Bad Guts All The Time....

[sky123]

Ive been in Thailand quite a few years now. Never really had a problem with the food, sometimes had something that didnt agree with but nothing major....always eaten a bit of spicy food, nothing crazy just avergae spicy and usually been ok.

But over the past year or so (Ive only started to think about this now) Ive had to go to the bathroom quite a lot, always after Ive eaten and usually after lunch (but sometimes after dinner too). Sometimes I have diarhrea and sometimes I dont but nearly as soon as I finish lunch then Im off to the bathroom, and sometimes I need to go again 5 mins later!! Often I start to feel hungry again say 30-60 mins later so im worried that my food isnt being digested correctly. At first I thought its thai food but Ive been eating thai food for a while and never really had this problem,but also I get this after eating regular western food such as a couple of sandwiches....

I want to go tho see the doc but I dont knwo what to tell him...what the hells wrong with me???

[percy2]

Ive been in Thailand quite a few years now. Never really had a problem with the food, sometimes had something that didnt agree with but nothing major....always eaten a bit of spicy food, nothing crazy just avergae spicy and usually been ok.

But over the past year or so (Ive only started to think about this now) Ive had to go to the bathroom quite a lot, always after Ive eaten and usually after lunch (but sometimes after dinner too). Sometimes I have diarhrea and sometimes I dont but nearly as soon as I finish lunch then Im off to the bathroom, and sometimes I need to go again 5 mins later!! Often I start to feel hungry again say 30-60 mins later so im worried that my food isnt being digested correctly. At first I thought its thai food but Ive been eating thai food for a while and never really had this problem,but also I get this after eating regular western food such as a couple of sandwiches....

I want to go tho see the doc but I dont knwo what to tell him...what the hells wrong with me???

Do you drink beer?

How much?

Cheers

[sky123]

Have a few beers a week (maybe 2 nights a week) and then its just usually 2 large bottles of singha so it not like Im getting tanked up all the time.

Actually I think my diet is fine, I eat muesli every morning, cup of coffee. I often prefer western food for lunch and again i like to eat fairly healthy so its pasta, salad or sandwiches (and I try to go for brown bread when I can) if its thai then I just get some chicken or pork with veg, rice and a fried egg, and always from a place where (I believe) its fresh and its always warm. Dinner can be the same again but I often like to prepare my own food at home, meat and veg (always cooked properly)....

Just had a couple of ham sandwiches for lunch (wholemeal bread) straight to the loo afterwards and hungry as hel_l 1 hr later

[jonny48]

Have a few beers a week (maybe 2 nights a week) and then its just usually 2 large bottles of singha so it not like Im getting tanked up all the time.

Actually I think my diet is fine, I eat muesli every morning, cup of coffee. I often prefer western food for lunch and again i like to eat fairly healthy so its pasta, salad or sandwiches (and I try to go for brown bread when I can) if its thai then I just get some chicken or pork with veg, rice and a fried egg, and always from a place where (I believe) its fresh and its always warm. Dinner can be the same again but I often like to prepare my own food at home, meat and veg (always cooked properly)....

Just had a couple of ham sandwiches for lunch (wholemeal bread) straight to the loo afterwards and hungry as hel_l 1 hr later

my dad has them symptoms in the uk , and he has irritable bowell syndrome

[percy2]

Have a few beers a week (maybe 2 nights a week) and then its just usually 2 large bottles of singha so it not like Im getting tanked up all the time.

Actually I think my diet is fine, I eat muesli every morning, cup of coffee. I often prefer western food for lunch and again i like to eat fairly healthy so its pasta, salad or sandwiches (and I try to go for brown bread when I can) if its thai then I just get some chicken or pork with veg, rice and a fried egg, and always from a place where (I believe) its fresh and its always warm. Dinner can be the same again but I often like to prepare my own food at home, meat and veg (always cooked properly)....

Just had a couple of ham sandwiches for lunch (wholemeal bread) straight to the loo afterwards and hungry as hel_l 1 hr later

When I drink a lot of beer I have those symptoms

You might want to try a soluble fiber supplement. Though its sounds like you have a pretty good diet it may help.

Cheers

[Wrong Turn]

Sky 123,

Do you take a worm pill every 6 months?

Zentel is one brand of worm pill. Very, very, cheap.

[lazeeboy]

Have a few beers a week (maybe 2 nights a week) and then its just usually 2 large bottles of singha so it not like Im getting tanked up all the time.

