It all started the last week of January. I was perfectly healthy f 24 year old. The last week of Jan. 07, it appeared i had some sort of flu. I vomited, stomach pain, nasal congestion. At the same time I was on antibiotics for a UTI, UTI cleared. During this week I came down with diarrhea, stomach rumbling, after anything I ate. The Macrobid antiobiotic I was on for 1 week. Thought initially stomach was upset due to antibiotics, but since then stomach has never been the same. Since then I am left with loose stool, change in taste in my mouth, and loss of appetite and joint pain in my back that sometimes is felt in my buttock and leg. What scares me the most is the loss of appetite and loose stool with particles of undigested food. I had a colonoscopy done in March and an upper endoscopy done in April. No signs of inflammation, but upper endoscopy showed h. pylori infection but no ulcer. I took a 2 week triple thereaphy antibiotic/anti-acid therapy to eradicate it. Symptoms still remain despite the therapy. In August, I was given prednisone for a week which helped with joint pain, but stomach issues still remain. Anyone have any ideas what I should do next? My PCP thinks I should be referred to a rheumatologist, for possible autoimmune disease? I have had many many blood work done, CBC diff, thyroid, ANA... but the only thing blood tests show CRP and SED rate elevated, monocytes elevated... does anyone believe I should continue seeing a GI specialist or stop there and go see a Rheumatologist?


It all started the last week of January. I was perfectly healthy f 24 year old. The last week of Jan. 07, it appeared i had some sort of flu. I vomited, stomach pain, nasal congestion. At the same time I was on antibiotics for a UTI, UTI cleared. During this week I came down with diarrhea, stomach rumbling, after anything I ate. The Macrobid antiobiotic I was on for 1 week. Thought initially stomach was upset due to antibiotics, but since then stomach has never been the same. Since then I am left with loose stool, change in taste in my mouth, and loss of appetite and joint pain in my back that sometimes is felt in my buttock and leg. What scares me the most is the loss of appetite and loose stool with particles of undigested food. I had a colonoscopy done in March and an upper endoscopy done in April. No signs of inflammation, but upper endoscopy showed h. pylori infection but no ulcer. I took a 2 week triple thereaphy antibiotic/anti-acid therapy to eradicate it. Symptoms still remain despite the therapy. In August, I was given prednisone for a week which helped with joint pain, but stomach issues still remain. Anyone have any ideas what I should do next? My PCP thinks I should be referred to a rheumatologist, for possible autoimmune disease? I have had many many blood work done, CBC diff, thyroid, ANA... but the only thing blood tests show CRP and SED rate elevated, monocytes elevated... does anyone believe I should continue seeing a GI specialist or stop there and go see a Rheumatologist?

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Do both. Continue to see your GI AND a rheumatologist.

Before you said you had a normal colonoscopy, I was thinking "chronic clostridium difficile colitis" or "new onset IBD," but now I'm thinking there may actually be a de novo rheumatological condition.

Elevated ESR and CRP mean some inflammatory ongoing process in the body. They are VERY nonspecific and will go up with a common cold. JOint pains, especially lower back pains in a young woman this far out from the initial diarrhea episode in JAnuary MAY be suggestive of an autoimmune sacroiliitis.

Arguing against a rheumatological condition, however, is a normal ANA, although you can get what's called seronegative arthritis or sacroiliitis, and there are a few conditions that are ANA negative (like PBC, but that's a liver condition, unrelated to your symptoms and profile).

You MAY have postinfectious IBS, which is when a self-limited GI infection kick off a new order of hypersensitivity. But then, your ESR and CRP should not be elevated. Which brings us back to the initial statement, which is to go see both specialists. Good luck!


What other tests should I get to rule out anything else? Do you think the colonoscopys or endoscopys were performed too early to see any damage to my intestinal lining? Should I get an Upper GI X Ray Series, SIBO hydrogen breath test, or a HIDA Scan to see if its anything else? Should I repeat stool culturing?
I just dont think I have symptoms of post-IBS.
I dont have pain after a meal, just flatulence and a complete loss of appetite.
I feel like my mouth tastes different, but not when im eating.
I have loose stool with undigested parts, black specks, once every morning.
The pain I have is in my lower back and not in my abdomen.
Could it be something else? I tried bentyl, dicyclomine, reglan, paxil, all did not help my digestion.
As for autoimmune disease, I have a history of back pain due to stress, and i think its triggered by my general unwellness from my belly.
What else should I do? I'm at a lost...