Abdominal Issues and Headache

[splash911mike]

Hi,
I am a 24 yr old male that started experiencing abdominal pain in the lower-left quadrant roughly 5 months ago. The pain would wake me up at night. Sometimes it would be sharp and sometimes it would be a gnawing pain. That pain has subsided over the past couple of months, unfortunately, now it feels like my stomach is larger (distended) and is constantly making gurgling noises, accompanied with feeling bloated and will occasionally hurt.

Periodically I would have constipation that would end with significant diarrhea (feels like a drain finally being unplugged). Also, I am now experiencing headaches on a daily basis along with times of severe fatigue, weakness and dizziness. I have noticed that my exercise tolerance has significantly declined as well. My stools have been inconsistent for months but are generally loose and of a pale colour. I strain with bowel movements and clear mucus is almost always around the stool. I feel very fatigued/tired after any bowel movements now. Also I have become increasingly thirsty but urinate more often.

To date, I have had an ultrasound on my gallbladder, blood work to rule out celiac disease and h.pylori and a stool analysis for parasites. All results have come back normal. Also, a colonoscopy showed slight bleeding near where the large intestine meets the small intestine but all else was normal.  

I have had x-rays on my abdomen when I was in ER and they saw gas and feces trapped concluding that I was constipated. Their solution of increasing my fibre and exercising more does not appear to be working. Blood tests taken at ER showed a slightly low "Absolute: Neuts" of 1.7 (range 2.0-7.5), otherwise no abnormalities.

Prior to the onset of abdominal pain, I noticed that I would experience diarrhea the day after a night of drinking alcohol along with difficulty sleeping on those nights.

I feel that my symptoms are getting worse with time. Please advise on tests to perform and a diet to follow if possible.

[Vaibhav Banait, MD]

Dear splash911mike ,

I understand your concerns.

The description of your symptoms suggests something like you having a narrowing of part of your intestine. As the part proximal to the narrowed portion pushes hard to empty its contets into the distal part, pain develops. When it empties, it produces a gurgling sound. The proximal part is dilated producing bloating and gurgling.

A CT scan of the abdomen or Small bowel enema should clear the picture in more detail.

I would also be interested in knowing details of the colonoscopic findings and histopathology of the biopsied lesion.

A dietitian would be a better person to advise on diet, though dietary modifications have a limited role in such cases.

Hope that this information helps and hope that you will get better soon.

Thank you for using MedHelp's "Ask an Expert" Service, where we feature some of world's renowned medical experts in their fields. Millions have benefitted from our service to get personalized advice for them and for their loved ones.

Best Regards,
Dr. Vaibhav Banait

[splash911mike]

Also, just wanted to mention that I have no family history of colon cancer or GI problems.