IBS or more?

Hi,

   My girlfriend is 25 years old, relatively healthy and has had no major illnesses.  Her diet is relativley good and doesnt eat a lot of junk food.  For as long as I have known her, and as she has recently told her doctor (last 8ish years), she has had watery diarrhea bowel movements, and sometimes has to have a bowel movement after she eats.  She never complains of any stomach pain but says the only feeling she gets is an uncomfortable "got to go" feeling when she has a bowel movement.  She went to a specialzed doctor who drew blood and says she has a bacteria in her stomach that is the cause for some of the nausea she gets some times.  This nausea usually goes away once she eats.  Her bowel movements are in her words, 2 out of 3 times water, the rest of the time normal.  She doesnt have any bloody stools, just a few times in her life when she has wiped after a harder bowel movement.  She had an appointment for a colonoscipie in 3 weeks but pushed it to 5 weeks until I get home that the doctor didnt seem to concerned about.  The doctor said she might have IBS or Crohns Disease, but hasnt had any of the two in her family.  I just wanted some one to maybe rest my fears that this isnt most likely the C word.


Thank you,
Concerned boyfriend.

[Enoch Choi, MD]

Intermittent watery diarrhea is commonly caused by malabsorption (e.g. food intolerance or enzyme deficiencies like lactase) or IBS or Inflammitory Bowel Disease.  A colonoscopy is safe in an experienced surgeon or gastroenterologist.  You can look up complication rates with your state licensing board (e.g. in california, the CA state consumer affairs) or ask their hospital if complication rates are published.  A colonoscopy is very helpful in looking for  Inflammitory Bowel Disease and even if it's not, can suggest other diagnoses.

Enoch Choi, MD

[Zaul]

I'm no Doctor but I get the same thing, ever since I had my Gallbladder out.

[al_59]

without blood in the stool there is very little concern for cancer, especially at her age.  with one good bm out of 3 you should first consider the more probable causes. i would suspect soda first due to the high levels of fructose sugar and CO2, even diet can have sorbitol or artifical sweeeteners which are not properly adsorbed by many people. if  sugar adsorbtion does not occur properly in the small intestine it will be attacked by the large intestine flora creating large quantities of gas and cause diarrhea.  next smoking and/or caffeine can accelerate motility of the small intestine and cause adsorbtion issuses.
colonoscopy is not as safe as many people may have been lead to believe and should be considered only after exhausting a number of other alternative causes which are less invasive for your digestive issues.

[panther05]

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