Mine started at 5:30 am with some fierce diarrhea. Then I started getting nauseous during the diarrhea episodes and wouldn't know which end it was coming out of first. The forceful vomiting caused the diarrhea to squirt out everywhere and I had to throw away my pants and get in the shower. The vomiting lasted a couple more hours. Then it was nausea, heartburn, stomach gurgling/noises for the next week. Horrible time! The only thing that helped was drinking tiny sips of ice water and Propel water.
My symptoms usually last about a week, maybe longer. And that depends upon how soon I can see my Dr. for him to prescribe an antidiarrheal, anti spasmodic and pain reliever. Librax helped, but made me pretty dizzy & a bit groggy. Levsin also helped quite a bit. I chewed Maalox chewables for the incredible belching. That worked pretty well. When the cramping, diarrhea and dry heaves were over, the pain sometimes persisted as well as a lot of shakiness. I took Ativan that worked well for the shakiness.
Published: June 20
Day one: I started the day with an irritating stomach cramp. It progressed into severe nausea by the afternoon. Uncontrollable vomiting and watery stools ensued. I would vomit to the point of painful dry-heaving and almost passing out. By the time it exhausted me, my lips had a weird tingly sensation, and then I had a cold sweat. This same cycle would continue for nearly 10 hours with only half an hour in between at best. Before I would get sick again, I would get progressive shortness of breath that turned into heaving. I tried to keep down water and Gatorade.
Day two: I slept through most of the night from exhaustion. By the time I awoke, I was completely dehydrated. I had severe stomach pain. I drank minimal amounts of fluid because my stomach would easily be overloaded. My BMs were watery for most of the day. I had shortness of breath with the lack of energy. I vomited any food eaten.
Day three: I had to work today. I shouldn't have though. I kept down most of my fluids but any food eaten triggered vomiting. The color returned to my stool but it is far from solid. I just got home, and I'm going to rest until I can finally be well again.
Published: July 21
I got gastroenteritis and I only got the vomiting side of it. It has been happening every hour for the past week and a half now and I'm still getting pains in my stomach. I had to go to hospital because I was dehydrated.
When I had Gastroenteritis, the symptoms started one week and then went away. About three weeks later I had them again. They started with continuous diarrhea and me vomiting one time. I also had continuous abdominal pain and cramps. For this all I had to do to get rid of the pain and diarrhea and vomiting was to take some Pepto-Bismol. Then about three weeks later, my fiance and I ate some spaghetti for dinner and I ate a little too much and my stomach started to cramp again. I thought it was because I overate, but it was actually the Gastroenteritis coming back because it wasn't medically treated the first time I had the symptoms. I went to bed that night thinking that if I slept the pain would go away. But it didn't, and I woke up at about three in the morning and had stomach pains so bad that I could barely walk. I decided to get up and go take some Pepto-Bismol since it worked the first time and I did thinking that it would work this time but it didn't and I was up all night. At about six-thirty that morning the pain had subsided but I was starting to feel a little nauseous, so I tried going to the bathroom and of course more diarrhea, but I was still feeling really sick, so I decided to go lay down or at least try to and also try to get some rest seeing how I was up since three. As soon I laid down I started feeling dizzy. I knew that I had to do something or else I was going to throw up all over the bed, so I sat up thinking that the dizziness would go away, but it got worse and so I grabbed the trash can next to me and I think you know the rest. But the strange part was the first time I had it I only threw up once, but this time I threw up so much that when my fiance took me to the emergency room he told one of the doctors that he never saw so much bile in his life. I got treated for it and the doctors prescribed me some suppositories and that took care of the nausea, pain, diarrhea and vomiting. I have fully recovered from Gastroenteritis but on occasion still get mild stomach cramps and sometimes diarrhea.
My 4 year old daughter was diagnosed with the stomach flu Thursday she threw up twice, and had diarrhea since Thursday, no fever, and she's fine, but today is Monday and she still has diarrhea going to the bathroom every 1/2 hour. She complains that her stomach is bothering her, and on Thursday she complained of a headache.
Patient Discussions are not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Never delay or disregard seeking professional medical advice from your physician or other qualified health provider because of something you have read on MedicineNet. The opinions expressed in the comments section are of the author and the author alone. MedicineNet does not endorse any specific product, service or treatment.
If you think you have a medical emergency, call your doctor or 911 immediately.
Report Problems to the Food and Drug Administration
You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit the FDA MedWatch website or call 1-800-FDA-1088.
Suggested Reading on Gastroenteritis (Stomach Flu) by Our Doctors
Rectal bleeding (hematochezia) refers to the passage of bright red blood from the anus. Rectal bleeding may be moderate to severe and most bleeding comes from the colon, rectum, or anus. Common causes include anal fissures, hemorrhoids, diverticulitis, and more.
Diarrhea is a change is the frequency and looseness of bowel movements. Cramping, abdominal pain, and the sensation of rectal urgency are all symptoms of diarrhea. Absorbents and anti-motility medications are used to treat diarrhea.
Dehydration is the excessive loss of body water. There are a number of causes of dehydration including heat exposure, prolonged vigorous exercise, and some diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. The best way to treat dehydration is to prevent it from occurring.
Dizziness is a symptom that is often applies to a variety of sensations including lightheadedness and vertigo. Causes of dizziness include low blood pressure, heart problems, anemia, dehydration, and more. Treatment of dizziness depends on the cause.
Nausea is an uneasiness of the stomach that often precedes vomiting. Nausea and vomiting are not diseases, but they are symptoms of many conditions. The causes of vomiting differ according to age, and treatment depends upon the cause of nausea and vomiting.
