[snoozin']

I live in a relatively remote location (my husband is in the military) and have been dealing with intestinal problems for about three and a half months.After I weened my daughter, I started to have a pain in the lower right side of my abdomen. The doctor said that I was constipated. Long story short, after several doctor's visits, several attempts at using laxatives of various strengths, a blood test for thyroid problems (negative), and a CT scan, the pain has not gone away (the CT scan was most recent and, though I was having a BM every day, still showed "severe" constipation). I have started taking fiber suppliments and have been having 1 to 3 BMs a day. I still have the discomfort.The discomfort varies in strength and may even be effected by my menstrual cycle. Also, I feel like my abdomen gets a little distended in the evenings sometimes.The military doctor is stumped and has referred me to another doctor. Unfortunately, there isn't a gastro specialist here so the best we can do is a general surgeon who has experience with that area of the body. I am awaiting my next appointment.There has been no mention of IBS by the doctor.My younger sister has been diagnosed with IBS herself.I know that stress can have an effect on IBS, and my husband is deployed away from home.Should I be asking my doctor specifically about IBS? Could I have developed it after my pregnancy?

 

[Kathleen M.]

It can develop at anytime, so this could be IBS.One other area I would look into since it started after pregancy is did you have any pelvic floor problems resulting from the pregnancy. That would be a non-IBS reason for the constipation and may be something to talk to the doctor about. Usually after pregancy the issues tend to be it is too loose, but it may be that there are issues of not being able to relax the pelvic floor properly could also occur. The pain and distension with the constipation are suggestive of IBS, but it needs to be evaluated to make sure there is no other cause.It may also be worth running all this past your gynecologist as sometimes female reproductive tract issues show up in bowel symptoms, and it could be something is out of whack in that area.K.