Question Title: What do I do now??

I am a 27 yr old female with two young children. (3yrs and 8 mo) I've always been healthy and felt fine until June 20/98. I had been to the dentist the week prior and had 2 wisdom teeth removed. Took ibuprofen (3400 mg per day) for a week. On the 20th, I drank a wine cooler and shortly afterwards experienced abdominal pains and cramping. I felt like I would have diarrhea. After about an hour in the bathroom with no diarrhea, the cramping subsided for about an hour, they resumed and I had VERY watery diarrhea. The next morning my stomach still felt nauseous. I had a very small bm and noticed a spot of blood about dime size, in the toilet. I went to my now ex-FP. He did a digital rectal--for internal hemorrhoids-didn't feel anything. About a week later, and lots and lots of worry, I was still feeling poorly and worried about that initial blood. I hadn't been eating well and lost some weight. (Was at 124 at the FPs office). I went to a new MD. He did a digital rectal. Said he didn't feel anything. I STILL wasn't feeling "right" and was having 6 or so BM's a day. They would be smaller and looser than normal but not diarrhea. Mucus was the next thing I noticed. I've seen my MD 2 times since then. He gave a prevacid-I don't really know if that helped. He did blood tests-he said it tested about 30 different things, from liver function to white cell count. That was all fine. I had an appointment with my OB/GYN and on that day, thought I passed more blood. (I know believe it was watermelon from the night before-how embarrassing...) He set me up with a GI specialist. He did a history( there is no family history of cancer of any kind or colitis). He also did a digital rectal and felt around on my abdomen. He had me do occult test. They were negative. I was feeling better so he said nothing else needed to be done. My stomach doesn't feel upset any more and I do have a more normal bm, once or maybe twice a day. That was always normal for me. But, there is still mucus. It's usually clear and I have to push it out-it doesn't come out by itself. It's not a large amount. sometimes it's brownish and sometimes very scant amounts of stool is present. Since June, I've lost about 9 lbs. I am now at 115-116 (weighed 118 at the specialists') and I am 5'4". Does anything else need to be done???

__
Dear ang,
I am glad to read that you are feeling better. It is difficult to know how extensive a workup to do. The persistence of symptoms, however, should indicate additional testing. I am uncertain why your symptoms should begin after the ibuprfen and wonder if this is just coincidence. I would check your stool for parasites, if there are risk factors for infection e.g. travel, drinking well water etc. You should discuss with your physician whether there are any benefits to doing a flexible sigmoidoscpy, barium enma or small bowel series.

It is possible that the symptoms you are currently experiencing represent a manifestation of irritable bowel syndrome. Try taking more fiber in your diet e.g. salads, high fiber breads, supplementation with metamucil

This information is provided for educational purposes only. Always ask your personal physician to answer specific medical questions.

HFHSM.D.-rf
*keywords: infection, inflammatory bowel disease, irritable bowel

---