Hi
Welcome to the MedHelp forum!
You could be suffering from Celiac Disease/Ulcerative Colitis/Irritable Bowel Syndrome/ Crohn’s disease. All these result in tender abdomen, loose stool or loose stools alternating with constipation, abdominal distention, cramps etc. Parasites in the gut like threadworm, tape worm, giardiasis etc can behave this way. Hence a stool test is a must. Problems of gall bladder and liver or that of pancreas too cannot be ignored.
I would strongly recommend you to see a gastroenterologist (a specialist who looks after the diseases of our digestive system). Maybe your physician can recommend someone.
A number of times a gastroenterologist is able to diagnose these conditions by clinical examination and detailed medical history. At other times a few tests are conducted. Blood tests to rule out anemia, stool test to look for white blood cells, sigmoidoscopy, colonoscopy etc are used to diagnose ulcerative colitis. Braium meal and follow through, endoscopy etc are done to rule out GERD, Crohn’s disease etc. Irritable bowel syndrome is diagnosed by elimination of other causes. Gluten is a complex protein present in four main grains---wheat, rye, barley and oats. If you have gluten intolerance, then you probably have celiac disease or Non Celiac gluten sensitivity. There are blood tests called celiac test to detect gluten intolerance.
Crohn’s disease is a difficult entity to diagnose. Along with gut symptoms skin disorders and arthritis too are commonly seen with Crohn’s. An upper GI series using barium dye is done to see the condition of small intestines. The degree of involvement of the large and small intestine may vary from person to person. A biopsy is the most confirmatory.
An elevated ESR does confirm inflammation in the body. Low protein, minerals and iron in blood are the other findings in Crohn’s which may or may not be present. A recent advancement in Crohn’s diagnosis is video capsule endoscopy.
Hope this helps. Please let me know if there is any thing else and do keep me posted. Take care!
Are you experiencing constipation in between the bouts of diarrhea? If so drink plenty of water and add more fiber. You might consider taking a digestive enzyme with your meals. Especially if you've been on antibiotics before. If your not able to digest food properly or become constipated for too long the contents of your stomach and intestines will become septic and your body will get rid of it. GI problems are really hard to diagnose sometimes. Did they check for parasites? It could also be an allergy to certain foods. The possibilities are numerous. As long as there is no weight-loss, blood, severe acute pain or nausea and vomiting I wouldn't be too alarmed. If the things I mentioned above do not help then I would keep going to the Doctor. If they are unable to find anything wrong they will most likely diagnose you with Irritable Bowel Syndrome like Faith946 mentioned. Do a web search on it and see if it is similar to what you are experiencing.