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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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What Causes Severe Diarrhea And Constipation?

I have been having extreme stomach issues starting in late January. I go from having diarrhea or constipation. For instance, I had to leave the mall on Wednesday and went to the bathroom all day but then I haven t gone until today, but I took a senna so I am attributing it to that. When I do go my stool is very thin and light in color. I have extreme gas, to the extent that I don t want to go out. Somedays the smell is horrible. I can t control my gas, when I walk my dog I will just pass it. My stomach hurts all the time, not bend over in pain but consistent discomfort. It moves around. Sometimes I look pregnant and my stomach is hard. I would normally attribute all of this to IBS, I ve had it it on and off since my 20 s. Mostly due to stress or poor eating - it was always just gas. The kind that gets stuck and I would take a gas medicine and be fine. I was having an acid reflux pain in the morning prior to all of this (a tight knot in the middle of my stomach) and I ve been taking Nexium (per doctor s orders) for that and it has helped. I originally attributed all of this to a couple of weekends during the ski season when I ate poorly and had more drinks than I ever do. I don t drink on a consistent basis. I haven t had anything since this all started. I do have a bad reaction to alcohol, I get hangovers that seem much worse than my friends who drink on a consistent basis. My BIGGEST concern right now is that I feel very fatigued some days, so much so that I can t get out of bed. My body just feels like it has a virus. No energy. I don t have a headache per say but feel a dull ache in my head. All of this started as happening once in a while, now it seems to come more and more often. I feel chilled but have no fever. My knees ache but I was diagnosed with mild arthritis a couple of years ago so have been attributing it to that. It is becoming a real issue with my life. I have a daughter who is 7 so I need to keep up with her, and I m a house wife so need to keep up with that too. I find it hard to muster the energy to make dinner. I was diagnosed with mild bi-polar about 10 years ago and am on 600 mg of Lamictal and 6 mg of Klonopin (I know it is a lot but it has been 10 years and it would seem odd that it would be that. I take it 3x a day - 200 mg Lamictal/2 mg Klonopin. I ve been tapering off of xanax for a year. I was having a lot of panic attacks so we decided I should not take it at all and deal with the attacks (difficulty breathing) without meds because I had to take more and more to suppress them. I am down to 2 mg a day. It has been about a year of the tapering, taking it slow. But again, this is nothing new so I am hard pressed to attribute it to that. But obviously I don t know. My psychiatrist did not think it would be causing this. She s been pretty easy on me given I started to abuse the xanax but I really wasn t, in my head, abusing it as a drug more as a way to cope with the breathing. I have been diligent with the tapering. Somedays I wish I could take it but don t. I generally don t have an addictive personality (it runs in my family) the xanax thing sort of happened by accident. I m not depressed (well I wasn t but this situation is depressing me.) There is stress. We renovated our house starting last July and moved out and ate mostly take out. We ve been back in since Christmas but things have not been finished which causes me some irritation. My marriage is fine. We get along most of the time, fight sometimes. Nothing I would consider out of the ordinary. I m not over the moon happy but I m not looking for something better or want to leave. My daughter does suffer from anxiety and is in a CBT program. So there is for sure mental health issues but again, although they change they have been a constant for so long it doesn t seem like they could be it. I would exercise but I don t have the energy. I know that it might help but the thought of it is an absolute no. I saw my GP and she tested me for basically everything including stool sample and everything came back normal. She had me go off gluten and take the Nexium for three weeks. To no avail (aside from helping with the morning knot.) I am going to see a Gastro doctor in a couple of weeks but I m afraid that they are going to brush me off as a mental patient but I know my body and this is way different than anything I ve dealt with. I guess I d like to know your thoughts and what I should ask the gastro or ask for when I go in.
Sat, 6 Oct 2018
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General Surgeon 's  Response
Hi,

Consult a gastroenterologist and get evaluated.

An ultrasound abdomen is required for further assessment.

Hope I have answered your query. Let me know if I can assist you further.

Regards,
Dr. Shinas Hussain,
General & Family Physician
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What Causes Severe Diarrhea And Constipation?

Hi, Consult a gastroenterologist and get evaluated. An ultrasound abdomen is required for further assessment. Hope I have answered your query. Let me know if I can assist you further. Regards, Dr. Shinas Hussain, General & Family Physician