gas and diarrhea or soft stools for 3 weeks

[StomachTrouble]

For the past 3 weeks I have had enormous amounts of gas, plus a combination of diarrhea or frequent soft stools. The gas is constant, but I usually pass a tiny bit of diarrhea with each extended outburst, so I have to go into the bathroom 20 times a day! The diarrhea is either like the pulp from an orange, or sometimes as solid as toothpaste. It started suddenly, I have no nausea, and the diarrhea is not acidic and burning like when you have a stomach bug. I eat a very healthy diet. For the past week I have been taking probiotics and simethicone (Gas-X), but there is no improvement. I have not lost any weight, but am really tired, perhaps because I am not absorbing my food properly? In the past I have had routine colonoscopies due to colon cancer in my family, so I know my colon is normal. Last week I had blood work checking for celiac and other inflammation markers and everything was normal. I frequently get food-poisoning (when nobody else in the group gets it from eating the same food!) but that is different - a night of throwing up and very acidic diarrhea.
Any suggestions?

[boron]

If it is food infection, then prolonged course of diarrhea speaks for parasite infection (Giardia, Entamoeba hystolytica, Cryptosporidium). Diagnosis is with stool test, treatment with antibiotic.

If your stool is pale or yellow, this may be due to excess fat excretion due to  its lower absorption due to 1.intestinla inflammation or 2. lack of bile acids or lack of pancreatic enzyme lipase (pancreatic disease)

ad 2. Bile acids may be reduced because of their blocked delivery into intestine (gallstone or inflammation in biliary ducts) or because of liver disease.

ad 1. Investigations, you've have, do not exclude any small intestinal disease. Duodenal biopsy would be needed to check for celiac disease, Crohn's disease or even lymphoma.

What to do:
- Tiredness may be due to dehydration. Be sure to drink enough.
- Gas is maybe due to small intestinal bacterial overgrowth. A breath test exists to prove that.
- Stool test for parasites
- Next, if needed, ultrassound of gallbladder/liver/pancreas
- Next...can maybe wait for now.

[danny3520]

I'd be interested to see a doctors response to this, your symptoms are almost identical to mine.

did you also get abdominal pains just minutes before you go to the toilet? that are then relieved completely afterwards?