Dear Dr. Donohue,

I need your help. I have had diarrhea for three months. I have tried Pepto-Bismol and Kaopectate. Neither worked. I have to use the bathroom 10 or more times a day, and I have become a prisoner of my home. How can I stop this?

Diarrhea lasting longer than four weeks is chronic diarrhea and has a list of possible causes numbering more than 30. Less-prolonged diarrhea is most often caused by infectious agents –– bacteria or viruses. Chronic diarrhea is caused by germs less often, but examples of infectious chronic diarrhea do exist. The one-celled organisms Giardia and Entamoeba are examples of such causes.

You are not going to get to first base without the help of a doctor. If you have already seen one without finding an answer, then it’s time to see a gastroenterologist, a specialist in digestive-tract diseases.

I find it impossible to even venture a guess. Have you lost weight? Do you have stomach pain? Can you relate it to any one food? Were you taking antibiotics before it started? Have you been camping? Answers to these questions narrow the search.

Illnesses that prevent food absorption cause chronic diarrhea. Examples are celiac disease or lactose intolerance. Pancreatic problems lead to diarrhea because the pancreas makes enzymes that digest food. Without those enzymes, food rushes through the digestive tract. Chronic diarrhea is seen in Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, both inflammations of the intestinal tract. An overactive thyroid gland often leads to diarrhea that doesn’t stop.

While you’re waiting to see the doctor, you might want to try medicines like Imodium A-D or Lomotil. They can often slow the passage of food through the tract. They are not cures, however.

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