Norovirus infection causes stomach flu, or gastroenteritis. It's a very contagious illness with symptoms that include nausea and vomiting, diarrhea, stomach cramps, fever, headache, chills, and muscle aches. Norovirus infection cannot be treated with antibiotics, so treatment focuses on maintaining proper hydration.
Potassium is an essential electrolyte necessary for cell function. Low potassium (hypokalemia) may be caused by diarrhea, vomiting, ileostomy, colon polyps, laxative use, diuretics, elevated corticosteroid levels, renal artery stenosis, and renal tubular acidosis, or other medications. Symptoms of low potassium include weakness, aches, and cramps of the muscles. Treatment is dependant upon the cause of the low potassium (hypokalemia).
Food poisoning is common, but can also be life threatening. The most common form of food poisoning is caused by bacteria and include symptoms such as fever, abdominal pain, diarrhea, nausea and vomiting.
Salmonella bacteria are known to cause salmonellosis, typhoid fever, and paratyphoid fever in humans. Salmonella infection is usually caused by ingesting large amounts of the bacteria in contaminated food or water.
There are many types of E. Coli (Escherichia coli ). Pathogenic E. coli can cause urinary tract and bladder infections, or lead to sepsis. E coli O157:H7 (EHEC) causes bloody diarrhea and colitis. Complications of E. coli infection include hemorrhagic diarrhea, hemolytic-uremic syndrome, and thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura. Symptoms include severe abdominal pain and bloody diarrhea. E coli O157:H7 commonly is due to eating raw or undercooked hamburger or raw milk or dairy products.
Rotavirus is the most common cause of severe diarrhea among infants and children throughout the world. Almost all children have become infected with rotavirus by their third birthday. Repeat infections with different viral strains are possible, and most children have several episodes of rotavirus infection in the first years of life. Children between the ages of six and 24 months are at greatest risk for developing severe disease from rotavirus infection. Rotavirus symptoms include: fever, vomiting, watery diarrhea, and abdominal pain. Rotavirus infection can be associated with severe dehydration in infants and children.
Travelers' diarrhea is generally contracted by eating contaminated food or drinking contaminated water. Food is the primary source of travelers' diarrhea. Enterotoxigenic E. coli is the cause of up to 70% of all cases of travelers' diarrhea. There are five unique classes of E. coli that causes gastroenteritis. Other bacteria responsible for travelers' diarrhea include
Campylobacter, jejuni, shigella, and salmonella. Viruses such as rotavirus and Norwalk virus (norovirus) and giardia lamblia a parasite may cause travelers' diarrhea. Prevention is careful eating and drinking of water.
Travelers should prepare for their trip by visiting their physician to get the proper vaccinations and obtain the necessary medication if they have a medical condition or chronic disease. Diseases that travelers may pick up from contaminated water or food, insect or animal bites, or from other people include malaria, meningococcal meningitis, yellow fever, hepatitis A, typhoid fever, polio, and cholera.
Drug resistance (antimicrobial resistance) is the ability of bacteria, fungi, parasites, and viruses to grow, even in the presence of a drug that would normally kill it (or limit it's growth). Drug resistance is a growing problem, particularly for infections such as MRSA, VRE (vancomycin-resistant enterococci), tuberculosis, HIV, STDs, gonorrhea, flu, pneumonia, malaria, E. coli, salmonella, Campylobacter, which causes diarrhea and gastroenteritis. Learn how to protect yourself from resistance to drugs.
Reye's syndrome (RS, or Reye syndrome) is a sudden, sometimes fatal, disease of the brain with degeneration of the liver. Reye syndrome occurs in children and comes after the chickenpox or an influenza-type illness, is also associated with taking medications containing aspirin. Symptoms include vomiting, listlessness, irritability or combativeness, confusion, delirium, delusions, convulsions, and loss of consciousness. Treatment depends on early diagnosis and focuses on protecting the brain against irreversible damage by reducing brain swelling, reversing the metabolic injury, preventing complications in the lungs, and anticipating cardiac arrest.
Hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) is a diseases in which blood clots within the capillaries. Causes associated with HUS include E. Coli, birth control pills, pneumonia, medications such as chemotherapy, Ticlid, and quinine. Symptoms of HUS include gastroenteritis, abdominal cramping, vomiting, and bloody diarrhea. Diagnosis of HUS includes medical history, physical examination, and medical tests. Treatment includes rest, fluids, possible hospitalization for blood transfusion or complications due to kidney failure.
E. coli 0157:H7 is a gram-negative bacterium that can produce a bloody
diarrhea due to toxins it secretes when it infects human intestinal tracts.
The symptoms of E. coli 0157:H7 infection may include a low fever, nausea,
vomiting, stomach cramps, and bloody diarrhea.
E. coli 0157:H7 is notorious because it can cause additional complications
in children and the elderly; renal failure, anemia, and dehydration especially
for children (termed HUS or Hemolytic-uremic syndrome) and spontaneous bleeding,
organ failures, and mental changes in the elderly (termed TTP or thrombotic
thrombocytopenic purpura). Some of these patients develop disabilities or die.
Diagnosis is definitively made when E. coli 0157:H7 is isolated, usually
from the patient's stool, and identified as serotype 0157 by immunologic tests.
If you think you have a medical emergency, call your doctor or 911 immediately.
Digestion RSS
Healthy Living Tips
This site complies with the
Mine started at 5:30 am with some fierce diarrhea. Then I started getting nauseous during the diarrhea episodes and wouldn't know which end it was coming out of first. The forceful vomiting caused the diarrhea to squirt out everywhere and I had to throw away my pants and get in the shower. The vomiting lasted a couple more hours. Then it was nausea, heartburn, stomach gurgling/noises for the next week. Horrible time! The only thing that helped was drinking tiny sips of ice water and Propel water.
Related Reading: diarrhea | heartburn