What is causing my diarrhea?

[alaska1963]

I've had horrible bouts of diarrhea on and off now for about the past 15 yrs.  I've been to numerous Doctors, usually they just tell me to lose some weight.  I am a diabetic.  I've tried so many diets it's not funny. Right now I pretty much eat meat and a salad now and then.  I can't tolerate dairy products.  My stomach feels as if I've got a carbonation factory going on.  Usually within minutes of my first bite of food, my stomach churns and I run to the bathroom with explosive diarrhea.  This sounds really disgusting, but my rear end bleeds from all the diarrhea.  I'm at my wits end.  I know I can't live on Immodium AD for the rest of my life. Can anyone help me?

[NormaSG]

A related discussion, Diarrhea over a week was started.

[ms1]

Sometimes a yeast overgrowth in the gut can cause by diarrhea.  Overuse of antibiotics and steriodal drugs can affect the balance of good microflora in the gut.  I had lots of problems with this.

There is a very good probiotic on the market.  It's called VSL 3.  It contains 450 billion lactic acid yogurt bacteria.  It's a powder that you mix with water.  It's expensive though.  You should try a good probiotic bacteria. That can help to restore your microflora. There are a lot of different probiotic supplements on the market that you can get in a health food store.

I'm also taking a supplement call GastroCort by Allergy Research Group.  It helped me a lot.  It takes a while to get the microflora back in balance.

There are a few good books on the market that deal with yeast overgrowth and the effect it can have on you.  

[diarrhea queen]

I feel your pain with the speratic diarrhea. I have had diarrhea for the past 6 years. I have kept a journal of what I eat every day for 3 months and went to see a doctor. I have had a colonoscopy and they told me that my intestines were inflammed. They suggested to change my diet and add fiber. I did that and it only made it worse. I had severe pains no matter how much fiber I added. I would suggest to see another doctor for more advice. I am still searching for a diagnosis at the most. I feel your pain of not knowing what it is that is causing the diarrhea.

[Dr. Erik]

You should have a Colonoscopy to check for Crohn's disease. A non life-threatening condition of the intestines.

[alaska1963]

Yes, I have been tested for everything under the sun (or so I'm told). Including parasites. Nothing has turned up. That's why it is so frustrating for me. I also forgot to mention that I have a cold nodule on my thyroid that I have been trying to get removed. Whether that has anything to do with the diarrhea, I don't know. The other thing that is so mysterious is that I do not lose weight, you'd think that losing everything I eat, I'd be skin and bones! Not in my case.

[Wilson]

Have you been worked up for your diarrhea at any time during all those 15 years? Sounds like you could use to have a few tests done, including a colonoscopy, stool fat, and stool analysis for ova & parasites. Some allergy testing might be a good idea as well. There are any number of things that could be causing your symptoms, but in any case this does not sound normal.