i was out of the country for a week, now e. coli scare

okay, this is a little bit complicated and i'm not necessarily asking for medical advice, as i've already sought it, but just some actual experience with this?

i was diagnosed with IBS last year after having my gallbladder removed (i'm 21, female). my BM's are very inconsistent - sometimes they're 'normal', other times it's very loose stools. i know what my "triggers" are for my IBS, and i try to avoid those at all costs.

i was out of the country in the dominican republic for vacation from august 6-13. i stayed at a resort with a friend. a lot of the foods i ate made my stomach gurgle a bit, but nothing too crazy. the person i went with was experiencing severe stomach pains and had bad diarrhea. there was ONE day when after eating breakfast, i literally ran to the bathroom and had diarrhea and was throwing up at the same time. after that, i didn't have too many problems.

when we got back, my BM's looked a bit weird - the only way i can explain it is that they looked like they were covered in a mucusy film. this lasted for about 2 days. after that, my bm's were pretty normal.

now, like i said - i have IBS. my stomach is pretty much ALWAYS hurting and not feeling 100% normal. the person i went with was still experiencing bad diahrrea and stomach pains, so when she went to the doctor a few days ago she found out she has e. coli poisoning, and the doctor told her that her kidneys would have shut down if she waited another day.

now, i'm flipping out. how can i tell if my symptoms are just IBS, or e. coli? i called my doctor and had to give a stool sample, which i need to bring to a lab on monday. i'm just nervous! my back has been hurting a bit, so of course, me being the hypochondriac i am, figures my kidneys are just shutting down.

when one has e. coli, does the diarrhea HAVE to be bloody, or are there instances in which this isn't necessary? what is the treatment for e. coli? it's going to be a few days until the stool sample is tested for e. coli, so i just wanted to make sure i'm not going to die before then.

Don't worry. YOu will not die :)) you just need to cleanse your system AND take the necessary supplements. I struggled against a deadly bacteria called Pylori and also there was a possibility that I had e-coli. 

with the right medications, I was also under a specific diet to cleanse my body. NOT FASTING or JUICING or anything of that sort but I eliminated caffeine and I drank plenty of water. I also learnt what could kill the bad bacteria in my system naturally IN ADDITION to the drug that the doctor prescribed. I remember Cranberry juice is a natural killer of the bad bacteria.

one of the things you need to know, if you are trying to kill bad bacteria in your system, is to take probiotics to help you with the fight. Kefir, probiotics supplements and yogurt are your friends. I used to take smart flora. the strongest probiotics I could ever find in the health store.

if you want to PM me, I will send you a website that contains more info on how to repair your gut.

remember, this is from someone who is not in the medical profession but I speak from experience.Ask your doctor and follow his advice.

Don't worry, you will be fine:)) good luck to you.

safina, it is a bad idea to give out advice on stuff you dont know too much about. helicobacter pylori is not deadly. h. pylori is a bacteria resistant to stomach acid. it is thought to be present in almost 50% of the population in the upper g.i tract. it is thought to be a leading cause of gastric and duodenal ulcers - which while unpleasant, are not deadly. it is treated with triple therapy consisting of an antibiotic clarithromycin and a proton pump inhibitor.

on the other hand e.coli can be very very serious. especially given that you have chronic stomach problems. there are a number of different types of e.coli. ETEC (enterotoxigenic ecoli), enterohaemorrhagic (EHEC), and about 4 others. so it is not necessarily the case that you have to have bloody stools. this might only be the case with EHEC. EHEC, however is responsible for severe complications such as haemolytic uraemic syndrom leading to kidney failure.

you have already contacted your doc which is the best thing can do. you are being looked after. in the meantime try to relax and just wait for the results. certainly gettin anxious will inflame your IBS and lead to more gut problems.

fidget, if you read my post carefully, I said that the OP should follow her doctor advice and I am not a doctor. I just speak from experience.

according to mayo clinic  and cleveland clinic websites, H-pylori can cause ulcers and stomach cancer. that is what I meant by " deadly". I didn't say it is untreatable but it is certainly dangerous. 

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/h-pylori/DS0 0958

http://my.clevelandclinic.org/disorders/ulcer s/hic_heliocobactor_pylori_and_stomach_cancer .aspx

there is even a strong possibilty that there is a link between H-pylori and sudden infant death syndrome.

 http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerende r.fcgi?artid=1718561

If you don't think that H-pylori is dangerous/ deadly, then fine, but I sure do.

i also suffer with h.pylori infection. SIDS has been linked to many things. as it stands the h.pylori theory is just another guess thrown out there. i just think you need to be careful about categorising the two in the same group.

e.coli certainly can be deadly. and i think you were too quick off the mark to reassure the OP. there really is no comparison between h.pylori and e.coli.

e.coli is responsible for thousands of deaths worldwide and a worrying amount of complications. i also think it is unwise to suggest supplements or cleansing ideas to some one who is already suffering underlying stomach probs. this could further aggrevate it

I was not trying to compare between h.pylori and e.coli. I just said that I had both.

well, since you suffer from h.pylori , I wish you well. but of course, you know it is not fun. it can cause ulcers ( as in my case). I was warned that i need to treat the ulcer otherwise it will turn to a cancer. Again, I said I speak from my experience and that was my experience.

cranberry juice is not something you would worry about. Maybe there is something I don't know about it, if so please let me know. 

as for the supplements, I mentioned kefir, yogurt and friendly bacteria. I don't see any cleansing ideas in my post. I even said no juicing, no fasting, nothing crazy.

be well.

I am also hoping that the OP will not misunderstand my post. She has to take the matter seriously. I was just trying to calm her down not underestimate her problem. 

i am definitely waiting for the results of my stool sample, but i haven't even dropped it off yet because the lab is not open on weekends. i definitely will be following my doctor's orders, but i guess i'm just paranoid because i haven't really gotten any orders yet.

i know e. coli poisoning can be extremely dangerous, which is why i'm so worried. i looked up the symptoms of kidney failure, and i am just a wreck. i had shortness of breath earlier, and that was listed as one of the symptoms. i also have anxiety, and all of this is overwhelming me, so the shortness of breath could have been just due to that. loss of appetite is a symptom, i have lost my appetite within the past week. i don't want to be sitting around making up excuses as to why i'm feeling a certain way, as i don't want to underestimate what this may be, but i am really really scared. i dont know what i should do. my back is hurting where the kidneys are located, and my stomach is still hurting. i don't know what i should do. shoudl i go to the hospital, or just wait it out?

i have been known to be a hypochondriac in the past, but i believe i have a reason to be worried right now.