slimjim30

Hi everyone - I'm looking to gain something from others experiences. Sorry in advance for the length of this post.

I quit drinking nearly 3 months ago and am continuing to have stomach problems and sometimes diarrhoea.

I've been seeing a Gastroenterologist for a while now. I've had blood tests, an endoscopy, stool tests, stomach biopsies, and nothing appears to be wrong.
I've also had an ultrasound of my upper abdomen and my liver, gallbladder, pancreas, spleen and kidneys all look normal.
My full blood picture shows everything as normal except for slightly elevated liver enzymes.

I don't have gastritis, an ulcer, any scarring from previous ulcers, duodenal problems, parasitic infections, bacterial infections, pancreatitis, gall stones, liver problems or anything else.

So I got diagnosed with dysfunctional dyspepsia and am waiting for a follow up appointment to explain this to me. From reading, this diagnosis basically means you have stomach problems but there's no obvious reason why.

So I guess this means that my drinking history probably caused this, and that it will take some time to resolve itself naturally (if at all).

And before anyone asks, yes, I have fully detailled my drinking history to every doctor involved in my treatment.
I'm not looking for medical advice as from my post you can probably see I've had pretty extensive testing done. I am just interested to know if anyone else with alcoholism has had stomach and diarrhoea problems with no obvious cause, and how long it took to resolve?

Thank you

Dee74

I suffered with stomach problems for a long time, both during and after my drinking years.
The best anyone can say for me is 'probably IBS" lol

One curious thing tho - I traded my old fridge in for a current model and my problems have gone away maybe 90%....I'm guessing 40 yo fridges run a little hotter than the 4 degrees C they need to be LOL

D

slimjim30

Thanks Dee - sometimes it's reassurring to hear that other people have had the same problem.

It's frustrating me right now as it affects my concentration, which in turn affects work and my enjoyment of life.

I'm happy that all my medical tests came back as "good" but I also wish I had a treatable diagnosis.

Oh, and my fridge is only 3 so I hope it's not that

On the positive side, my blood pressure has dropped from 160/100 to 119/61 since I quit. I'm hoping I can come off the blood pressure meds when I see my cardiologist in a month.

bigguyslimm

I to had bad stomach problems for a while after I quit. It would like come and go. My stomach was very worked up some days and for no reason. I would burp a lot. Some times I feel full when I haven't even had food, and then there were times were I'd eat a lot and feel like my stomach was rapidly emptying. I'm now passed the 5 month mark and I don't seem to feel that way as much now. Use to be many days a week and now usually one or two, if that.

eJoshua

Not giving medical advice here, but many in my family suffered from unknown various stomach ailments for years. We finally discovered it was due to a gluten intolerance that was hereditary. I'm sure your GI doc has looked into it, but might be worth investigating with him.

FWIW, I didn't have any problems after a few weeks of sobriety and I don' think I'm one of the ones in the family that has a problem with gluten.

susanlauren

A family member had serious GI problems but everything came back negative. This family member was not a drinker, by the way. Finally, after a little internet searching, he realized what was happening to him seemed to match celiac disease (gluten intolerance). He followed up with his doctor, changed his diet and his symptoms began to disappear. If it were me, I would be asking my doctor if he or she had run tests for celiac. Susan Lauren

switchboard

I just posted, but it doesn't seem to be here. Anyway, it took almost a year for my digestive things to completely normalize. I had diarrhea for quite awhile in the first several months, despite healthy and balanced eating, and then several months more of unpredictable and not-quite-normal looking/feeling bathroom visits. (Sorry if tmi.). Glad you are getting yourself thoroughly checked. That must put your mind at ease.

BullDog777

after going through a battery of testing myself, i would almost always wake up in the morning and become really nauseous and sometimes i would vomit. turns out it was just overactive stomach acid. the doctor put me on an over the counter acid reducer and it's really helped the issue.

hope you feel better.

chebella

I'm having some stomach problems right now LOL. I basicly have it all the time for the last 6months. Sober or drinking , well, the longest I´ve been sober lately is maybe 3 days....
It's just painful , that's my only symptom.

dawnrunner

The only thing I would add to the above posts is: make sure you are getting the best most balanced diet you can eat. It should include:

1. A probiotic such as yogurt with active cultures, or buttermilk, or those yogurt drinks health food stores sell.

2. Adequate fiber such as whole grains, flax seed (ground), brown rice etc.

3. Fresh fruits and vegetables.

It should not include: Too much fat, too much red meat, too much sugar, too many prepared foods with their 'mystery' ingredients (jagged little chemicals - look for a short ingredient list, and ideally a list of one item such as "apple"!).

And eating small meals at regular intervals throughout the day is also helpful. Hope you get relief and congratulations on being sober!!

slimjim30

Thanks everyone I'll check out celiac disease.

It's also reassuring that others suffered this for quite a while.

I'm on nexium at the moment but I'll discuss coming off it with my doc. I had my very low dose increased to a very high dose right before the diarrhoea started happening. I didn't join the dots until my dad mentioned getting diarrhoea from nexium over lunch today.

He's a non drinker and always has been.

freshstart57

The obvious medical possibilities are intolerance of gluten or lactose. Your Dr. can help you with an exclusion diet so that you can see if either of these are a problem.

I knew that the flora in my gut were in bad shape when I stopped drinking, and replacing ethanol with something that had to be digested was an issue in the beginning. I found relief in just a couple of days by going the probiotic route and adding 'good bacteria' capsules at mealtimes. You can find these at any drugstore or health food store. I agree with the rest of Dawnrunner's advice too.