What Causes Fluid Retention In Legs, Hard Stomach, Intermittent Black Stool And Vomiting?

Posted on Thu, 29 Oct 2015

Question: Good morning! My mom is 62yrs and 350. Her body retains a lot of fluid and her legs are always swollen. Her stomach is very hard at the bottom and she is in pain, she throws up all day and now her poop is black. What should she do!

Answered by Dr. Baranidharan Kuselan (19 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
Heart failure and probable upper GI bleed

Detailed Answer:
Hi there,
Thanks for posting in HCM.
I am Dr.Barani and I am pleased to assist you.

The retention of fluid and swollen legs are due to the heart failure she has.
She needs to restrict salt intake and also take diuretic pills.
The hard stomach could be again due to fluid accumulation inside which can be confirmed with clinical examination or ultrasound scan.
The pain might be due to infection of the accumulated fluid or urinary tract infection for which she is more prone as she is a diabetic. Analysis of the fluid from the abdomen and urinalysis may be done to confirm it.

Black poop may indicate internal bleed.
She needs immediate medical attention. An upper GI endoscopy may have to be done to find the source of bleed.
Black stool can also occur if she is on iron supplements or pepto bismol.

So I would advise early medical attention.

I hope that answers your query.
Let me know if you have any more questions.
Regards,
Dr.Barani

Note: For further follow-up it is advisable to consult an emergency medicine specialist. Click here.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Vinay Bhardwaj