Relapse or IBS after drinking too much?
Posted: Sun Feb 10, 2019 7:51 am
For context, I am a 19-year-old girl, 5'2 and weigh 43kg/95lbs (used to be 48kg/105lbs but still struggling to put on weight after c. diff), so it does not take much for me to experience the effects of alcohol. Drinking age is 18 where I live. I finished my course of Vancomycin end of June 2018, and am 7 months post c. diff. I get M sometimes when I eat my 'trigger foods', so I avoid eating those. I drink very rarely (3 times in the last 7 months) but snack lots and stay well-hydrated when I do. This always goes well for me.
This time was different. Friday 08/02 I went out not having eaten a very big meal beforehand. I had 5 standard drinks (spirits) and did not snack at all, nor drink enough water, something I know was irresponsible and dangerous. Sat morning 09/02, I experienced my first hangover, I'll spare you all the details. I had one bout of D and went to bed, and slept for most of the day. To eat, I had a few pieces of toast and some oatmeal.
Today (Sunday 10/02), I have had an urgent need to go 7 times in the frame of 6 hours, except it's just clear, almost watery mucus. I have put this down to 1) not eating much on Saturday, and 2) a bad flare-up of IBS. Except I have never had this much mucus w/o stool in one day, let alone any M after alcohol. I am also extremely bloated. I have taken some s. boulardii which always helps me with PI-IBS diarrhea, and other probiotics because I'm worried the alcohol disrupted my still-restoring gut flora, if that's possible.
I guess I am just looking for reassurance that this isn't a relapse of c. diff, that this is my body trying to recover after taking that much alcohol on an empty stomach? Or is it possible that some of the good flora was killed off that night, allowing any dormant c. diff spores to take over and cause an infection? I have not been in any health or aged-care facilities since June of last year, so I don't think I have been exposed to any large amounts of c.diff bacteria, except for what is in the general environment.
Has anyone else had a similar experience with c.diff recovery and alcohol, or know if this is a sign of a relapse? If it sounds more like IBS, why would there be so much more M than usual?
Thank you
This time was different. Friday 08/02 I went out not having eaten a very big meal beforehand. I had 5 standard drinks (spirits) and did not snack at all, nor drink enough water, something I know was irresponsible and dangerous. Sat morning 09/02, I experienced my first hangover, I'll spare you all the details. I had one bout of D and went to bed, and slept for most of the day. To eat, I had a few pieces of toast and some oatmeal.
Today (Sunday 10/02), I have had an urgent need to go 7 times in the frame of 6 hours, except it's just clear, almost watery mucus. I have put this down to 1) not eating much on Saturday, and 2) a bad flare-up of IBS. Except I have never had this much mucus w/o stool in one day, let alone any M after alcohol. I am also extremely bloated. I have taken some s. boulardii which always helps me with PI-IBS diarrhea, and other probiotics because I'm worried the alcohol disrupted my still-restoring gut flora, if that's possible.
I guess I am just looking for reassurance that this isn't a relapse of c. diff, that this is my body trying to recover after taking that much alcohol on an empty stomach? Or is it possible that some of the good flora was killed off that night, allowing any dormant c. diff spores to take over and cause an infection? I have not been in any health or aged-care facilities since June of last year, so I don't think I have been exposed to any large amounts of c.diff bacteria, except for what is in the general environment.
Has anyone else had a similar experience with c.diff recovery and alcohol, or know if this is a sign of a relapse? If it sounds more like IBS, why would there be so much more M than usual?
Thank you