Actually I think my diet is fine, I eat muesli every morning, cup of coffee. I often prefer western food for lunch and again i like to eat fairly healthy so its pasta, salad or sandwiches (and I try to go for brown bread when I can) if its thai then I just get some chicken or pork with veg, rice and a fried egg, and always from a place where (I believe) its fresh and its always warm. Dinner can be the same again but I often like to prepare my own food at home, meat and veg (always cooked properly)....

Just had a couple of ham sandwiches for lunch (wholemeal bread) straight to the loo afterwards and hungry as hel_l 1 hr later

When I drink a lot of beer I have those symptoms

You might want to try a soluble fiber supplement. Though its sounds like you have a pretty good diet it may help.

Cheers

have you taken a worm tablet lately? go to the doctors ,they will analyse your stool and sort the problem for you.

[percy2]

Have a few beers a week (maybe 2 nights a week) and then its just usually 2 large bottles of singha so it not like Im getting tanked up all the time.

Actually I think my diet is fine, I eat muesli every morning, cup of coffee. I often prefer western food for lunch and again i like to eat fairly healthy so its pasta, salad or sandwiches (and I try to go for brown bread when I can) if its thai then I just get some chicken or pork with veg, rice and a fried egg, and always from a place where (I believe) its fresh and its always warm. Dinner can be the same again but I often like to prepare my own food at home, meat and veg (always cooked properly)....

Just had a couple of ham sandwiches for lunch (wholemeal bread) straight to the loo afterwards and hungry as hel_l 1 hr later

When I drink a lot of beer I have those symptoms

You might want to try a soluble fiber supplement. Though its sounds like you have a pretty good diet it may help.

Cheers

have you taken a worm tablet lately? go to the doctors ,they will analyse your stool and sort the problem for you.

With me there is a fairly conclusive correlation between over indulgence in beer and symptoms.

I'll make the lab tech's day a little better by not sending them my sh1t

Cheers

[Ned]

Give the muesli a miss for a while and see if that makes a difference. It can be real good food for some people but can be real hard to digest for others.

[meadish_sweetball]

Have a few beers a week (maybe 2 nights a week) and then its just usually 2 large bottles of singha so it not like Im getting tanked up all the time.

Actually I think my diet is fine, I eat muesli every morning, cup of coffee. I often prefer western food for lunch and again i like to eat fairly healthy so its pasta, salad or sandwiches (and I try to go for brown bread when I can) if its thai then I just get some chicken or pork with veg, rice and a fried egg, and always from a place where (I believe) its fresh and its always warm. Dinner can be the same again but I often like to prepare my own food at home, meat and veg (always cooked properly)....

Just had a couple of ham sandwiches for lunch (wholemeal bread) straight to the loo afterwards and hungry as hel_l 1 hr later

I don't know what you have with your muesli? If it is milk, try switching to yoghurt. Milk tends to get your stools runny, yoghurt doesnt.

[londonthai]

cut out chilli - after years of eating very spicy food your stomach (or any other part of your digestive system) might have developed an irritation or ulcers (thai cope with spicy foods through their all lifes because they get use to it from the ealy years - for europeans it might be too spicy).

if it's gut flora than life yogurt, natural one, without fruits/sugar. There are as well tablets with acidofilus - healthy bacterias.

musli is a very good, slow digesting and filling food - but the bran one cleans the guts too fast for some people. You don't need more fibre but less of it.

I don't know the symptoms of worms other than loosing weight - I don't think they irritate the bowels. You don't have to take deworming (and in fact any other medicines) regulary - only when you have symptoms.

if you are in discomforst or loosing weight go to the doctor and tell him exactly what you have written here.

going to bathroom often and after a meal generally is healthy - look at infants and animals

Ive been in Thailand quite a few years now. Never really had a problem with the food, sometimes had something that didnt agree with but nothing major....always eaten a bit of spicy food, nothing crazy just avergae spicy and usually been ok.

But over the past year or so (Ive only started to think about this now) Ive had to go to the bathroom quite a lot, always after Ive eaten and usually after lunch (but sometimes after dinner too). Sometimes I have diarhrea and sometimes I dont but nearly as soon as I finish lunch then Im off to the bathroom, and sometimes I need to go again 5 mins later!! Often I start to feel hungry again say 30-60 mins later so im worried that my food isnt being digested correctly. At first I thought its thai food but Ive been eating thai food for a while and never really had this problem,but also I get this after eating regular western food such as a couple of sandwiches....

I want to go tho see the doc but I dont knwo what to tell him...what the hells wrong with me???

