GI tests for bloating / gurgling with loose stools after eat Posted: 06-06-07 16:08pm
Hello:
i am a relatively healthy 48 year old
male. Since september, I have experienced
stomach bloating and gurgling soon after
eating with occasional diarrhea . Those
are the primary symptoms. No cramping, no
vomiting, no sour stomach/heartburn, no
visible blood in stool, no weight loss,
etc. Persistent bloating/gurgling with
occasional loose stools after
eating..That's about it.
Doesn't seem to be related to any
particular food (ie lactose intolerance).
Onset of symptoms was sudden. One week I
was fine, ever since I have had this
problem. Never had a problem of this sort
before except for the occasion/infrequent
bout of stomach flu. At first, I thought I
had consumed some spoiled milk but the
symptoms have lasted for 9 months now.
About 3 weeks ago, I finally went to my gp
and he diagnosed dyspepsia and put me on
20 mg of omeprazole daily along with
acidophillus/lactobacillus capsules which
I take several times per day. I started
this therapy about 3 weeks ago and
symptoms are pretty much the same, perhaps
slightly less severe. Prior to going to
the gp, I had taken acidophillus as a
remedy but not as consistently as I have
during the last few weeks. I experienced
some slight mitigation of symptoms but the
problem never fully went away.
Last week, about 2 weeks after beginning
the therapy, I was tested (blood test for
antibody) for h pyroli and the test came
back in the .35 range; well within the
normal range.
Given the sudden onset of symptoms, I
believe I probably have some sort of
bacterial infection/imbalance in my gut
and the bloating/gurgling is a product of
that. I suppose it is also possible that I
have some sort of amoebic/parasitic
infection but I haven't been drinking out
of ponds or traveled to india or anything
of that nature.
I am getting frustrated and I think my gp
is barking up the wrong tree.
If there is a gi specialist on this forum
can you please suggest what tests I should
have or what you think might be the root
cause of my symptoms?
According to the symptoms you report of
experiencing “stomach bloating and
gurgling soon after eating with occasional
diarrhea” that has lasted for more than
9 months... it is hard to say what the
real problem is. Dyspepsia is a general
term that means disturbed digestion but
without identifying a precise cause.
Intestinal infection can be confirmed or
excluded by microbiological examination of
the stool. A gastroscopy can reveal if
there is a disorder of the stomach or
duodenum that is causing the symptoms. A
colonoscopy is used to explore the large
intestines and to find any possible cause
for the diarrhea. An abdominal ultrasound
is also useful for diagnosing the
situation. If everything is OK with these
diagnostic tests, the only possibility
left for diagnosis would be irritable
bowel syndrome (IBS). You can request
these procedures and advice from a
gastro-intestinal specialist.
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