Diarrhea-- it recently happened to the diarrhea dietitian!

Well, I am ready to blog again... life has been hectic as usual (i.e. kids, taxes, PTA, etc.) and then to top it off, I got this very icky stomach bug from my kids. For them, it was a 5-8 day stomachache--nothing else. By the time it got to me, I was much sicker, with intermittent stomach pain, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and chills with no fever. It was awful. I micromanaged my symptoms at home as best I could... but after 5 days gave up and went to the ER for some IV Zofran (powerful anti-nausea drug) and a liter of fluids. It still took a few days until I was feeling better.

Here are some of the strategies I used at home...

1. Drank 1-2 oz of Propel (water with added electrolytes) every 15 minutes.
2. Ate strained Cambell's Chicken Noodle Soup, for lunch, sometimes with oyster crackers (Replacing essential electrolytes Sodium and Potassium is very important after episodes of vomiting/diarrhea.)
3. When the nausea was better, I made sure to get as many clear liquids in as possible... in the form of water, Propel, chicken broth, and jello (it is actually considered a fluid!).
4. Took two tablets of Imodium once a day.
5. Spent one whole day just on clear liquids. Once feeling better, I slowly reintroduced simple foods such as chicken (small bites, chewed well), applesauce and canned fruit, lots of plain toast, bread, crackers, and white rice. I also avoided dairy products, high fat and spicy foods, vegetables, raw fruit, and sweets.