<p>My mom is 83. For at least 6 months she has been having stomach problems. She gets up in the morning, feels the urge to go to the bathroom and manages to have a small bowel movement. A few minutes later, she gets stomach cramps as if she needs to go urgently and goes back into the bathroom. She has another bowel movement, this one smaller than the first. This scenario gets repeated a few more times and then she is left with a bloated painful stomach that lasts until midday.
This summer she had a colonoscopy, barium enema and endoscopy because she had unexplained anemia. The tests showed nothing serious but did reveal that she has very twisty intestines and the doctor was unable to complete the colonoscopy which necessitated the barium enema. </p>
<p>She has been back to the GI doctor and to her primary several times for the stomach trouble but all they seem to say is to try using Myralax or Metamucil. She has tried all of that with no success and is literally feeling trapped in her house everyday until noon time when her stomach feels better.</p>
<p>At last check her blood iron was normal so that still remains a mystery. i am wondering if they missed something or if there is a diagnoses such as irritable bowel that would explain her symptoms. The doctors are treating it as simple constipation and she is getting frustrated.</p>
<p>Sorry for the graphic detail but I wondered if anyone has any suggestions or advice other than to keep asking the doctors who don’t seem to get it.</p>
<p>I would second getting the opinion of a second GI. The symptoms you are describing can be related to numerous other conditions - what about seeing a gynecologist as well? How are they suggesting she use Metamucil? I drink a tablespoon in water every morning to help with IBS control. </p>
<p>@EPTR, your mother has my sympathy. Aside from that first bathroom visit, my mornings are often like hers. Tests have not shown any sign of IBD (Crohn’s or Ulcerative Colitis) but I was diagnosed with IBS about 10 years ago. I have numerous adhesions from multiple abdominal surgeries that add to my discomfort. Complicating things, after a rather unpleasant test at a local university hospital, I was told I have the muscle tone of someone 40 years older. Trying not to be too graphic, that can result in incontinence. </p>
<p>If I must leave the house before 1 p.m., I wear Depends. When I travel, which isn’t often these days, I eat lightly the day before, wear Depends, take Immodium and hope for the best. There are tote bags with wet wipes and a change of clothes in my car and dh’s car.</p>
<p>My doctors have also suggested extra fiber, but I have to be careful about how much and when. I’ve found that some probiotics help and now take Align (Bifantis) daily and experiment with others. Diet makes some difference but part of that is due to gallbladder surgery (my love of bacon is unrequited.) Stress plays a role and Librax is useful because it helps with anxiety and calms muscle spasms (at least, that’s what I understand it to do.) Those flannel bags of rice mentioned in another thread can relieve the abdominal cramps, too. </p>
<p>If I do everything “right” I will usually have more good days than bad ones, but it’s too unpredictable to count on. If there’s an actual cure, none of the doctors I’ve seen know about it. I’ve run across a number of forums where IBS is discussed and most people express frustration over the lack of understanding and treatment. Librax does seem to help others, so perhaps your mother could ask her doctor if it’s indicated for her, too. I hope she finds some relief soon.</p>
<p>What you describe is common among the elderly. Has she been treated with antibiotics recently, or before these problems started? Has she tried any pro-biotics (like yogurt or pills)? Fiber in the diet and exercise, (if she is able) might help. ( I’ve had bouts of IBS which seemed to have been triggered by antibiotic treatment. Fiber and probiotics have helped me. ) “IBS” is basically an absence of a diagnosis–it means that you have symptoms, but they can’t really figure out the cause. There is a lot that doctors don’t know about the digestive system. IBS is usually diagnosed in younger people, though.
Because of her age, you may find that doctors just write off her problems as part of the aging process, and with her “twisty intestines,” not too surprising. Do seek another opinion, but with the understanding that you may get the same answer–no diagnosis, no sure way to fix it.</p>
<p>Thank you, everyone. She was treated with antibiotics in May for a UTI. That may have coincided with her start of symptoms. She was also put on iron at the same time and we thought that might be the culprit. The doctor took her off the iron and her stomach improved for a bit but the problem is back. She does fit the profile for IBS in the sense that she suffers from anxiety and depression but I think it’s odd for it start at her age. I recommended that she keep a food diary and a record of her symptoms so we can see if there is a pattern related to diet. Beyond that, yes, another appointment with a different GI doc might be in order. I feel so badly for her. She has COPD and restrictive lung disease due to severe scoliosis. Her activity is pretty impaired so adding this problem is just depressing.</p>
<p>My sympathy to all of you who suffer with these issues. i had very unpredictable stomach issues starting in my early teens and into my thirties. It was horrible and really impacted my social life. For whatever reason, it is gone now. Hope it never returns.</p>
<p>My mother had stomach/bowel problems for several years in her late 70s. Finally, weeks before her 80th birthday, they found out she had Celiac. had not had symptoms in life at all before that. It took years of testing before that was figured out. She lost quite a bit of weight, and a lot of scarier things were suspected. Now she’s gluten-free and feels much better.</p>
<p>I thought of that, Garland. thank you. I think if she keeps a food diary, we might see a pattern. Also waiting for blood work results from last week that will tell us if her anemia has stabilized. if it hasn’t, they may want to do a CT scan to see if they may have missed something when they did the GI tests this summer.</p>
<p>DD says that peristalsis is less efficient as we age, so things do not move through as in earlier years, some faster, some slower. I would suggest playing with pro-biotics, fiber, bean-o or something similar, and a food diary.</p>
<p>It may take some time to see what works best for her, but I am told fiber helps people at both end of the spectrum and the other items would be worth a try, too. I agree with the heating pad idea for cramps mentioned above.</p>
<p>This sounds like a variant of a fairly common syndrome, which is essentially cramping. It can happen right at the anus, which can sometimes be treated with a cream or suppository that relaxes the muscle. Or it happens in the rectum. Or it is part of colitis generally. In other words, probably millions have this. I have a few of these varieties.</p>
<p>It can be set off by spicy food. Or as my kid says, everyone in her school in China had it and the “joke” was that you paid the next day for eating a hot pot (basically really hot oil with hot peppers). </p>
<p>Generally the lower the cramps the worse because the muscles have more nerve connections. Episodes might typically last 20 minutes. As far as I know, there aren’t treatments other than exercise that strengthen the core muscles. </p>
<p>I suffer from these problems as well. Eight years ago I was diagnosed with Stage 4 rectal cancer. I think further testing for your mom is just going to result in more agony. If she does get diagnosed with colorectal cancer or something similar it may not be something you want to treat. The treatment is devastating and can be much worse than what your mom is going through now. I notice if I take two Phillips caplets (it’s Milk of Magnesia in pill form) before bed I get up in the morning and have a good bowel movement and I’m good to go for the day. It’s just magnesium so it’s not harmful. I would caution you to be careful of the dose since too many nights in a row of this could result in the opposite problem. I also use a heating pad which is very soothing and drinks lots and lots of water.</p>
<p>Thank you. ams5796, I hope you have made a full recovery. My mom’s cramps are up higher in her abdomen. She did have extensive testing over the summer so I think the odds of her having a tumor are small. No sign of colitis, either.</p>
<p>I think I would explore a gluten free diet for your mom. More and more older patients are being diagnosed celiac and the unexplained anemia would fit. My BIL was just diagnosed with celiac at age 51 and his main symptoms were fatigue and unexplained anemia.</p>
<p>I would think celiac or even gluten sensitivity, even if she never was previously diagnosed.
As we age, our natural enzymes and acids don’t always work right and the symptoms sound the same.</p>