When should I see a gastroenterologist for chronic diarrhea?

You should consider GI evaluation when diarrhea lasts more than four weeks, keeps recurring, occurs at night, or is accompanied by bleeding, weight loss, anemia, dehydration, or abdominal pain.

Can stress and anxiety cause chronic diarrhea?

Stress can significantly worsen gastrointestinal symptoms and may contribute to IBS-related diarrhea. However, persistent diarrhea should not automatically be attributed to stress without proper evaluation to exclude inflammatory, infectious, or structural disease.

What are the risks of untreated chronic diarrhea?

Untreated chronic diarrhea can contribute to dehydration, electrolyte imbalance, nutritional deficiencies, weight loss, and delayed diagnosis of inflammatory, infectious, or structural GI conditions.

When is a colonoscopy recommended for chronic diarrhea?

Colonoscopy may be recommended for chronic diarrhea when symptoms are persistent, unexplained, associated with alarm signs, or when microscopic colitis, IBD, polyps, or structural disease must be excluded.

Can probiotics cure chronic diarrhea?

Probiotics may help certain patients, but they are not a universal solution and are often ineffective when the underlying cause remains unidentified. Proper diagnosis is necessary before meaningful long-term improvement can occur.

Chronic Diarrhea Treatment in Los Angeles

Uncovering What’s Causing Persistent Diarrhea, Urgency, and Digestive Disruption

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Understanding Chronic Diarrhea

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Occasional diarrhea is common and often related to temporary infections, dietary triggers, or medication changes. Diarrhea that persists for weeks or months, recurs frequently, or significantly interferes with daily life is different. Chronic diarrhea can disrupt nutrition, sleep, work, travel, and quality of life, and often reflects an underlying gastrointestinal condition that requires proper evaluation.

Many patients spend years cycling through restrictive diets, anti-diarrheal medications, probiotics, or elimination plans without ever receiving a clear diagnosis.

At Innovative GI, Dr. Cameron Sikavi, widely regarded as the best doctor for chronic diarrhea in Los Angeles, takes a diagnostic-first approach to persistent bowel dysfunction, identifying the specific mechanism driving your symptoms and building a treatment plan that addresses the cause rather than simply suppressing the symptoms.

What Causes Chronic Diarrhea?

Different conditions require fundamentally different treatment strategies, so it’s extremely important to identify the correct cause of chronic diarrhea. Conditions Dr. Sikavi evaluates include:

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Irritable Bowel Syndrome with Diarrhea (IBS-D)

A functional gastrointestinal disorder characterized by chronic loose stools, urgency, abdominal pain, bloating, and bowel pattern changes associated with defecation.

Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth (SIBO)

Excess bacterial growth within the small intestine can disrupt digestion and absorption, leading to diarrhea, bloating, gas, abdominal discomfort, and food intolerance. Breath testing helps confirm the diagnosis.

Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD)

Conditions including Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis cause chronic intestinal inflammation and may present with diarrhea, bleeding, abdominal pain, urgency, and weight loss.

Microscopic Colitis

A frequently overlooked inflammatory condition that causes chronic watery diarrhea, particularly in older adults. Colonoscopy may appear normal visually, making biopsies essential for diagnosis.

Celiac Disease

An autoimmune reaction to gluten that damages the small intestine and interferes with nutrient absorption, often causing diarrhea, bloating, fatigue, anemia, and unintended weight loss.

Bile Acid Malabsorption

Excess bile acids entering the colon can trigger persistent watery diarrhea and urgency that are commonly misdiagnosed as IBS-D.

Pancreatic Insufficiency

Inadequate digestive enzyme production by the pancreas can impair fat absorption and lead to chronic loose stools, greasy stools, bloating, and nutritional deficiencies.

Medication-Induced Diarrhea

Antibiotics, metformin, magnesium-containing medications, acid suppressants, and many other commonly prescribed medications can contribute to chronic diarrhea symptoms.

Infectious Causes

Certain parasitic, bacterial, or post-infectious conditions can cause prolonged diarrhea that persists long after an initial illness appears to resolve.

Colorectal Cancer or Structural Disease

Colon polyps, tumors, or inflammatory changes can alter bowel habits and require colonoscopy evaluation, particularly in patients over 45 or those with alarm symptoms.

