Worried about 46 year old mother's health

[kram88]

My mother is 46 years old and lately I have been concerned with her health. First off, she smokes and drinks. She smokes at least a pack a day I think, and drinks wine almost every night. She hasn't been making an effort to quite smoking, either. She drinks 3-4 glasses of wine and it doesn't take long for her to get drunk. She slurs her words, wobbles, and gets very emotional. Of course when I tell her she is drunk, she doesn't want to hear it and shrugs my comments off. She rarely eats during the day, also. She complains that everything she eats makes her sick. She gets stomach pains, so usually she just eats a little bit during the day and may have a snack like pretzels later on. I haven't been keeping track of what she takes for her work lunch, but it's never any junk food.  She also complains that she is always bloated. She is very petite other than a belly in her middle. The doctors she has talked to told her that she just has to deal with her bloating. Maybe about two months ago or more she told me she had a lot of blood in her stool. She seemed concerned but of course didn't go to have it checked out. I haven't heard anything about it from her since then, but It still seems to me like it could be something serious. I have also heard her complain over the past year about very heavy periods and bad cramps, and considered getting her uterus removed? Or ovaries? Sorry, I can't remember which it would be.

So I think I got all of the problems she has had on here. I hope to get any sort of information for her, it's much appreciated!

[GiggleCry]

A related discussion, h pylori was started.

[C124Ace]

has she not been to a GASTROIntestinal doctor to discuss the bloating?  

In the meantime, does her diet contain lots of 'gas' producing foods?  If so, I'd suggest she stop eating those one at the time to see which is worst.  Also, I find that MINT tea/pills (non-drug) help with the bloating.  

Blood in stool: is of concern.   Gastro will check that.  

When making appt, I would definitely be specific about symptoms.

Also, has she been checked by an ALLERGIST -- allergy to some foods/drinks can cause bloating.

IBS (Irritable bowel syndrome -- have you looked ujp the symptoms on that?)

good luck

[Kevin Pho, MD]

There are a variety of symptoms that should be evaluated further.  

Unexplained bloating should warrant evaluation of the liver and gallbladder.  Ovarian cancer can also lead to refractory bloating.  Ultrasound of the aforementioned organs would be a reasonable initial test.

Blood in the stool necessitates a colonoscopy.  Colon cancer needs to be excluded before considering other causes.

Finally, for the mental status changes, you can consider imaging the head for any pathology there.  A CT scan or MRI would be reasonable.

These options can be discussed with a gastroenterologist and neurologist respectively.

Followup with your personal physician is essential.

This answer is not intended as and does not substitute for medical advice - the information presented is for patients education only. Please see your personal physician for further evaluation of your individual case.

Kevin, M.D.
www.kevinmd.com

[kram88]

Okay, I will talk to her about this. But is there any reason why it would only happen once within months time? What could that possibly mean? By the way, thank you for your input.

[tamtam504]

blood in the stool can be a very seriuos medical problem even cancer she should get a colonoscopy immediately with her age this might be a sign of a problem