Having Fatigue, Bloated Abdomen, Hair Loss And Blisters On Roof Of Mouth. What Does These Symptoms Indicate?

Posted on Tue, 31 Dec 2013

Question: Hello. Here are my symptoms: - Fatigue (not cured by a good rest!) - last 6-8 weeks - Bloated abdomen - Complete change in bowel movements (both time of motion and type) - fluctuating between constipation, soft stool and diarrhoea - Reflux, but not acid, more like water (I have had acid reflux in the past and changed diet to avoid symptoms which is successful most of the time) - Extremely dry throat all the time (this is the worst symptom and is affecting my voice) - Hair loss - Spots around hairline on face - Small blister on roof of mouth which comes and goes - Last week - with diarrhea, translucent/white disk shapes about 1-2cm large floating in toilet water and also tiny white specks in stool when passing a more normal motion. (Disk-shaped, not long and thin like threadworm, circular but flat rather than round.) I have had fairly comprehensive blood tests and no unsatisfactory results so far. I am having a barium enema to check bowel, however I feel the problem is related to digestion of food/possibly malabsorption - Fingernails have started to form ridges and flake I feel generally very unwell and am desperate to find out what's going on! (Female aged 50)

Answered by Dr. Dr. Klerida Shehu (1 hour later)

Brief Answer: Please follow the suggestions below... Detailed Answer: Hi, The symptoms you are experiencing might be of malapsorption. However, you should run other tests to determine it as a diagnosis: - abdominal ultrasound (to check the status of liver, gallbladder, pancreas,etc.) - upper endoscopy and biopsy of intestines (to identify if there is malabsorption) - complete blound count - biochemistral tests - analysis of the feces for nutrient components - fecal occult blood - coproculture You can send me a copy of the results of your barium enema to further assist you. Next, you are reporting to be 50 years old, the stage of menopause (or pre-menopause syndrome), which is commonly associated with IBS as you are experiencing. Dry mouth could result by reflux; however, check blood sugar level to exclude diabetes. Hair loss could be because of hormonal changes of your actual age. The changes in your finger nails could be because of anemia which might be caused by malapsorption. The small blisters on roof of your mouth could be because of: - viral infection (due to low immunity caused by anemia) - candida infection (a mouth swab culture can determine it). With regards to the spots in your face, could you please send in a photo of your face, so I can further assist you? Thank you! Dr.Klerida

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Raju A.T

Follow up: Dr. Dr. Klerida Shehu (2 days later)

Thank you for your reply. Unfortunately I cannot provide a photo at present. I had the barium enema yesterday and have not eaten properly for a couple of days! Could the white spots and the transparent disks with diarrhoea be evidence of parasites? I have itchy skin (sporadic) and intermittent crawling sensations on soles of feet and palms of hands. I have also recently had strange muscular pains in my right arm, top of left leg, scalp and chest (top of ribcage). These have gone now, but seem to come and go very quickly except for leg pain which took longer to subside. Also I have developed small spots on legs and top of back. They are small, red spots (not particularly noticeable) which bleed easily if scratched by mistake. Again, they are intermittent. It is very unusual for me to have spots on my skin. I have had blood tests for major organs, full blood count, protein in the blood, diabetes which are all ok. I will follow up re stool samples for testing. Thank you.

Answered by Dr. Dr. Klerida Shehu (20 hours later)

Brief Answer: Please follow the suggestions below... Detailed Answer: Hi again. Thank you sending me other your medical data. With regards to parasite infection I would like to say that yes they can develop your symptoms. So, I would recommend to run fecal analysis like ova/ parasites and coproculture. I am waiting to your test results. Wishing you health. Dr.Klerida

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Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Prasad