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Suggest Treatment For Intermittent Diarrhea With Abdominal Cramps
Brief Answer:
Information
Detailed Answer:
Hello XXXXXXX
When a person has been having diarrhea for 3 or more weeks, it's time to do stool studies.
Taking an antibiotic can alter the healthy bowel flora, and people can experience diarrhea for a while but 3-4 weeks is excessive.
In addition, sometimes people can get an infection with a bowel pathogen called Clostridium difficile (c. dif) and this type of diarrhea can go on much longer and need treatment.
So, I recommend you go in to see your doctor, have stool studies done (from a stool sample) and be tested for c. dif.
Continue to take the probiotics (which should contain both lactobacillus acidophilus and bifidus - both are "good" bacteria which normally live in the bowel). If it turns out you do have an infection with c. dif, talk with your doctor about the probiotic saccharomyces boulardii.
While your digestive tract heals, observe whether certain foods exacerbate the cramping and loose stools, such as dairy or wheat products. If you find that there is a correlation, then avoid them for now. Adults have a limited amount of the dairy-sugar digesting enzyme lactase, and when there are bowel disturbances, there can be less of that enzyme, causing cramping, bloating or gas, and loose stools in the presence of dairy.
I hope this information helps. Please let me know if I can provide further information or clarification.
Information
Detailed Answer:
Hello XXXXXXX
When a person has been having diarrhea for 3 or more weeks, it's time to do stool studies.
Taking an antibiotic can alter the healthy bowel flora, and people can experience diarrhea for a while but 3-4 weeks is excessive.
In addition, sometimes people can get an infection with a bowel pathogen called Clostridium difficile (c. dif) and this type of diarrhea can go on much longer and need treatment.
So, I recommend you go in to see your doctor, have stool studies done (from a stool sample) and be tested for c. dif.
Continue to take the probiotics (which should contain both lactobacillus acidophilus and bifidus - both are "good" bacteria which normally live in the bowel). If it turns out you do have an infection with c. dif, talk with your doctor about the probiotic saccharomyces boulardii.
While your digestive tract heals, observe whether certain foods exacerbate the cramping and loose stools, such as dairy or wheat products. If you find that there is a correlation, then avoid them for now. Adults have a limited amount of the dairy-sugar digesting enzyme lactase, and when there are bowel disturbances, there can be less of that enzyme, causing cramping, bloating or gas, and loose stools in the presence of dairy.
I hope this information helps. Please let me know if I can provide further information or clarification.
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Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Answered by
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