Jerico Posted February 12, 2019 Share Posted February 12, 2019 (edited) Hi everyone, I came to you guys because your collective knowledge is very impressive. Last December I stopped eating dairy and saw a lot of improvement in my nightly stomachaches and really smelly gas. Then this past spring/summer I started having daily diarrhea, stomachaches, horrible gas. I started eating foods you'd eat when you were recovering from an illness: applesauce, toast, mashed potatoes, rice. I was able to add in chicken, eggs, bananas, brown rice, butter, jam/jelly, very small amounts of cooked carrot and berries. Red meat and fruits/veggies really bug me. I can't eat fruits or veggies without getting diarrhea. I am taking a probiotic and I was taking digestive enzymes, but forgot about those. I should restart them. I have Medishare and have had them for 18 months but maybe I don't really understand it as I am afraid it's going to cost me my whole annual family portion, which we technically have but it's our emergency fund and we have no way to replace it (in fact my husband will either receive a paycut next year or be moved to part time- he is a pastor: no benefits). We live very rurally. There are 5 different gastroenterologist doctors at two offices listed in a town 2 hours away. One office never answered their phone. The other sent me to billing to verify they took Medishare and they never called me back. I'm looking for both options on why I am having this problem, what I can do about it, encouragement that it won't drain my savings, etc. [Some possibly unrelated info: Two years ago I paid $800 to help my son with his stomach issues (which have completely resolved) and never actually received any help). My grandma was diagnosed with colitis years ago and just avoids trigger foods.] Edited January 13, 2020 by Jerico Updated Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scholastica Posted February 12, 2019 Share Posted February 12, 2019 You need testing. It could be any number of things and really a GI doc is what you need. I would try the office again and figure out the billing. A year with diarrhea is not something to mess around with. It could be something as simple as Fructose intolerance (hence the problems with fruits and veggies) or it could be something more serious. Please get checked. 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ottakee Posted February 12, 2019 Share Posted February 12, 2019 Not really a help for your medical condition but have you looked into state medicaid insurance and/or a marketplace health plan? If your income is quite low you might qualify for a plan that would allow you better access to health care without the worry of depleting all of your emergency funds. 5 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerico Posted February 12, 2019 Author Share Posted February 12, 2019 The only state programs we qualify for are, ironically, school lunches 😂. I don't fully understand as we basically don't have money for anything. We even go to a dental college for dental work because a local cash rate is way too expensive. The state marketplace is about 3x what we are paying right now. I may have to take my search outside a 100 mile radius. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TechWife Posted February 12, 2019 Share Posted February 12, 2019 54 minutes ago, Jerico said: The state marketplace is about 3x what we are paying right now. If your emergency fund if for medical expenses, this is it. After battling that long, you need to go in, it could be a number of things. Medical sharing programs are only good if you can use them to cover what you need. If you can, get on insurance as soon as possible if you can afford the premiums if you are concerned about accessing medical care. 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liz CA Posted February 12, 2019 Share Posted February 12, 2019 I know googling for medical stuff is frowned upon but some of your symptoms sound like enzyme deficiency to me. I have struggled with similar issues and I am taking a systemic enzyme product that has eliminated symptoms. My doc checked everything from gallbladder to pancreatic tumors but happily all negative. Have you called Medishare to see exactly what kind of test they would make eligible for sharing? Once you know exactly what is what you may feel more confident in having some tests run. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerico Posted February 12, 2019 Author Share Posted February 12, 2019 17 hours ago, TechWife said: If your emergency fund if for medical expenses, this is it. After battling that long, you need to go in, it could be a number of things. Medical sharing programs are only good if you can use them to cover what you need. If you can, get on insurance as soon as possible if you can afford the premiums if you are concerned about accessing medical care. Right now we can afford the monthly cost and the amount for treatment is questionable. From the amount I've seen for insurance we can't even afford the monthly rate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alisoncooks Posted February 12, 2019 Share Posted February 12, 2019 Do you have a decent hospital system nearby? When DH had cancer, our deductible was $10k a year (x4 years treatment). The hospital he received treatment had a financial aid (aka charity care) program that we qualified for, which covered that portion. Perhaps something like that is available if you can see a hospital based gastro? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerico Posted January 12, 2020 Author Share Posted January 12, 2020 Wanted to update you all: I ended up seeing an acupuncturist and he said I had a parasite and gave me some herbal remedies. It seemed like a total hoax but I don't have any problems now and can eat any food. I enjoyed seeing him because he told me exactly what each session would cost. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pen Posted January 13, 2020 Share Posted January 13, 2020 2 hours ago, Jerico said: Wanted to update you all: I ended up seeing an acupuncturist and he said I had a parasite and gave me some herbal remedies. It seemed like a total hoax but I don't have any problems now and can eat any food. I enjoyed seeing him because he told me exactly what each session would cost. That’s a wonderful update! What did he give you (specifically) that worked? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerico Posted January 13, 2020 Author Share Posted January 13, 2020 Honestly, I can’t remember the name! Sorry. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mamakelly Posted January 13, 2020 Share Posted January 13, 2020 I didn’t realize this was an old thread until I got to the bottom... But I was literally about to suggest that you had a Parasite. I had the exact same symptoms, and it turned out to be a parasite as well. I tried the antibiotics my dr gave me and retested, but it didn’t get rid of it. I took Paraclear from SeraVita and that finally took care of it! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktgrok Posted January 13, 2020 Share Posted January 13, 2020 You could start fairly cheaply by testing for celiac. That's a blood test, and your symptoms would fit, in the sense that celiac damage can cause you to be unable to absorb digest lactose, fats, etc. a regular family doctor can run that test if you have one. Or you can try one of those order it yourself lab places if you can find one. Or there is even an at home Celiac test that is just a finger prick that you can order from ImAware for less than $100. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktgrok Posted January 13, 2020 Share Posted January 13, 2020 On 2/11/2019 at 10:04 PM, Liz CA said: I know googling for medical stuff is frowned upon but some of your symptoms sound like enzyme deficiency to me. I have struggled with similar issues and I am taking a systemic enzyme product that has eliminated symptoms. My doc checked everything from gallbladder to pancreatic tumors but happily all negative. Have you called Medishare to see exactly what kind of test they would make eligible for sharing? Once you know exactly what is what you may feel more confident in having some tests run. I agree it sounds like an enzyme problem, but one of the causes of that is intestinal damage from celiac disease. When they do the biopsy for Celiac they test for those enzymes - my son had only microscopic damage not visible on the scope at all, and still had lost production of most enzymes (other than lactose, oddly - but usually that's the first to go). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted January 13, 2020 Share Posted January 13, 2020 1 hour ago, Ktgrok said: You could start fairly cheaply by testing for celiac. That's a blood test, and your symptoms would fit, in the sense that celiac damage can cause you to be unable to absorb digest lactose, fats, etc. a regular family doctor can run that test if you have one. Or you can try one of those order it yourself lab places if you can find one. Or there is even an at home Celiac test that is just a finger prick that you can order from ImAware for less than $100. Keep reading. It’s an old thread that was being updated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KathyBC Posted January 13, 2020 Share Posted January 13, 2020 11 hours ago, Jean in Newcastle said: Keep reading. It’s an old thread that was being updated. I read the first post and was thinking IBS, then clicked to the last post. Thanks Jean! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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