Questions in the Gastroenterology and Liver Diseases Forum have been answered by Dr. Kevin Pho who is board certified in Internal Medicine and by doctors from Henry Ford Health System.
| |
|
Subject: Re: diarrhea I am writing on behalf of my 25 year old fiance. He has been suffering for the last six months with severe diarrhea. He has recently been to two doctors who have as yet been unable to diagnose his condition. When his problem first started, he had bouts with diarrhea 5+ times a day. He has lost about 15-20 pounds over this time period. He has tried Immodium AD, Tums, Fibercon, and prescription drugs such as Bentyl, Hyosophen, and various antibiotics including Cipro. The only thing that has given him temporary relief are the antibiotics. He has also had stool samples analyzed and had blood tested. There is a long history of Thyroid problems in both sides of his family, but blood testing showed no Thyroid problems. His symptoms have slightly improved lately, but only because he has virtually stopped eating. The only thing that his stomach can handle is crackers, cereal, bread, and other very mild foods. He has recently discovered that greasy foods make his problem much worse. I know he's not getting enough nutricious foods and I am worried. One doctor says that it's just Irritable Bowel Syndrome, but none of the prescriptions for IBS work. The other doctor wants to check for colon cancer. I have checked your archives, which just worry me more. Any ideas? Thank you so much!!! --------- Dear Ms Johnson, I am sorry to hear that your fianc is not feeling well. From what you have described it seems that he has lost quite a bit of weight over the last 6 months. Based on the information you have provided me, I do not think that his symptoms are due to irritable bowel syndrome Chronic diarrhea can be due to a large number of reasons. It is necessary to exclude structural as well as functional abnormalities of small intestine, colon, pancreas, liver and bile ducts. The weight loss and fatty food intolerance suggest the possibility of malabsorption. He reponse to antibiotics raises the possibility of bacterial overgrowth. In this syndrome due to anatomical or digestive derangement food collects in portions of the bowel and is acted upon by bacteria to produce substances that cause diarrhea. Unfortunately with the information at hand I cannot give you a definite answer as to what is causing him to have bacterial overgrowth if indeed that is the problem. . I would strongly recommend that your fiance see a gastroenterologist. The gastroenterologist will obtain directed information and will probably suggest several tests that will include specific stool tests, blood tests and endoscopy. Endoscopy will allow the doctor to examine the lining of the gastrointestinal tract and take biopsies for analysis under a microscope. If you are in southeast Michigan, we wouild be happy to see you at the Clinics of the Division of Gastroenterology of Henry Ford Health System. You can arrange an appoinment with Dr, Fogel, one of our exprts in the diagnosis and treament og gastrointestinal disease by calling our Physician Referral Line at (800)653-6568. HFHSM.D.-sg
|
This Forum's Doctors
Expert Activity
Related Expert Forums
Related Communities
CrohnCrohn's DiseaseCrohnsDigestive ProcessDry SkinGastroenterologyIBSIrritable Bowel SyndromeStomach AchSunburnUlcerative Colitisabdominalbowelcolitiscoloncolonoscopycrohn'scrohns diseasediarrheagallbladderirritableirritable bowellarge intestineliverpainrectal bleedingrednessstomach acheulcerativeyears |
|