[Samuian]

... can be anything, from amoebic diarrhea, dysentery, parasites, to fungus infestation of the intestines...a doc and a proper analysis will tell!

[FBN]

Ive been in Thailand quite a few years now. Never really had a problem with the food, sometimes had something that didnt agree with but nothing major....always eaten a bit of spicy food, nothing crazy just avergae spicy and usually been ok.

But over the past year or so (Ive only started to think about this now) Ive had to go to the bathroom quite a lot, always after Ive eaten and usually after lunch (but sometimes after dinner too). Sometimes I have diarhrea and sometimes I dont but nearly as soon as I finish lunch then Im off to the bathroom, and sometimes I need to go again 5 mins later!! Often I start to feel hungry again say 30-60 mins later so im worried that my food isnt being digested correctly. At first I thought its thai food but Ive been eating thai food for a while and never really had this problem,but also I get this after eating regular western food such as a couple of sandwiches....

I want to go tho see the doc but I dont knwo what to tell him...what the hells wrong with me???

Your syptoms are consistent with chronic amebiasis.

Most common of the parastic gut infections in tropical areas. Loose stools with some mucus, foam and lots of gas... Urgency to go after eating... Episodes of diarrhoea follows a carbohydrate load... No fevers, no cramps..

Difficult to confirm by lab tests. Usually a large fresh stool sample is needed; microscopy may find the small "cysts" you secrete but they are small and not easy to detect. Actual visualisation of live amoeba is the best diagnosis. Blood tests no help really.

Final solution may just be to take the required medication. (Fasigen, over three days in divided doses..).

Re-infection occurs easily from eating fresh, raw salads and other vegs.

Useful info are available on the internet by searching both amebiasis and Fasigen..

Its only my "gut" feeling

Good Luck..

[dee123]

I eat and usually go straight tothe "john" after.....if its spicy like really spicy.....it will be straight away if not so spicy longer ....when i was younger used to use the lav straight after sports when relaxed,......I reckon everyone is different timing so i don't worry...but check what water supply its almost impossible not to have the runs in thailand unless you control everything you eat by yourself.....

[FBN]

I eat and usually go straight tothe "john" after.....if its spicy like really spicy.....it will be straight away if not so spicy longer ....when i was younger used to use the lav straight after sports when relaxed,......I reckon everyone is different timing so i don't worry...but check what water supply its almost impossible not to have the runs in thailand unless you control everything you eat by yourself.....

It's called "gastro-colic reflex" (anything goes into the stomach and it stimulates peristalses in the lower gut..)and normally present in babies. Adults by and large lose this reflex but may be normal for many.. In amebiasis, it becomes very prominent again...

[dee123]

"the mind likes a strange idea as little as the body likes a strange protein and resists it with similar energy.It would perhaps not be too fanciful to say that a new idea is the most quickly acting antigen known to science." -Wilfred Trotter,1941

[Sir Burr]

Get yourself checked out for stomach ulsers.

[percy2]

musli is a very good, slow digesting and filling food - but the bran one cleans the guts too fast for some people. You don't need more fibre but less of it.

[jackoneilone]

We cant help you here. There are many possible causes and many possible solutions and it aint possible to diagnose your condition over the internet.

If you want to avoid the embarrasment as best as you can STOP ALL FIBER! NO VEGS NO FRUITS NO MUESLI NO FIBER SUPPS NOTHING! Go meat WHITE RICE fish WHITE BREAD etc no fiber and stay away from all SPICY STUFF and stay away from milk however consume yakult or other bacteria filled yoghurts. Give it 3 days or so and see if you havent become regular with all that food and no fiber then youve got an issue. Food like that would make it very hard to excrete since itll be very solid and not soft etc.

[Sheryl]

If I understand you correctly, there was no change in your usual diet when this problem began; if so, it is unlikely to be due to your diet.

Sounds like you have either a chronic parasitic condition or bowel disease (of which there are many possibles).

If it is parasites, given how long the problem has persisted, it is most likely giardia or ameoba. Both are treated with fasigyn (tinidazole), the higher dosage indicated for amoeba will eradicate both.

If you try that and the problem still persists then you must see a doctor; go to a gastroenterologist. Could be anything from irritable bowel syndrome to cancer.

Not to scare you, but a change in bowel patters which persists is one of the cardinal cancer warning signs and warrants attention, especially if you are over 40.

