HealthCareMagic is now Ask A Doctor - 24x7 | https://www.askadoctor24x7.com

Get your health question answered instantly from our pool of 18000+ doctors from over 80 specialties
159 Doctors Online

By proceeding, I accept the Terms and Conditions

Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

HCM Blog Instant Access to Doctors
HCM BlogQuestions Answered
HCM Blog Satisfaction

Suggest Treatment For Chronic Diarrhea

Hi, I have had diarrhea for 15 years. I can control it by u sing Imodium and eating fruit but when I eat a big meal I sometimes have an explosion within an hour and have had a few accidents. I am a 67 -year old woman, what can I do to control my bowel?
Wed, 10 Aug 2016
Report Abuse
General & Family Physician 's  Response
Hi dear,

Thanks for choosing Healthcaremagic

There are several common causes of chronic diarrhea, most chronic diarrhea are due to malabsorption issues, some could be due to inflammatory bowel diseases such as Crohns disease or ulcerative collitis, however the latter two have other prominent symptoms such as bloody diarrhea,very painful abdominal cramps or severe diarrhea.

Given that you haven't mentioned any other symptoms other than diarrhea after eating food could be a sign of malabsorption induced diarhea, some malabsorption diseases such as Lactose Intolerance, Celiac disease etc could lead to chronic diarrhea, specially after taking certain kinds of food.

at the moment you can start following certain diet plans and avoid certain kinds of food then see if there is improvement.
You can start avoiding any dairy containing food, keep on that diet for several days to few weeks and see if there is any improvement.

If you don't see improvement then you can start on Gluten free diet for several days to weeks and see if you are starting to see improvement.

Since you mentioned that you get diarrhea after eating fruits then, it could also be a sign that you have other malabsorptions such as fructose,carbohydrates etc.

Some medications could also cause some sort of diarrhea as a side effect, so double check if there is any long term medications you are taking that could have a diarrhea side effect.

.

My best suggestion for you is that, if your symptoms are not severe and you don't have weight loss or severe abdominal pains or feeling of dizziness etc then continue with the plan I told you above which is changing diet (you can start them together then slowly introduce one type of food such as dairy and see if there is change) at.

If diarrhea persists after diet change, or you currently have more alarming symptoms like weight loss,bloody diarrhea, vomiting with blood etc , then visit Gastroenterologist or ER as soon as you can.

I hope this helped.

If you have more questions don't hesitate to ask

wishing you all the best

I find this answer helpful

Note: For further follow up on related General & Family Physician Click here.
Disclaimer: These answers are for your information only and not intended to replace your relationship with your treating physician.
This is a short, free answer. For a more detailed, immediate answer, try our premium service [Sample answer]
Share on
 

Related questions you may be interested in


Loading Online Doctors....
Suggest Treatment For Chronic Diarrhea

Hi dear, Thanks for choosing Healthcaremagic There are several common causes of chronic diarrhea, most chronic diarrhea are due to malabsorption issues, some could be due to inflammatory bowel diseases such as Crohns disease or ulcerative collitis, however the latter two have other prominent symptoms such as bloody diarrhea,very painful abdominal cramps or severe diarrhea. Given that you haven t mentioned any other symptoms other than diarrhea after eating food could be a sign of malabsorption induced diarhea, some malabsorption diseases such as Lactose Intolerance, Celiac disease etc could lead to chronic diarrhea, specially after taking certain kinds of food. at the moment you can start following certain diet plans and avoid certain kinds of food then see if there is improvement. You can start avoiding any dairy containing food, keep on that diet for several days to few weeks and see if there is any improvement. If you don t see improvement then you can start on Gluten free diet for several days to weeks and see if you are starting to see improvement. Since you mentioned that you get diarrhea after eating fruits then, it could also be a sign that you have other malabsorptions such as fructose,carbohydrates etc. Some medications could also cause some sort of diarrhea as a side effect, so double check if there is any long term medications you are taking that could have a diarrhea side effect. . My best suggestion for you is that, if your symptoms are not severe and you don t have weight loss or severe abdominal pains or feeling of dizziness etc then continue with the plan I told you above which is changing diet (you can start them together then slowly introduce one type of food such as dairy and see if there is change) at. If diarrhea persists after diet change, or you currently have more alarming symptoms like weight loss,bloody diarrhea, vomiting with blood etc , then visit Gastroenterologist or ER as soon as you can. I hope this helped. If you have more questions don t hesitate to ask wishing you all the best