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Suggest Treatment For Chronic Diarrhea, Fatigue, Nausea And Vomiting In An Elderly Person
Question: my boyfriend who is 60 years old seems to always be sick!!!!(he was diagnosed with a early detection of lymes disease) but was diagnosed very early and taken care of).... The symptoms he complains about are cronic diarreah , being nauseous very often, seems to be tired all the time and seems to very often get a few bumps on his scalp that look like a big mosquito bite (but mosquitos are not out) they seem to come and go??? He has been to the doctor several times but seems to get a clear XXXXXXX of health even from his heart doc.. they have checked his thyroid and all is good. he is frustrated and does not want to go back to the doctor I feel just because of frustration????? can someone please help maybe you can think of something that could be causing all this he has a bout with skin cancer on his nose but again all is good there.. he sees the skin doc on the 26th?? Please please help!!! as well want to mention back in 1996 he was involved in a head on crash and had a closed head injury and brain trauma??? can someone please help with any ideas we can take to his doctor???? Thank you in advance xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Brief Answer:
Common factors have to be ruled out first.
Detailed Answer:
Hi,
Welcome to the HCM,
Tiredness, chronic diarrhea, nausea and vomiting is less likely related to the past history of brain trauma .
These symptoms can occur very commonly in Irritable bowl syndrome.This is a syndrome in which on and off diarrhea, nausea,and tiredness may occur inspite of having normal bowl function.In this syndrome all tests come normal so it is treated symptomatically for example with proton pump inhibitors, domperidone, loperamide etc .Since stress, anxiety and family history may cause this syndrome so avoiding stress and anxiety is also advised.
Other conditions which can cause these symptoms are ,
1.inflammatory bowl disease
2.Sensitivity to any food
3.Pancreatitis
4.Diverticular disease
5.side effects of certain medicines like antibiotics, NSAID , pain killers, statins (cholestrol lowering medicines )etc
To rule out pancreatitis some tests are done, those are:-
Blood levels of pancreatic enzymes levels like amylase and lipase
Stool test to measure fat level
and ultrasound abdomen to rule out any inflammation or stone in pancreas.
To rule out Diverticular disease and inflammatory bowl disease colonoscopy is advised.
If all tests come normal despite of having these symptoms then more likely it could be irritable bowl syndrome which can be managed by avoiding anxiety, taking care of diet like avoiding junk food,spicy and fried food . Also recognizing type of foods which triggers these symptoms and then avoiding them may also help to decrease these symptoms.
Now coming to the big mosquito bite like signs on scalp,I would suggest that if these are associated with scaly skin and hair loss then fungal infection has to be ruled out first by visiting dermatologist so it can be treated accordingly. It will be helpful if you upload a picture for better diagnosis.
In nut shell, first common causes and factors should be ruled out rather than concluding rare causes.
Hopefully my answer will be helpful. Please let me know, if I need to clarify you more regarding this.
Best regards,
Dr.Maheshwari
Common factors have to be ruled out first.
Detailed Answer:
Hi,
Welcome to the HCM,
Tiredness, chronic diarrhea, nausea and vomiting is less likely related to the past history of brain trauma .
These symptoms can occur very commonly in Irritable bowl syndrome.This is a syndrome in which on and off diarrhea, nausea,and tiredness may occur inspite of having normal bowl function.In this syndrome all tests come normal so it is treated symptomatically for example with proton pump inhibitors, domperidone, loperamide etc .Since stress, anxiety and family history may cause this syndrome so avoiding stress and anxiety is also advised.
Other conditions which can cause these symptoms are ,
1.inflammatory bowl disease
2.Sensitivity to any food
3.Pancreatitis
4.Diverticular disease
5.side effects of certain medicines like antibiotics, NSAID , pain killers, statins (cholestrol lowering medicines )etc
To rule out pancreatitis some tests are done, those are:-
Blood levels of pancreatic enzymes levels like amylase and lipase
Stool test to measure fat level
and ultrasound abdomen to rule out any inflammation or stone in pancreas.
To rule out Diverticular disease and inflammatory bowl disease colonoscopy is advised.
If all tests come normal despite of having these symptoms then more likely it could be irritable bowl syndrome which can be managed by avoiding anxiety, taking care of diet like avoiding junk food,spicy and fried food . Also recognizing type of foods which triggers these symptoms and then avoiding them may also help to decrease these symptoms.
Now coming to the big mosquito bite like signs on scalp,I would suggest that if these are associated with scaly skin and hair loss then fungal infection has to be ruled out first by visiting dermatologist so it can be treated accordingly. It will be helpful if you upload a picture for better diagnosis.
In nut shell, first common causes and factors should be ruled out rather than concluding rare causes.
Hopefully my answer will be helpful. Please let me know, if I need to clarify you more regarding this.
Best regards,
Dr.Maheshwari
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Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Sonia Raina
Answered by
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