travelers diarrhea followed by constipation?

Question

when i was in barcelona i got diarrhea for about 10 days and for a while had a loss of appetite and a little fatigue. now that i am home the diarrhea took 2 days to go away but not i am constipated, is this normal. i go to the bathroom every day more than once but i know it is not normal, if u know what im saying. its been like this for 3 days now. This whole time i have been feeling something in my lower right groin area, it does not hurt and i only notice this when i think about it so i have not thought much of it until now. how long until i call a doctor?

Answer 1

if you go to the bathroom every day you most certainly are not constipated....constipation is when you don't go at all. If you mean your stools have firmed up more, then that is a pretty natural response and I would not worry about it.

Answer 2

Traveller's diarrhea is quite common, usually caused by ingesting the local bacteria via food or drink. Because the bacteria is different from what you already have in your gut, a bit of biological warfare ensues. You get diarrhea, maybe some pain and cramping. The fact that you say you are constipated but still go more than once daily is okay. One man's constipation is another's diarrhea; frequency of bowel movements depends on diet, exercise, health, and resident microbes in the gut. For some, diarrhea means going every day.

Switching between diarrhea and constipation can be a hallmark of irritable bowel syndrome. One line of thought is that IBS is linked to an overgrowth of bacteria, and eradicating bacteria to "reset" the gut ecology results in marked improvement of symptoms. There are 2 strategies to eradicate, but both require supervision/prescription by a gastroenterologist. One is an elemental amino acid-only diet for 2 weeks (DON'T TRY THIS WITHOUT A DOCTOR!!); the other is Xifaxan, the only antibiotic currently approved specifically for treating traveller's diarrhea.

If this problem persists into early next week, make an appointment with a gastroenterologist who is used to treating motility problems, IBS or GI infections. Not all of them will know what to do.

Answer 3

Best Constipation Cures

Answer 4

Sounds like you caught a virus or something and now your whole system is out of wack. Going to the doctor is always a good idea if you are not sure if it is serious or not.

If you really don't want to go to the doctor you may want to try balancing your digestive track yourself. Eat only rice, toast, bananas, apple sauce and drink plenty of water for a few days. You should also add yogurt and/or a probiotic daily. Dannon puts out a probiotic, and is found in the yogurt aisle. Regular yogurt is good for the digestive tract or you can try Activia.

Avoid caffine,alcohol and dairy...except the yogurt, You may have gotten food poisoning or something. The real danger comes from dehydrating. As long as your are not running a temperature and drinking enough.......that's half the battle. To see if you are dehydrated you can do a skin test. Pinch the skin on the back of your hand, if it goes right back flat then you are well hydrated. If it stays...then get to a doctor right away.

Answer 5

It is not uncommen to get diarrhea when travelling to another country. Many countries may not purify their water as well as your digestive system is used to. Diarreah is also caused when the body starts to dehydreate as well.... The problem with diarrhea is that you lose alot of water, which makes the problem worse until your body is dehydreated, then you get constipated. The best thing to do would be to drink bottled water, or filtered boiled water for a week or so.

Good luck
Jer

Answer 6

I wouldn;t wait, you should go to the doctor now, in your groin it is probably a lymphnode, they are located in your neck groin, and armpits, it being swollen, signifies that you do definatly have some sort of parasite in your body, hopefully you have rid it, and now your not going, i would see a doctor, and he;ll know what to dol you should be drinking excessive amounts of water at least until you get to him, and i would really try to rest as much as possible, you should eat some yogurt as this has natural bacteria in it that helps your intestines get rid of nasty bacteria and such in your intestines, this can be very serious as even though you don;t have diarehhia anymore, you can still have this parasite brewing in your intestines, Get lots of rest, drink LOTS OF WATER, incorporate a signifigant amount of fiber to help clean the bowel, i mean things like all bran cereal, bran muffins, fresh fruits and veggies, if you eat a huge bowl of all bran cereal guaranteed it will get you going again,DO NOT TAKE ANY LAXATIVES, AND DO NOT TAKE ANYTHING TO STOP DIAREHHIA IF YOU GET IT AGAIN, YOUR BODY DOES THIS TO GET RID OF ANY BAD STUFF IN YOU AND IF YOU STOP THE DIAREHIA YOU COULD DIE;. SO IF IT COMES BACK DON;T TAKE ANYTHING TO STOP IT. after having diarrhea for ten days, you are probably somewhat dehydrated as well, your body loses all its importnt minerals such as potassium and sodium, electrolytes etc., you should go out and buy some stuff called gastrolyte, this has all the important minerals that your body needs and probably doesn;t have much of now that you pooped your insides out, the electolytes in gastrolyte are absorbed immediately, and i tell you after a couple of bottles, you will feel like a million dollars, hope this helps, get to the doctor drink lots of water and take care
baby

Answer 7

it will proabably run it's course.
I would suggest you do a parasite cleanse for a month in case you picked something up....
then reintroduce some lactobacillus back into your system to replace the good flora you need in your stomach to help digestion

Answer 8

I would call right away
if its that bad......
but if it only hurts at certain times,
wait a day or so and see what happens