Q. I have suffered from debilitating diarrhea for years and no one (including my doctors) has come up with a cure. I have taken many different medications with no beneficial results. Do you have any suggestions? I am getting desperate!
A. Of course the best approach to any symptom is to find out what is at the root of the problem. That requires excellent diagnostic efforts by your physician or a gastroenterologist.
If, after trying everything, you are still suffering then you may wish to try one of the many home remedies you will find in our book, The People’s Pharmacy Quick & Handy Home Remedies from National Geographic.
One of our readers shares his story of how a home remedy can sometimes work wonders:
“After my wife died suddenly I begin to drink too much. A side affect of the drinking was diarrhea. I eventually realized that the drinking was not helping with my grief so I stopped. Except the diarrhea did not stop.
I had heard that coconut would help, but experienced no real benefit. A nutritionist said to me that it would have to be the Archway Coconut Macaroon cookies. After two days of eating the cookies the diarrhea disappeared and has never returned.”
You will also find that many of our readers find probiotics very helpful. Wendy offered this experience:
“I nearly died from C.Diff. [which can cause terrible diarrhea] three years ago, brought on by tetracycline for a simple rash on my face. Vancomycin initially cleared it up but the C.Diff. recurred a few weeks later. I refused to go back on Vancomycin and instead went to the health food store and bought a package of several powerful mega-doses of probiotics, which got me back on my feet.
Now whenever I have to take antibiotics, I also take probiotics. I buy the active capsules, from the refrigerated section of the health food store. Per my doctor’s advice, I wait two hours after taking the antibiotic before taking the probiotic. I have not had a recurrence of C.Diff. since.”