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We have designed the entire diagnostic experience around clarity, efficiency, and thoroughness, from your first call to your final follow-up. Here is what a chronic diarrhea treatment looks like at Innovative GI:

How Chronic Diarrhea Is Diagnosed

Thorough Clinical Evaluation

Dr. Sikavi conducts a detailed review of your bowel patterns, stool characteristics, diet, medication history, travel history, associated symptoms, and medical background. The consultation is focused, unhurried, and centered entirely around understanding the full clinical picture.

Advanced Diagnostics Follow the Clinical Picture

Depending on your symptoms and presentation, Dr. Sikavi may recommend a colonoscopy with biopsies, upper endoscopy, breath testing for SIBO, stool testing, targeted laboratory work, celiac testing, pancreatic function testing, or specialized imaging.

Results are Interpreted With Full Clinical Context

Test findings are never viewed in isolation. Dr. Sikavi integrates all results with your symptoms, history, and risk factors to identify the underlying mechanism responsible for your diarrhea.

A Personalized Treatment Plan Just For You

Once the cause is identified, Dr. Sikavi develops an individualized management plan to reduce symptoms, restore digestive stability, and, whenever possible, prevent recurrence.

How Chronic Diarrhea Is Treated

Chronic diarrhea treatment in Los Angeles depends entirely on the underlying diagnosis identified through evaluation. Dr. Sikavi develops highly individualized treatment strategies that may include dietary therapy, medications, microbiome-directed treatment, or procedural intervention.

Dietary and nutritional modification

Certain food triggers, poorly absorbed carbohydrates, artificial sweeteners, lactose intolerance, and gluten sensitivity can significantly worsen diarrhea symptoms. Dietary recommendations are tailored to your specific diagnosis and symptom pattern rather than generalized restrictions.

Targeted pharmacotherapy

Prescription therapies may include anti-inflammatory medications, bile acid binders, antispasmodics, gut-directed antibiotics, or IBS-targeted medications, depending on the cause identified during evaluation.

SIBO treatment

When bacterial overgrowth is identified, targeted antibiotic therapy combined with strategies to support motility and reduce recurrence can significantly improve diarrhea, bloating, and abdominal discomfort.

Inflammatory bowel disease management

Patients with Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis require a structured treatment plan designed to reduce inflammation, induce remission, and prevent disease progression.

Pancreatic enzyme replacement

Patients with pancreatic insufficiency benefit from digestive enzyme supplementation that improves nutrient absorption and stool consistency.

Colonoscopy and endoscopic evaluation

When inflammatory, structural, or malignant causes must be excluded, colonoscopy and upper endoscopy allow direct visualization and tissue biopsy for definitive diagnosis.

Frequently Asked Questions About Chronic Diarrhea

Why Patients Choose Innovative GI for Chronic Diarrhea Treatment in Los Angeles

If you’ve been living with persistent diarrhea, urgency, bloating, or unpredictable bowel habits without clear answers, our mission is to provide answers and relief. Dr. Sikavi, the best doctor for chronic diarrhea in Los Angeles, focuses on identifying the actual source of your symptoms rather than masking them with temporary solutions.

He is a board-certified, UCLA-trained gastroenterologist who earned his medical degree from Chicago Medical School and completed a specialized fellowship in Gastroenterology and Hepatology at UC Irvine. A published researcher and specialist in advanced GI diagnostics, microbiome disorders, and complex digestive conditions, he brings an investigative, highly personalized approach to every patient evaluation.

Our Los Angeles gastroenterology practice, located directly across from Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in the heart of West Hollywood and Beverly Grove, was designed to feel different from the standard GI clinic:

Advanced diagnostic testing, including colonoscopy, SIBO breath testing, stool testing, and targeted laboratory evaluation
Personalized treatment protocols built around confirmed diagnostic findings
Expertise in IBS, SIBO, inflammatory bowel disease, microscopic colitis, and complex chronic GI symptoms
A focused, concierge-level environment where Dr. Sikavi gives you his full, undivided attention
Convenient access from Beverly Hills, West Hollywood, Mid-Wilshire, and the broader Westside

Ready to find out what is actually causing your chronic diarrhea and digestive symptoms?

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