I don't have other bad stuff as diagnosed via stool tests.
But I have SIBO, small intestine bacterial overgrowth, as diagnosed via breath test...and maybe I have IBS-D, too.
This is one of those things you want to "blame" on tbe DS...because it presents with similar stuff. But too large a percentage of the population suffers from this...a good number had gastroenteritis first. (Several years ago, my sister, BIL, Mr. Sue and I visited Mom at the Home for the Perpetually Bewildered and we--and numerous other fools--all ended up with gastroenteritis. Health Department was all over the place. I'm just sayin'.)
Also, old people get this. And I think that although the DS probably made me a more likely target, I could be having all these symptoms just because our guts work slower as we age. And. 70.
Also, we get potentially bad advice...like..."eat several small meals per day." Nope. It seems our guts do one song and dance when they process the food we eat and a whole different trick--a "housekeeping" activity--when that food moves out of the small intestine. If we keep adding food, the housekeeping thing doesn't happen and the processed food sits around feeding the bacteria, which in turn create LOTS of gas and bloating/distention and pain. And diarrhea.
Also, no bedtime snacks. The time while you sleep is the time your gut is most likely to do its housekeeping thing, unless you put food in there and just feed the bacteria.
And meds that cost about $2500/mo to treat. And only work for about 40% of the population. Damn.
Curiously, someome who has SIBO might also malabsorb oil-based vitamins, might lose weight, and can move into malnutrition. Sound familiar? Oh, add in joint pain and fatigue.
And, even more fun, all the SIBO experts have different diets. Right now, I'm liking the Cedars-Sinai plan...they want us to be happy.
