Hi,I am Dr. Shanthi.E (General & Family Physician). I will be looking into your question and guiding you through the process. Please write your question below.
What Causes Intermittent Bouts Of Abdominal Cramps?
for the past month I have been having intermittent bouts of abdominal cramps lasting up to four to five hours. When I finally am able to pass something its usually a progression of movements starting with a formed stool to diarrhea. Several time there has been a small amount of blood that I have passed. This all started after I had made some vanilla pudding using a pudding mix that was possibly old. I don t know if the two are related.
I would recommend you to have some tests like stools for ova and parasites and also stool antigen for Giardia. These will rule out parasites as the cause of the symptoms. If you notice blood often with the stools you might also have a stool culture. Sometimes constipation alone can cause abdominal pain, diarrhea after some long obstruction from constipation and some bleeding. To make sure you are not getting constipated take extra fiber supplements with diet and as over the counter in the pharmacy and if stools are still hard and difficult can add some lactulose syrup 1-2 times a day for a few days.
If you are over 50 years old and never had a colonoscopy it is good to have one as it is recommended as a routine examination in every person over 50 years of age.
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What Causes Intermittent Bouts Of Abdominal Cramps?
Hi, I would recommend you to have some tests like stools for ova and parasites and also stool antigen for Giardia. These will rule out parasites as the cause of the symptoms. If you notice blood often with the stools you might also have a stool culture. Sometimes constipation alone can cause abdominal pain, diarrhea after some long obstruction from constipation and some bleeding. To make sure you are not getting constipated take extra fiber supplements with diet and as over the counter in the pharmacy and if stools are still hard and difficult can add some lactulose syrup 1-2 times a day for a few days. If you are over 50 years old and never had a colonoscopy it is good to have one as it is recommended as a routine examination in every person over 50 years of age. Hope I have answered your query. Let me know if I can assist you further.