What could this be?

(Cardiff)

Female, 50 years of age. Diet consists of mostly carbohydrates and cheese. She does not consume meat or protein supplements. Nor does she eat veg or fruit often. She has a protruding abdomen despite her lack of appetite. Her body mass despite her abdominal area is small in retrospect. She was recently diagnosed with an internal hernia and has liver issues as a result. Her digestion is awful, constantly passes wind and has bowel movements more frequently than is considered normal; she has a yellow tinge to her skin tone and has discolouration of her skin pigments. In addition she complains of back ache, stomach ache and her feet swell. She is showing signs of hair loss also.

Your Question: What could this be?

The diet consists of fat and complex sugars and this combination is bound to have an effect on the bowel. I suspect from the description you give that she has a degree of IBS, but a dietary change could change her life and you can read more about this in the IBS diet section of the website. I dont know the liver issues you are alluding to, but I am guessing that she has fatty liver disease from the high fat intake. This can lead to cirrhosis of the liver in some, if not addressed through diet change and exercise. The yellow tinge to her skin and feet swelling might be encompassed in this along with her hair loss. I assume, as she has been seen by doctors recently, that she doesnt have kidney failure as the features are similar. There are lots of other medical conditions that could give rise to similar symptoms, too numerous to go in to and less likely.

Whether she will change her diet is another question and there are so many complex psychological issues encompassed in this. It is essentially a form of addiction and she would need support for this.

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