In summary, either see a gastro-eneterologist off the bat or take a course of fasigyn first to see if it works and see a gastro-enterologist if it doesn't. If you are over 40 and have not had a physical check-up recently the second choice is more prudent.

The doctor will need to do a stool test (for blood and parasites) and rectal exam, and maybe also a colonoscopy.

Any gastroenterologist would be able to do this (but I always recommend you choose a doctor with board certification from a western country). If cancer and parasites are ruled out then you are left with various disturbances of motility and at that point should see a doctor who specializes in same. I seem to recall that Bangkok Hospital had a few.

Good luck.

[tuffy]

Ive been in Thailand quite a few years now. Never really had a problem with the food, sometimes had something that didnt agree with but nothing major....always eaten a bit of spicy food, nothing crazy just avergae spicy and usually been ok.

But over the past year or so (Ive only started to think about this now) Ive had to go to the bathroom quite a lot, always after Ive eaten and usually after lunch (but sometimes after dinner too). Sometimes I have diarhrea and sometimes I dont but nearly as soon as I finish lunch then Im off to the bathroom, and sometimes I need to go again 5 mins later!! Often I start to feel hungry again say 30-60 mins later so im worried that my food isnt being digested correctly. At first I thought its thai food but Ive been eating thai food for a while and never really had this problem,but also I get this after eating regular western food such as a couple of sandwiches....

I want to go tho see the doc but I dont knwo what to tell him...what the hells wrong with me???

I have pretty much the same symptoms except for the feeling hungry right after I eat.

I travel back and forth from Thailand frequently and as soon as I leave LOS I seem to leave my problem there as well. Sometimes the same day and sometimes with in a few days my system is some what back to normal. Usually the same day I arrive back in LOS my guts are on red alert until i leave again (even if I stay away from spicy food). I have been to the doctor in the US and they can find nothing wrong with me including parasites. I have been thinking I would try a Thai doctor and see what they can come up with. My guess is IBS.

If you find something out sky123 please post what it is.

[londonthai]

ir might be as simple as different water - some poeople with a sensitive guts do use bottled water even to toothbrush.

IBS is related to stress - so unless you are working in thailand and holidaying in the usa it's not a case.

even with very similar symptoms there might be a different problem - go to the thai doctor yourself

[sky123]

Ok thanks everyone. Lot of info here. Since Ive posted Ive tried eating in smaller amounts so that Im not totally full, so trying to have 4 meals a day instead of 2. Got some charcoal pills as well as I read somewhere that they can help, had one today after dinner and felt ok...Going to give them a week or so and do some research on the net about all these different parasites and things and see how things go.

[percy2]

If you want to avoid the embarrasment as best as you can STOP ALL FIBER! NO VEGS NO FRUITS NO MUESLI NO FIBER SUPPS NOTHING!

musli is a very good, slow digesting and filling food - but the bran one cleans the guts too fast for some people. You don't need more fibre but less of it.

I disagree.

I think you are confusing soluble and insoluble fiber.

Soluble fiber will paradoxically relieve the symptoms of both Diarrhea and Constipation.

The foundation of the proper Irritable Bowel Syndrome diet is soluble fiber. Why is soluble fiber so crucial? Unlike any other food category, it soothes and regulates the digestive tract, stabilizes the intestinal contractions resulting from the gastrocolic reflex (which go awry in people with IBS due to a brain-bowel miscommunication), and normalizes bowel function from either extreme. This means it regulates both over-motility and under-motility of the colon (people with IBS suffer from one or the other, or fluctuate between the two). As a result, soluble fiber prevents and relieves both diarrhea and constipation.

Source

Cheers

[Ijustwannateach]

Chronic giardia is also a possibility, as it is milder than the one with amoebas. You really need to get a stool check as an initial step.

[Trevor]

Try a good probiotic to regularise your good bacteria : http://www.iherb.com/ProductDetails.aspx?c...d=3160&at=0

Yoghurt / Yakult is a good start while you're waiting.

[luumak]

This sounds to me like giardia to me as well - go get a stool test, they are very cheap.

Flagyl over ten days - nasty stuff

I just re read this - Id bet on it.

try this: drink a bunch of water - do you rush to the toilet in minutes? eat food and rush to toilet in about 30min? cannot contain your bowels, you just 'lose it'?

You may have gas lots or none and the rotten egg farts are not always present in adv cases as well.

Are you losing weight becasue of all the toilet probs??

GIARDIA :-)

Edited November 2, 2007 by luumak

[wpcoe]

Try a good probiotic to regularise your good bacteria : http://www.iherb.com/ProductDetails.aspx?c...d=3160&at=0

Yoghurt / Yakult is a good start while you're waiting.

