Possible Norovirus Superbug, help?

Question

Okay, I've been sick for weeks and now I'm down to the nitty gritty. It's not hard to explain, it's a pain in your gut that constantly makes you feel hungry, no matter how much you eat. If I "over eat" the pain gets worse. Once in awhile I toss my cookies and I get these headaches with it from time to time but overall- I wouldn't wish this on my worst enemy.

I'm to the point where the doctors think I'm lying and I cry in misery almost everyday. I feel like that girl on contagion who's crying, pregnant and wants the antidote except I'm not pregnant. 

Then my dad tells me about how my family, who lives far away, got this "Superbug" and it's not treatable. When I read up on it, they say it only lasts a day or two and is highly contagious. 

I've had this for weeks, is that possible? I've been cleaning everything and changing my clothes more often than not. I'm to my breaking point, I don't know what else to do. Any thoughts/suggestions, please? Please - serious/honest answers.

Hal Lancer · Accepted Answer

I'm so sorry to hear about all the misery you're having. I don't know what's causing it, either, especially without knowing what's already been ruled out by medical tests, but I agree with you:  your symptoms don't fit the pattern of norovirus, and it is very unlikely that norovirus is causing your symptoms. I think you've probably already websearched norovirus, but here's another article that should confirm this idea that this is not norovirus:
http://southwhitehall.patch.com/articles/the-super-bug-or-norovirus-rampant-in-us-symptoms-present-within-48-hours-of-exposure

If you had norovirus, you'd be much more acutely ill, in other words, actively vomiting with diarrhea and cramping and unable to keep anything down, but it would pass within a few days and be over with, although your family would probably have been passing it around as well because it's so contagious. This isn't norovirus.

I don't think you're faking. Doctors get frustrated when they can't heal someone and even more frustrated when they can't figure out what the problem is, and I'm sure you are picking up on their frustration as well. These symptoms can be caused by many known disorders including many that are quite uncommon.

I imagine you have been tested for this, but if not you want to look into ruling out gluten intolerance, a common disorder that can cause this kind of misery but leave doctors puzzled about what they perceive as vague symptoms. Symptoms vary widely among patients but in some cases include the ones you've identified. There is both a "celiac" form of gluten intolerance:
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/38085.php

and a "non-celiac" form of gluten intolerance:
http://www.celiaccentral.org/non-celiac-gluten-sensitivity/

...so if all they've done is rule out celiac disease with a blood test, you may still want to try going on a gluten-free diet for a couple of weeks to see if you get any improvement in symptoms which might indicate you have a non-celiac form. This can be difficult to do well, because gluten is in most processed supermarket and restaurant foods, so to really keep it out of your system for two weeks can be a challenge, but it may be worth a try. (If you are gluten intolerant and only *reduce* gluten without eliminating it from your diet, there may not be a change in symptoms. You have to *eliminate* gluten from your diet for a couple of weeks to test it.)

Just to be clear, I don't know that this is what you have. Just statistically, since so many things can cause your symptoms, this is probably not it. But it may be worth a try just to see if it could be this.

I hope you get it figured out soon or at least get some relief.

Wishing you better luck and better health.

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Possible Norovirus Superbug, help?

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