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Suggest Treatment For Irritable Bowel Syndrome And Diarrhea
Posted on
Fri, 18 Sep 2015
Medically reviewed by
Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team
Fri, 18 Sep 2015
Answered on
Thu, 8 Oct 2015
Last reviewed on
Question : I was diagnosed with Irritable bowel syndrome years ago but lost my insurance and I'm having problems with it again. My new job needs a note stating my dx due to frequently having to use the bathroom because of my diarrhea. Can you help me with a note with my dx on it?
Brief Answer:
Contact the doctor who made the diagnosis.
Detailed Answer:
I'm sorry that without being able to see you, a note from me would not be very helpful.
I advise you contact the previous doctor who made the diagnosis to write a letter to your workplace.
If your predominant symptoms are diarrhea, there are several medications available now for irritable bowel:
Lomotil and Imodium - these are antidiarrheals (and can be purchased without prescription)
Cholestyramine (Prevalite) - this is a cholesterol lowering medicine that has the side effect of being binding (decreases diarrhea)
Rifaximin (Xifaxan) - helps with bloating + diarrhea (but is very expensive)
If cramping and pain are issues, treatment for those symptoms include:
Bentyl and Levsin - for cramping, intestinal spasms
Certain antidepressants such as a low dose of a tricyclic antidepressant or certain SSRIs can help with pain.
You may also want to have a trial of a couple of months off of glutens (wheat, rye, barley). Also consider a trial off of certain specific foods which contain FODMAPs which are found in certain grains, vegetables, fruits and dairy products. You may not be bothered by every FODMAP food so some experimentation is required. You can do this by trying a diet without FODMAPs and then if you are doing better, reintroduce them one at a time. A nutritionist/dietician can help you with figuring out which foods have FODMAPs in them.
I hope this information helps.
Contact the doctor who made the diagnosis.
Detailed Answer:
I'm sorry that without being able to see you, a note from me would not be very helpful.
I advise you contact the previous doctor who made the diagnosis to write a letter to your workplace.
If your predominant symptoms are diarrhea, there are several medications available now for irritable bowel:
Lomotil and Imodium - these are antidiarrheals (and can be purchased without prescription)
Cholestyramine (Prevalite) - this is a cholesterol lowering medicine that has the side effect of being binding (decreases diarrhea)
Rifaximin (Xifaxan) - helps with bloating + diarrhea (but is very expensive)
If cramping and pain are issues, treatment for those symptoms include:
Bentyl and Levsin - for cramping, intestinal spasms
Certain antidepressants such as a low dose of a tricyclic antidepressant or certain SSRIs can help with pain.
You may also want to have a trial of a couple of months off of glutens (wheat, rye, barley). Also consider a trial off of certain specific foods which contain FODMAPs which are found in certain grains, vegetables, fruits and dairy products. You may not be bothered by every FODMAP food so some experimentation is required. You can do this by trying a diet without FODMAPs and then if you are doing better, reintroduce them one at a time. A nutritionist/dietician can help you with figuring out which foods have FODMAPs in them.
I hope this information helps.
Note: For further follow up on digestive issues share your reports here and Click here.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Answered by
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