Q: I am 26 years old and my weight is 60 kg. I have a problem of diarrhoea for 6 to 7 months now. I go to the toilet only once in the morning but there is urgency. The stool is sometimes semi-liquid and sometimes ill formed. Stool examinations have been done several times but show nothing serious (i.e. no blood) except sometimes mucus and pus cells. There is no pain in the abdomen but there is fullness of stomach after meals. I feel very tired after the loose motion. Sometimes following lunch, I get the sensation of passing stool for 1hr or more. In the evening I get the feeling of an empty stomach. My haemoglobin and thyroid tests are normal. Am I suffering from malabsorption or any other disease? Please suggest some treatment or tests that are required.

A:It is difficult to say what the problem is on the history you have given. I note that you are young and that you have not lost any weight. There is also no blood in your stools. Mucous can be seen in the stools of patients with the irritable bowel syndrome. If you also have bloating, fullness after meals, belching and passing wind, a feeling as if you cannot empty your bowels properly and want to go to the toilet again - then the answer is that it is probably the irritable bowel. Often these symptoms can start if there was a change in your stress levels, for example about 6-7 months ago when your symptoms started? It is reassuring that your blood tests are normal. I suggest that you talk to your doctors. At the moment there may be no need for tests ( stools, blood tests normal) apart from a sigmoidoscopy, and they could try a few tablets to start with.