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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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How Can Chronic Diarrhea Be Treated?

For the last year or so I have had chronic diahrrea (usually two to three days a week). I have a history of colon cancer and have been free for years. A recent (18 mo. ago?) colonoscopy was fine. My doctor has talked about gluten and dairy-free diets as a test. Didn t make a diff and, besides, I m 83 and have never had fool allergies. I tried probiotics briefly, but they seemed to make it worse. I have no bleeding, no unusual pains, but frequent and URGENT diahrrea. Any suggestions? Perhaps for an OTC help? My email is YYYY@YYYY
posted on Wed, 10 Jan 2018
Twitter Thu, 8 Feb 2018 Answered on
Twitter Fri, 16 Feb 2018 Last reviewed on
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General & Family Physician,  's  Response
Hello! Welcome to HealthcareMagic!

Chronic diarrhea has different causes, the recent normal colonoscopy would rule out some of them. Remaining possible causes include:

(1) Abnormal thyroid function.
(2) Irritable bowel syndrome.
(3) Diabetes which can affect the nerves in the gastrointestinal tract. Blood tests can check for the diabetes and thyroid function. Irritable bowel syndrome is diagnosed based on the presence of particular criteria. Over the counter anti-diarrhea medications such as Lomotil or Immodium may help but would be best to find the specific cause. I hope this helps.

Hope this clarifies your concerns. Thank you for the query.

Take care

Regards,
Dr. Michelle Gibson James, General & Family Physician
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How Can Chronic Diarrhea Be Treated?

Hello! Welcome to HealthcareMagic! Chronic diarrhea has different causes, the recent normal colonoscopy would rule out some of them. Remaining possible causes include: (1) Abnormal thyroid function. (2) Irritable bowel syndrome. (3) Diabetes which can affect the nerves in the gastrointestinal tract. Blood tests can check for the diabetes and thyroid function. Irritable bowel syndrome is diagnosed based on the presence of particular criteria. Over the counter anti-diarrhea medications such as Lomotil or Immodium may help but would be best to find the specific cause. I hope this helps. Hope this clarifies your concerns. Thank you for the query. Take care Regards, Dr. Michelle Gibson James, General & Family Physician