While that looks like a good probiotic cocktail, I'd be leery of ordering online. How do they ship it? Many of the probiotics, including acidophilus, are heat sensitive and must be kept chilled until consumption, including chilled during shipping. When I got my acidophilus from the hospital pharmacy, they even packed it with a block of ice to keep it from getting warm before I got home.

If you go to a place like Whole Foods stores in the US, the entire selection of probiotics (and there are dozens of options) is in a refrigerated case.

It has only been in the last year or so that I've found reliable sources of plain (unsugared, with no chemical additives) yogurt here in Thailand. I read someplace that the processing that most of the fruitened, sugared yogurt goes through kills much of the beneficial bacteria. If I'm in the mood for sweet or smoother yogurt, I add sucralose (e.g. Splenda) just before I eat it. Usually, though, I just prefer raw, plain yogurt.

[Ranger77]

Trevor, that looks like a great probiotic formula to me (and for me). Yes, good friendly gut bacteria is so important. Yet, so miserably overlooked by the orthodox medical establishment where I came from (USA).

I personally right here while living in Thailand, spent a few years rebuilding my gut flora. And also rebuilt my gut permeability or integrity, via essential fats such as tons of expensive, high quality olive oil consumed in small RAW doses throughout the day. Brand name: Bertolli)! Powerful stuff. What a difference it makes.

But getting back to rebuilding my gut flora... What really made me tip my balance for the good was I ordered a 500 gram bottle of FOS (a special starch which is extracted from artichokes) which good gut bacteria thrive on but humans and the bad bacteria can't digest. That FOS really did it for me. (Note: FOS is the abbreviation for a pleasant-tasting, concentrated source of fructooligosaccharides (FOS), a non-digestible carbohydrate, not a brand name. In this respect it is the opposite of muesli and brown bread.)

Bye.

Edited November 3, 2007 by Ranger77

[Ranger77]

Back to the person who started this topic...

--- Note --------

One of the best-researched herbs is ginger, which has been used for centuries to treat stomach upsets caused by influenza and other illnesses. Researchers have discovered that ginger root contains chemicals called gingerols and shogaols, which relax the intestinal tract, relieving vomiting and diarrhea that often accompany stomach flu. The herb, in fact, has demonstrated a success rate of 75% in curing stomach flu. And Japanese scientists have discovered that ginger extracts inhibit gastric lesions by as much as 97%.

[LE Magazine April 2001, REPORT: Ancient Remedies, IN USE TODAY, By Jeffrey Laign]

-----------------

If I had to guess I would guess that you have a common case of common parasitic tiny worms. General intestinal health is important, but you need an immediate therapeutic regimen.

So I would suggest you experiment with eating lots of "gingery" dishes such as Khai Phat King, but most especially Tom yam Kung or Tom yam Khai. It's the Tom yam or plant components that repels most common parasites in this local ecosystem for centuries. Chew up and eat all of those plant parts, which most people just leave in the bowl. You are in need of a quicker, more intense therapeutic effect from the herbals. This is my personal estimate.

[To make sure you are identifying the correct Thai food, see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_yam ]

If you are having to beef up your intestinal flora on a shoe string budget, why not kill two birds with one stone. 1 -- Fix/improve too many parasitic worms in the GI tract (they are ubiquitous in this environment). 2 -- Fix/improve too little good GI or intestinal bacteria (nearly everybody is deficient in this respect).

'The one stone':

Fast for many days on Som Tam without much starches, sugars or other heavy complex carbohydrates (most especially your muesli and brown bread). This regimen would create a very inhospitable environment for most or many GI parasites via the fresh raw chillies which are universally repellent/toxic to parasites and simultaneously the lack of nutrient/caloric food that these parasites need daily, and on its own Som Tam's crushed/shredded raw cabbage and raw green mango has direct therapeutic effects on the intestines (due to copious amounts of raw soluble fiber and ideal healing roughage). Additionally the crushed/shredded raw cabbage and raw green mango is a preferential food for the multiplication on any preexisting Lactobacillus acidophilus good bacteria in your bowels.

[To make sure you are identifying the correct Thai food, see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Som_tam ]

And then and again if you are feeling too hungry after days of fasting on Som Tam, add in some Tom yam Kung or Tom yam Khai with rice. (See wikipedia.)

So starve'em and give them the begeevies.

Bye.

Edited November 3, 2007 by Ranger77