They told me I may be one of the very few people who get Metformin-induced pancreatitis. I am no longer allowed to take metformin. I also have some inflammation around the colon area they said.

    I am still waiting to have the scopes done. They happen on August 4th.

    I am still having daily nausea, however, I haven't actually thrown up.

    Sidenote: they also helped me with another problem I've had for 2 yrs. Since I had my gallbladder removed, everything I eat goes straight through me. And I mean straight. It doesn't pass GO, it doesn't collect $200, it goes straight through. I can't even finish a meal before I have to run to the bathroom. And it would always be like water. So I was dealing with this ALWAYS with the first food I ate each day and there was a 50/50 chance it'd happen at every other meal too. One day I went seven times in one day. And this was the norm for me. No dinners out with friends, no having dinner at friends' houses. Too embarrassing.

    So anyway I told my doc in the hospital that I needed something because going to the bathroom a million times a day while hooked to an IV machine was getting really bothersome. They gave me WelChol even though my cholesterol is fine. One of the side effects is constipation, and this medicine has helped me have SUCH better days! I can eat my lunch at work without having run to the bathroom emergency-style ten minutes after I start eating! It's so great to go a whole day without multiple emergency trips to the restroom. I mean you have no idea how much better I feel. And since welchol is technically for cholesterol, it's keeping my already good cholesterol levels good :) win win.

    So yeah hopefully they'll find out what's causing all the nausea when they do the colonoscopy and the other scope. :)

    Sorry I ramble. I had my first Latte a few hours ago. A little wired. Sorry.
    tickle's Avatar
    tickle Posts: 23,796, Reputation: 2674
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    #17

    Jul 30, 2010, 04:35 AM

    I don't recall you mentioning you are a diabetic in any of your posts, frennah. Metformin is med for type 2 diabetes.

    Tick
    franneh's Avatar
    franneh Posts: 134, Reputation: 7
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    #18

    Jul 30, 2010, 03:38 PM

    My family doc said I wasn't yet diabetic. I was on the verge. They had me on metformin to control my blood glucose levels and help me have periods.

    However yesterday my obgyn finally did say I have diabetes. My fasting bloodsugar was fine but my A1C? Was 6.7. So yeah. I knew eventually I'd get it too. All the females in my family are diabetic. :(

    So yeah. :(
    franneh's Avatar
    franneh Posts: 134, Reputation: 7
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    #19

    Aug 4, 2010, 10:44 AM

    So I just had both scopes done a couple of hours ago. Diagnosis? Crohn's disease. The pics of my intestines don't look anything similar to the pics of normal ones. I can take a pic of the paper showing the comparison if anybody wants to see it.
    tickle's Avatar
    tickle Posts: 23,796, Reputation: 2674
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    #20

    Aug 4, 2010, 10:48 AM

    So glad to hear from you frenneh. So, crohn's, eh. And you are a diabetic. Your glucose level looks good. You know the rule of thumb, 7 in the morning before eating and 8 after eating. I always go by that. I am diabetic too and just recently cut back on my metformin because I manage the diabetes really well and always good blood reports at my 6 months. Check up. So, franneh, it doesn't have to be difficult with the diabetes, but how did your doctor say it will interact with your crohn's??

    I am so glad you stopped by to let us know.

    Hugs, tick

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