Severe digestive problems

[TWills32]

I am wondering if anyone has experienced some of these digestive problems I am having. I'll give you a little history first. I have had pretty much constant diarrhea for about 5 years. It's very rare for me to have a normal bowel movement. Doctors kept telling me it was stress, because I was "too young" to have such problems. Also, I'm 26 now, this started happening when I was about 20 or 21.

It's especially bad if I have fast food or restaurant food. I have to use the bathroom like 15 minutes after eating, and I mean HAVE to. I get severe cramps, then the pain comes. While I'm actually going to the bathroom, I also get severe pain and discomfort. Sometimes the pain is so bad, I cry. It's all lower abdominal pain. After I am done using the bathroom, it still hurts, and I don't feel relieved. I feel like I did crunches, my muscle ache. Also, I feel nauseated.

This isn't all the time, but, it's becoming more frequent. That is what worries me. The pain just started a few months ago. I told my doctor about it, and she thinks I have a food allergy. That doesn't seem correct to me, because it doesn't matter what I eat, my stomach is always bothered.

Has anyone ever experienced this? Should I push to have a colonoscopy done? I'm just afraid insurance won't pay for it because I'm so young.

[sourpuss]

First, stop eating fast food, but you know that already.

Keep a VERY DETAILED food diary for a week. Write down every single little thing that you put in your body, what time you ate it and how you felt before and after you ate it.

Do it religiously for a week and you may find out that there is something that you are really allergic to. If you still can't figure out what's going on then see a doctor. But I'm willing to bet that you figure it out just by paying really close attention to what you are putting in your body.

[WildChild]

I'll second this. Sounds like a food sensitivity. Dairy or gluten are strong possiblities. MSG?
A food diary will help you narrow it down

[ItsASecret]

First off, avoid the high fat foods as much as you can. They are useless to a young body. Second, have you had a doctor ask you about ulcers? Some ulcers are slow to develop and can become agitated when you eat a burger lets say. But the pain will reside, to a degree, after it has passed to the GI tract. See if you can get a referral to see a gastroenterologist instead of the GP. Reoccurring diarrhea can be a sign of countless things, so it probably will be of no use to google a solution. This is matter for the professionals and I do hope your insurance will cover any and all exams that may or may not be needed.

[TWills32]

Thank you for the replies. I have been avoiding fast food like the plague. It used to only bother me when I ate fast food or restaurant food, but now it seems to be getting worse. It's to a point where I am afraid to eat anything, because I know I'll just suffer later. Obviously I have to keep eating to live, but it's scary I just hope the blood tests I need to get show I have a food allergy so this can all be solved.

[WildChild]

Very few food sensitivities show up in tests, for most you have to do an elimination diet. Which means completely removing the suspected food from your diet for several weeks and then reintroducing it one day and seeing what happens.

[TWills32]

My doctor told me to try a different food every day, but only eat that one food. It seems like that would take a long time, though. Like, one day eat nothing but rice, for example. It just seems like it would take FOREVER to figure out. Any suggestions on an easier way? I could try to eliminate foods I think are problimatic. Greesy food tends to give me a lot of trouble. Same with fatty food.

[PJhavinfunagain]

It is a pain but the elimination technique can help. Are you a hugh stress person? Have you been tested for colitis or Chrons?

[WildChild]

Never heard of an elimination diet done that way. You need to get the possible offending food completely out of your system to really make a test by eating then eat a good quantity of it one day. I've found that system frustrating too. I had a sensitivity that I couldn't pin down when my son was new born, the sensitivity was his, not mine and since he was entirely breast fed, it was a problem. Poor little guy. I ended up eliminating all the most common high allergy foods; corn, wheat, eggs, dairy, meat, sugar and chocolate (the chocolate because while I like dark -no sugar kind of eliminated it). I didn't have any of those for a year because I just couldn't pin down any single one of them.

You might want to check out the Allergy Self-Help Cookbook by Marjorie Hurt Jones,RN. Lots of good info and recipes.

[TWills32]

Thanks again for the advice. I thought the method my doctor gave me seemed a bit tedious. No, I have not been checked for Crohns or Colitis. She just immediately assumed food allergy. We'll see.