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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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Suggest Treatment For Irregular Bowel Movements

I am a 61 year old female, generally healthy and active. I may go for 3-4 days without a bm and then will have 4-7 in a morning. I don t have pain, bloating, diarrhea or other symptoms. This really is inconvenient at times!!! Are there other things that I can do other than increase water intake, increase fiber, take probiotics? Could this be IBS?
posted on Wed, 6 Dec 2017
Twitter Mon, 15 Jan 2018 Answered on
Twitter Tue, 16 Jan 2018 Last reviewed on
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General Surgeon,  's  Response
Hi.
Thanks for your query.
Noted the history and understood the concerns.
Constipation alternating with loose stool in an elderly female of 61 can be due to cancer of colon as this is one of the known suggestive symptoms. IBS that is irritable bowel syndrome can be another reason but this needs to be all normal relevant investigations.
Hence I would advise you the following ins such a situation:
Tests of stool, blood and urine.
CT scan of abdomen.
Colonoscopy and biopsy.
If all the investigations are normal then this can be taken as due to IBS and treated accordingly.
If there is cancer of colon, you need a referral for the cancer specialist and get treated as per the stage found.
If there are fecoliths causing such problems then you need a preliminary soap-water enema followed by stool softeners to suit you the most and dosages top be adjusted as per the need.
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Suggest Treatment For Irregular Bowel Movements

Hi. Thanks for your query. Noted the history and understood the concerns. Constipation alternating with loose stool in an elderly female of 61 can be due to cancer of colon as this is one of the known suggestive symptoms. IBS that is irritable bowel syndrome can be another reason but this needs to be all normal relevant investigations. Hence I would advise you the following ins such a situation: Tests of stool, blood and urine. CT scan of abdomen. Colonoscopy and biopsy. If all the investigations are normal then this can be taken as due to IBS and treated accordingly. If there is cancer of colon, you need a referral for the cancer specialist and get treated as per the stage found. If there are fecoliths causing such problems then you need a preliminary soap-water enema followed by stool softeners to suit you the most and dosages top be adjusted as per the need.