in need of a second opinion

[teehee9393]

Hi Dr,

I am a 20 yr old male, non smoker, occasional drinker but not heavy drinking. Height and weight both are healthy.

9 days ago, after lunch, I began to feel a bit of stomach upset, the pain was low and manageable and I did not thought much of it. However as the days progressed, the pain got worse and worse. I took TCM medicines for stomach pain but it only alleviated it by a bit.

Soon I realised a pattern, so far the symptoms that I have are:
- stomach cramps / gastric pains below the ribcage at the center area
-slightly bloated
-gassy, need to burp and pass gas frequently
-occasional diarrhoea, very seldom, mostly bowel movements are normal but stools are a bit greenish

At first I went to a GP, she prescribed ranitidine, hyoscine butylbromide and eviline forte suspension. However it was not much of a help and I went to the hospital that night for severe stomach cramps/gastric pains.

The hospital doctor gave me hyoscine butylbromide, domperidome and a diarrhoea medicine. He also said that I was suffering gastric flu. The diarrhoea was gone after that.

But the pain did not get better. I noticed that whenever I had no pains and I ate a meal, the pain would come together with the need to pass gas. And whenever I had pains, eating food and antacids would stop the pain. Today I went back to the hospital and a different doctor gave me the following meds:

-omeprazole
-suntacids
-chlordiazepoxide

she told me that it was still a gastric flu, but a different form from the usual kind of gastric flu. I am worried as the gastric pain/stomach cramps would get very bad sometimes and I am scared that I have a stomach ulcer. what are your opinions Dr?

thank you

[teehee9393]

Thank you for your reply Dr. You mentioned drinking probiotics, is yakult ok? Although Yakult is made from cultured milk and we are supposed to lay off dairy when we are suffering from GI problems isn't it?

[Dr. Kokil Mathur]

Hi!

I can appreciate your concerns since the symptoms have been persisting for nine days. However, at times, the gut infection persists for several days. I suggest you take the medications prescribed by the last doctor, except chlordiazepoxide (take it if you are really anxious and pass stool out of anxiety; this drug is optional, you can take it also for a short period). Along with that take probiotics (lactobacillus preparations) and curd and yoghurt. Eat light frequent meals about 5-6 times a day such that the stomach is not empty for long. Take toast, porridge, banana, apple without peel, papaya,  smoothies, curd, crackers etc. Drink plenty of water, clear soups, lemonade etc. Cut down on green leafy vegetables and fruits like grapes, pomegranate, orange etc as they aggravate diarrhea. Avoid alcohol for these days. If you do not feel better after 3-4 days, do the following:

1. Stop all medications. After about 72 hours, give stool for testing (parasites, amoebiasis, giardiasis etc).
2. Give stool for culture.

3. Give blood to test for diabetes, liver and pancreatic enzymes, and serum electrolytes. At times liver or pancreatic infection causes indigestion like symptoms.

4. Consult a GI specialist.

I sincerely hope you will find this information useful. Hope you get well soon! Good Luck and take care!

[teehee9393]

Also I have been eating normally, with plenty of fruits and vegetables, except citrus fruits and spicy, sour foods