Question Title: Diarrhea soon after eating

I am a 24 year old male. I have noticed over the past few months I have been getting diarrhea very often with occasional bouts of constipation. At first I thought I might have Irritable Bowel Syndrome, but lately I am not so sure. I have noticed that when I eat certain foods like green salads, vegetables and mexican chees dip (chilli con queso), I get bad diarrhea about 20-30 minutes after consumption of the food. The weird thing is I can see bits of the food (for example the lettuce) I just ate in the diarrhea. The same food was not consumed earlier in the day, so it has to be from the food just consumed 20 minutes prior. What could be causeing this? I currently do not have a family doctor. So should I seek the advise of a new family doctor or go straight to a gastroenterology specialist? Thanks.

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Dear Jim,
It is impossible to provide a definitive answer to your question regarding the cause of your diarrhea fater eating. There is a reflex called the gastrocolic reflex. This means that fater eating there will be colonic contractions that can cause defecation.

Before going to aphysician you should determine if your problem occurs everytime you eat or if it is related only to the specific foods that you mentioned. IF it is due to specific foods, then it is possible that either the food or the spices/chemicals with which it is prepared is the cause for the problem.

If you are anxious about the problem and wish to see a doctor, then you should start with a family practioner. These physicians can usually treat this type of problem.

HFHSM.D.-rf
*keywords: diarrhea
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