Q: I am a 52 years old woman and get 3 semi solid motions in a day; two in the morning and one in the evening. The stool just sinks down and disintegrates. Note it is not loose when I pass it. After the second and third motion, I feel very weak and drained. Also, after passing a motion I always feel as if my bowels are not fully cleared. I also feel bloated stomach after passing a motion. Please suggest some remedy for this problem. I eat a healthy diet. No milk as I have lactose intolerance so instead I take 2 cups of curd.

A:I note that your major symptom is one of bloating of abdomen with some discomfort and most importantly that you are lactose intolerant. This essentially means that your intestinal digestive system is lacking in a specific digestive enzyme, which converts the sugar lactose in the milk into easily absorbable mono-sugars into the body to support your metabolism. Ordinary dairy milk contains this sugar and that is why you were advised to avoid cows milk. However the fact that your consuming yoghurt (curds) means that your diet is not totally lactose free and this would explain a lot of your digestive symptoms. In addition you should also try and avoid other milk products like cheese and milky sweets and this well worth trying. If this does not help you need to consult a gastro-enterologist for opinion and tests.