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What Causes Bloating, Diarrhea And Stomach Cramps Despite A Normal Blood Work?

Posted on Thu, 6 Oct 2016

Question: I am so frustrated with going to Doctors and not finding a goo course of action for my digestive problems. I have been tested for about everything that can be done with blood, urine and Stool samples and everything is negative. Started looking on the internet for possible solutions only to get criticized by physicians for doing so. I have a friend tell me to get a ultrasound to check and see if i have gall stones that are internittentlky causing this bloating, cramps and diarrhea problems. I mentioned itto my physician and he tells me that the the blood tet that looksat the gallbladder indicates that there is not problem. relayed this to my firend who went through basically the same thing and they discovered that dispite a normal blood test he had 10 gallstones that were moving around causing the bile duct to not always deliver the needed enzymes for normal digestive system to work correctly. So fruistrating that i am havint o educate myself this much and tell my doctor the course of action I want him to go.

Answered by Dr. Grzegorz Stanko (45 hours later)

Brief Answer:
Ultrasound is strongly recommended.

Detailed Answer:
Hello!

Thank you for the query.

If someone says that gallstones can be diagnosed with blood work, it simply means that this person has no idea what gallstones are. Gallstones can give any abnormal blood work only in case of bile ducts obstruction or gallbladder inflammation. Otherwise, blood work can be perfectly normal.
So abdominal ultrasound is almost the first test which you should have done. Even before colonoscopy and stool tests.
In my opinion, you should also have gastroscopy done to rule out celiac disease.

If the symptoms have started after an antibiotic usage or travel abroad, small intestine bacterial overgrowth can be the reason. In such case, you should try Rifaximine treatment.

Hope this helps.
Regards.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Grzegorz Stanko (1 hour later)

Sorry I forgot to mention that I did have a test to rule out celiac disease which was negative. This problem has been going on (on and off) fro more than a year now and now seems to be worse with the bloating, cramps and irregular stools. I have been taking probiotics as well thinking that it is some sort of bacteria or lack of bacteria problem. It has never been suggested to get an abdominal ultrasound. I have an apt with a gastro Dr on the 19th to suggest this.

I am hoping that it is my gallbladder, but also wondering how common this is in the population.

Answered by Dr. Grzegorz Stanko (3 hours later)

Brief Answer:
Gastrologist consultation is the right decision.

Detailed Answer:
Gastroenterologist consult is the right choice. Probiotic is sometimes not enough for intestinal bacteria overgrowth. So please try to discuss Rifaximine treatment with gastro doctor. And of course have abdominal ultrasound done. Gallstones are very common disease. We assume that gallstones can have 15-20 % of all people. Gallbladder removal surgery is the most common surgery in the world.

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Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar