GI problem, 3-4 months duration

[Leanna]

I am 24 years old, just had a baby a year ago, I am in excellent health, not overweight, exercise regularly and eat mostly organic.

Now, in July I remember eating something and then getting these terrible stomach pains that resolved by the next day. Following that I had frequency problems (3-4 times a day) with my bowels. On every occasion I passed diarrhea. That symptom has gradually resolved until this point. I am left now with a lot of intestinal gas that is difficult to pass unless I am laying a certain way or straining. I have soft stool at times that is flaky in the bowel. I go once a day now, so that is normal for me, but it seems as though the stool is a little narrower than usual. Sometimes it looks like shreds in the toilet and sometimes it looks normal. There are also times when I can see mucus in the stool, attached to it.

I have seen my family doctor who performed a ova and parasite test on me (mostly because I have lived in many impoverished countries during my lifetime), he suspected an infection in my bowels. I took Ciprofloxin and noticed relief to a point and also think I saw 2 long stringy things passed in the toilet. Nonetheless, my stool test came back negative for parasite or ova- so I'm stumped and he doesn't have any real answers. I still have all the intestinal gas and sometimes narrow stool along with mucus. Any ideas?

Oh, and also- when I had my baby I suffered some rectal problems (all my rectal muscles are severed and need to be surgical repaired shortly, I also had anal fissures).

[dmongking]

Hi Leanna,

The first thing I thought of, too, is intestinal parasite infection, but as you said, the test results came out negative. Did your doctor examine your rectum? Has he done any visualization of your lower GI tract (colonoscopy, for instance)? Thin stools could indicate an obstruction from the cecum, down.

Good luck!

[Dr. Tadeo]

I think that your doctor should perform a colonoscopy on you. I think about Crohn`s disease, or ulcerative colitis.

How about changing something in your diet, eating more easily digestible meals and trying to eat regularly. Moreover you may try using probiotics - because balance of bacterial flora of the gastrointestinal tract can be disturbed. That may also cause gastrointestinal problems.

I think that you should visit your doctor, because colonoscopy should be done.