DEAR DR. GOTT: Last August, my wife had a routine blood test ordered by her cardiologist. She was found to have a very high potassium level, so the doctor prescribed Kionex powder to be taken twice a week. The only precaution was to tell the prescribing physician if constipation was experienced.

The day following the second dose, she developed chest pains and immediately called her cardiologist, thinking it was caused by her heart. The doctor checked her out and said it wasn't her heart. He then called in a gastroenterologist to look at her. He scoped her upper GI tract and found it OK except for irritation and inflammation of the esophagus. He dismissed her with a prescription for Nexium.

Just a couple of hours later, she had an urge to evacuate but passed mostly blood. A short time later, it happened again. I called her GI doctor, who told me it was probably hemorrhoids. Within the next 30 minutes, she passed bright red blood three more times, so I took her to the emergency room. By then, the bleeding had stopped. When our regular physician finally showed up, he did an examination and said he thought it was hemorrhoids, but he admitted her to the hospital for observation anyway. The next day, she was given 5 units of blood over a 36-hour period. Her stools still showed blood, but there was much less, and it was dark rather than the bright red it had been.

The third day after the initial bleeding attack, she had another. I wasn't there but was notified. I was told the only course of action was to operate to locate the source of the bleeding. She went into surgery later that evening. I was told that they had to do a complete colostomy.

The operation seemed a success for about six weeks, when she was hit with a violent attack of nausea. Following another examination, it was determined that she had developed adhesions and needed to go back into surgery. During this procedure, 20 inches of her ileum were removed because the adhesions had strangled it.

In my opinion, the surgery was a failure because she never really stopped passing blood. The amount had decreased, but it was still present. She was also in and out of the hospital over the next months, gradually growing thinner and weaker until she died of pneumonia in December.

I question the use of the Kionex powder. I asked our personal physician, the pharmacist and the surgeon, and none believed that it was the cause of her suffering. Each claimed it was a benign medication.

Some background about my wife: She was 90 when she died, but before this situation, she had been strong and active with plenty of energy. She had a family history of colon problems; her mother died of colon cancer. My wife had what was called a lazy colon and diverticulosis. She was never found to have had cancer.

I simply want closure.

DEAR READER: Kionex is a medication given orally, by feeding tube or rectal enema, to lower blood potassium levels. Typically it is given one to four times daily in a hospital setting by a medical professional. Side effects include black, bloody or tarry stools, chest pain or fluttering, diarrhea, constipation, nausea, vomiting and more.

I cannot say whether the Kionex was the cause of her symptoms. It is possible, given the fact she experienced unexplained chest pain following the second dose, shortly before the bloody stool occurrence. However, if she only had two doses, the adverse effects should have disappeared when the drug was stopped. Speak with your physician and demand answers. You deserve closure.

Dr. Peter Gott is a retired physician and the author of the book "Dr. Gott's No Flour, No Sugar Diet," available at most chain and independent bookstores, and the recently published "Dr. Gott's No Flour, No Sugar Cookbook."