Stomach pain, then diarrhea

[Middleagedmale]

A few weeks ago I had a bout where I couldn't eat anything without it ending up in a violent diarrhea. I would eat, then start to feel bloated and acidy in my stomach, then an hour or two later I would have severe cramping and loose (not really runny), odd smelling diarrhea. It lasted about a week or so.  Since then I've had days that I'm prefectly regular.  But if I eat anything spicy at all, or if I have caffeine ( or other things?), it comes back to haunt me.  Sometimes it seems to cramp me up after I eat a second meal AFTER a spicy or perhaps a rich or fatty meal.

If I probe my belly, it seems a bit tender behind my belly button after my latest bout.  Most of the time, it's not tender at all anywhere I palpate or probe.

I've had similar sporadic problems like this before.  Had it once back when I had too much alchohol, but haven't even had a beer in MONTHS. Initially when I first got the problem I thought I had a stomach bug that was going around. But this problem is persistant, unlike anything I've had before.  What's it likely to be? Parasitic? Ulcer? Gall Bladder? I'm a stumped 43 y o w m.

[rhyanen]

Have you ever checked into Celiac disease?  My son was just diagnosed with it a few months ago.  It is an intolerance to gluten, the protein found in wheat, rye, barley, and oats.  And since so many everyday foods have gluten in them(hidden sources also), it can cause the problems you just described.  

My son had loose, foul smelling stools, occasional diarrhea, abdominal pain, and gas, gas gas. He would also vomit occasionally and was always very fatigued. Many times, a person is diagnosed with IBS, to find out later that it is actually Celiac disease.  It is estimated that 1 out of 200 have celiac, but only 1 out of 3000 in the USA are actually diagnosed.  The rest are either undiagnosed, or shrugged off as having IBS.  Check out www.celiac.com for a more thorough explaination.  Hope you find some answers soon and maybe mention celiac to your doctor, or better, see a GI specialist.  Good luck.  Take care.

rhyanen

[MOMMA'S BABY]

SOUNDS LIKE YOU HAVE IRRITABLE BOWEL SYNDROME (IBS).  HAVE YOU BEEN TO THE DR?  YOUR SYMPTOMS SOUND A LOT LIKE MINE DID AND I COULDN'T FIGURE OUT WHY I WAS ALWAYS SO SICK.  I COULD EAT AND 10 MINUTES LATER I WOULD BE IN THE BATHROOM.  BEING A WOMAN I CAN TELL YOU I THOUGHT I WAS IN LABOR.  THAT IS HOW BAD THE CRAMPING AND PAIN WAS.  DO YOU BREAK OUT IN THE SWEATS AND FEEL LIKE YOU MIGHT PASS OUT WHEN YOU IN THE BATHROOM?  CHECK WITH YOUR DR AND ALSO SUGGEST A COLONOSCOPY TO RULE OUT COLON CANCER.  THE SYMPTOMS ARE A LOT ALIKE.  ALSO, CAFFEINE, STRESS AND NICOTINE MAKE IBS WORSE, SO TRY TO CUT OUT WHAT YOU CAN.  LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU FIND OUT.  GOOD LUCK.

[Middleagedmale]

And there's no bleeding or blood in my stool that I can tell, and unfortunately I haven't lost any weight.

There's just no upside to this problem.  Although I haven't lost any work time because of it. Rarely happens at lunch.

Anything else I need to add?