Gut

[Heatherrr]

I have had diarrhea for 7 years, (every day) and the problem started getting worse the last two years. Sometimes I have had rectal bleeding. I went to a naturopath who did food tests indicating gluten intolerance and an array of other food sensitivities. I went off gluten, but my problems persisted. My stools are often fatty, yellowish, pale gray, and generally a soft consistency so that I don't really feel I am emptying my colon. I imagine the walls are always coated. Recently I was put on antibiotics, and for the 7 days I was on it, my condition completely cleared up. It was so dramatic that it was like someone giving a blind person their sight back for a week. As soon as I went off the antibiotics, my symptoms reappeared. I have just had a gastroscopy and am awaiting the results. In the meantime, I would like my doctor to consider the possibility of small intestine bacterial overgrowth being the problem, since the antibiotic reaction would indicate that. Can anyone advise??!! I am desperate and afraid I am dying.

[george73]

Have you ever heard of Crohns Deisese? Don't know but worth a shot.

[Dr. Kokil Mathur]

Hi

Thanks for the post! How are you now?
The description of your stool suggests steatorrhea, where there is extra fat in stool. This is seen in celiac disease and other inflammatory bowel diseases. The fact that you responded to antibiotics suggests a bacterial overgrowth in small intestine, which is also a cause for staeatorrhea.

“The diagnosis of bacterial overgrowth is made by a number of techniques, with the gold standard diagnosis being an aspirate from the jejunum that grows in excess of 105 bacteria per millilitre. Risk factors for the development of bacterial overgrowth include the use of medications including proton pump inhibitors, anatomical disturbances in the bowel, including fistulae, diverticula and blind loops created after surgery, and resection of the ileo-cecal valve. Small bowel bacterial overgrowth syndrome is treated with antibiotics, which may be given in a cyclic fashion to prevent tolerance to the antibiotics.” Refer: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bacterial_overgrowth

Hope this helps. Please let me know if there is any thing else and do keep me posted. IPlease let me know the result of the biopsy.Take care!