Sign-in to Ask A Doctor - 24x7
OR
Sign in with Google
Suggest Remedy For Loose Stool After Appendix Rupture
Question: My appendix ruptured April 2013. Since then my stools are loose, and sometimes just brown water. When the urge hits, I have to go then, sometimes 2 - 4 times a day. The odor is really bad, even the gas. There is a big bulge on the right side of my tummy. Sometimes when I cough the left lower side of my tummy has a pain, short and sharp. I'm a 61 y/o man in XXXXXXX TN, and getting no answers here.
I'd like an internal medical doctor.
I'd like an internal medical doctor.
Brief Answer:
Partial bowels obstruction or chronic infection is the case.
Detailed Answer:
Hello!
Thank you for the query.
Ruptured appendix has caused abdominal inflammation for sure. Every inflammation inside abdominal cavity leaves a kind of scars after healing process. This scars inside abdomen are called adhesions. Adhesion is a kind of ribbon. Such ribbon is tight and can compress intestine or even cause twisted intestine. Compressed and narrow intestine leads to partial or sometimes complete bowels obstruction.
Your symptoms can be caused either by partial bowels obstruction or chronic intestinal infection.
I`m pretty sure you have been treated with lots of antibiotic during that time. Please note that antibiotics kill and destroy good intestinal bacteria. In normal conditions, good intestinal bacteria cover a surface of large intestine. If antibiotic kills them, bad bacteria take theirs place. Bad bacteria can be a cause of all mentioned by you symptoms.
Big bulge on the right side can be a hernia in the scar area. If so, it should be larger when standing, and smaller when lying down.
I suggest you to consult your doctor as both conditions can be and should be treated. You should have some tests to find out exact reason of your symptoms. You should start with stool test, stool culture test, blood work, abdominal ultrasound and abdominal x-ray. If no infection will be found, colonoscopy is a second step. If it wont give any answer, CT enterography (special test which can show small intestine narrow areas) is a third step.
If stool test will diagnose infection, Rifaximine treatment along with probiotic intake should be tried.
Hope this will help. Feel free to ask further questions.
Regards.
Partial bowels obstruction or chronic infection is the case.
Detailed Answer:
Hello!
Thank you for the query.
Ruptured appendix has caused abdominal inflammation for sure. Every inflammation inside abdominal cavity leaves a kind of scars after healing process. This scars inside abdomen are called adhesions. Adhesion is a kind of ribbon. Such ribbon is tight and can compress intestine or even cause twisted intestine. Compressed and narrow intestine leads to partial or sometimes complete bowels obstruction.
Your symptoms can be caused either by partial bowels obstruction or chronic intestinal infection.
I`m pretty sure you have been treated with lots of antibiotic during that time. Please note that antibiotics kill and destroy good intestinal bacteria. In normal conditions, good intestinal bacteria cover a surface of large intestine. If antibiotic kills them, bad bacteria take theirs place. Bad bacteria can be a cause of all mentioned by you symptoms.
Big bulge on the right side can be a hernia in the scar area. If so, it should be larger when standing, and smaller when lying down.
I suggest you to consult your doctor as both conditions can be and should be treated. You should have some tests to find out exact reason of your symptoms. You should start with stool test, stool culture test, blood work, abdominal ultrasound and abdominal x-ray. If no infection will be found, colonoscopy is a second step. If it wont give any answer, CT enterography (special test which can show small intestine narrow areas) is a third step.
If stool test will diagnose infection, Rifaximine treatment along with probiotic intake should be tried.
Hope this will help. Feel free to ask further questions.
Regards.
Note: Revert back with your health reports to get further guidance on your gastric problems. Click here.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Answered by
Get personalised answers from verified doctor in minutes across 80+ specialties
