Hey there, I'm back - and I'm a very special case now :-P

Hi , I'm happy to see an update from you, although it's sad to hear that you're still dealing with all these symptoms and have inflammation that the doctors can't explain.
Have you tried asking the IBD community (https://inflammatoryboweldisease.net) if they have ever heard of inflammation like the one you have?
If it's bacterial or viral, shouldn't it be possible to test for that, or do they think it's some sort of long Covid or something similar?
Karina (team member)

I'm sorry you are feeling so bad, and there appears to be no answer, as even your results can't be understood properly by doctors!

Saccharomyces boulardii is a brilliant choice of probiotic though, because it's supposed to help with diarrhoea after antibiotics. I have heard it has had good results with many people. The interesting thing is that it's a yeast-based probiotic rather than bacteria-based. And it's single strain. whereas a multi-strain with high levels of bacteria can ne too much for some people.
It's great that you have some good supplements to take daily owing to severe dietary restriction.

I have also heard that it's possible to re-train the microbiome to accept a wider range of foods by having the tiniest amount of a food, awaiting the results in 2 days or so, trying it again and very gradually building up the amount over a period of time.
I usually fail at that though, as I will either get ravenously hungry and ignore the measurements (I always feel fine at dinner time. It's often the next morning I pay the price.) Or I will buy something like an orange for example, and intend to eat half of a segment three times a week, building up to a whole segment, and so on....and the dratted orange will go off in the fridge or I will forget it's there.

It's probably pretty normal to feel your intestines working, Only those of us with IBS get a bit over sensitised to those feelings. But before I got IBS, when I was well, I do remember sensations like that and they didn't mean anything bad and I didn't even think much about them.

It's a good sign your poops are firming up slightly...even a bit.
I don't know if you can handle this food but I always find plain white basmati rice (with just a bit of salt) will almost always definitely firm up bm's for me, especially if eaten with some protein with 0 fibre, such as plain cooked fish or boiled eggs in my case, but I am sure a white meat like chicken would work too if you eat meat.

Once I get stabilised like that, and come out of the flare up, often I can start to introduce other foods such as steamed vegetables in very small amounts and gradually.

But I find I mustn't overdo it with "binding" foods such as I mentioned, or I will swing over to constipation. I just eat those things for a couple of days or until I am stabilised.

Antibiotics are so harsh on the gut. I remember my tummy bouncing back well from them in the past with no fuss at all, but IBS changes things doesn't it? We can become so super sensitive to an onslaught like antibiotics and it takes ages to straighten out.

Oh dear, I am so sorry you had that humiliating experience today. It can make us very scared to do anything or go anywhere! Plus it's not easy to clean up when outside.
I don't think you are alone in those kinds of Experiences. I read an article here a while ago by one of the Team, which described a similar happening!
It can help if we have an emergency kit in our bag with wipes, maybe a deodorant spray, a non-leak plastic bag for any possible dirty underwear etc, and a clean change.
But even so, it's still horrible.

So I guess S. Boulardii isn't helping much? Or maybe it helps a tiny bit? That's a disappointment as I have heard good things about it for antibiotic-related diarrhoea.
I don't know as I have not taken it myself, but I wonder if taking it for a while longer might start to show results?

I hear you about eggs. They are good for me and help in my arsenal of "binding foods", but they don't suit everyone.

I am guessing you've already tried experimenting with the dosage of Imodium? Not so much that you get blocked up, but maybe find a "sweet spot" dose? Or maybe that doesn't work.