toilet problems ~ Stool shape and size

[Peterbelfast]

Hi,
Over the past two weeks I have had some differences in the appearence of my stools. Sometimes they are full, bulky, then they have went all thin, sometimes soft blobs, and some times only a little amount of stool will pass.(Usually my second movement of the day)Its starting to concern me. There is no blood,, no pain just a wee bit of bloating no and again. I had a Sigmoidoscopy in Jan 12 so if there was anything suspect, surely it would have been picked up then. I have recently gave up coffee too which means I am hoing twice a day instead of 3 times. Is this normal?
Please help.
Thanks

[sixpack]

poos change for a variety of non lethal---and actually from mood and food most often


my advice, flush without looking.  you'll be better off.

[Peterbelfast]

Its getting me down. The changes, not knowing whats coming out next. Some of my movements look shredded! What causes your stool to be like that rather than formed?

[marc]

My GI physician told me that stress, change in diet, medicine you take, the food you eat and drink can all cause
stool changes.

[marc]

As a side note, my wife, daughter and myself went to Ireland in 2011.
We flew into Dublin from Newark New Jersey and then took a train to
Belfast and then to Limerick. Belfast was very interesting as one of the things
we did was take a taxi tour of all of the houses with the murals on them. We also
visited a Sinn Fein store and I bought a plaque about bloody Sunday. Everyone
was very friendly.

[Peterbelfast]

On a side note, why would you visit the offices of a terrorist organisation to by stuff about Bloody Sunday? Im on here to talk about my 0103, not the 0103 you have purchased from SInn Fein. Makes me angry whem people think SF are the good guys!!!

[marc]

I have a friend of mine who is from Cork and he said I should visit Belfast.
I don't think anyone is the good or the bad guys. I went just as a tourist only.
The plaque I bought was just a souvenir and it was purchased from a
Sinn Fein bookstore.

[Peterbelfast]

Sorry Marc, stressed out yesterday and haiving one of those days!

Went to the toliet this morning and my stool was sort gel like and and slightly flattened!! Whats that about?All my stools seem to ve either shredded of formed but very soft and sonetimes flattened?

Worried.com

[Peterbelfast]

Also, when its says changes to consistancy and frequentcy, how extreme are these changes for it to be something to worry about? Are we talking either the runs five times a day for more than two weeks, or pooing once a day instead of 2 or 3 times?

[marc]

My stools vary in consistently also. Sometimes they are flat, sometimes gel like, sometimes
formed, etc. My GI physician told me that it is usually more important if their is blood, they
are black, and the volume is low. Long standing diarrhea is not good either he said. He also
told me that if diarrhea is not consistent and you have normal bowel movements in between,
than things should be OK. I am not sure how old you are, but colorectal cancer is typically
a disease of middle age and up. Stress and anxiety can also cause your stools to change
and cause general abdominal discomfort. My GI doctor told me to drink plenty of water,
get plenty of fiber and take Florastor, a probiotic.

[Peterbelfast]

Im 39 in april. No history in family of colon cancer etc. Fed up with all the worry now and hate going to the docs all the time!

[sixpack]

Im 39 in april. No history in family of colon cancer etc. Fed up with all the worry now and hate going to the docs all the time!

what are you willing to do to address the disorder that has you going to the docs all of the time?  doing that, my friend, is where the answer lies.

[Peterbelfast]

I know u are right sixpack. Keep telling myself this, my wife tells me, but theres always this little voice telling you there is domethingwrong inside your body!

Going to have to stop this.

One more thing, i get a gurgling sound in my stomach around 4am in the morning, anyone else have this?

[sixpack]

I know u are right sixpack. Keep telling myself this, my wife tells me, but theres always this little voice telling you there is domethingwrong inside your body!

Going to have to stop this.

One more thing, i get a gurgling sound in my stomach around 4am in the morning, anyone else have this?

you know peeps that don't live anxiously can often listen to that little voice.  Unfortunately that little voice that we anxious hear is HIGHLY influenced by the lying BEASTY (our anxiety) and, therefore, is highly unreliable.



so your tummy gurgles at 4 am?   do you, honestly, think there is a disease out there that will only have a symptom on a clock?     and you know tummies gurgle. it is part of digestion.  the issue is that you've opted to find something sinister about it.   People with anxiety also tend to have more issues with digestion and such--more gas, more constipation, more diarrhea, more nausea, more acid reflux.........   have you ever head of the mind/gut connection with regard to anxiety?  the two are intimately connected.

[sixpack]

I just did a quick google....  took all of a minute or two to get this article about the mind/gut.  this was, I think, the first page I opened.  I could easily find more articles on it.

ARTICLE from Harvard Health Publications---harvard med school

The gut-brain connection

Out of sight, out of mind, your digestive system is working around the clock delivering the nutrients in food to your bloodstream. As long as the system is running smoothly, you tend not to think about it. Once trouble begins, however, your gut — like a squeaky wheel — suddenly demands your attention. This Special Health Report covers the major sources of gastrointestinal distress: irritable bowel syndrome, gastric reflux, upset stomach, constipation, diarrhea, and excess gas. It also includes a special Bonus Section describing how emotional stress and anxiety can cause gastrointestinal distress.

Have you ever had a “gut-wrenching” experience? Do certain situations make you “feel nauseous”? Have you ever felt “butterflies” in your stomach? We use these expressions for a reason. The gastrointestinal tract is sensitive to emotion. Anger, anxiety, sadness, elation — all of these feelings (and others) can trigger symptoms in the gut.

The brain has a direct effect on the stomach. For example, the very thought of eating can release the stomach’s juices before food gets there. This connection goes both ways. A troubled intestine can send signals to the brain, just as a troubled brain can send signals to the gut. Therefore, a person’s stomach or intestinal distress can be the cause or the product of anxiety, stress, or depression. That’s because the brain and the gastrointestinal (GI) system are intimately connected — so intimately that they should be viewed as one system.

This is especially true in cases where a person experiences gastrointestinal upset with no obvious physical cause. For such functional GI disorders, it is difficult to try to heal a distressed gut without considering the role of stress and emotion..

Stress and the functional GI disorders
Given how closely the gut and brain interact, it becomes easier to understand why you might feel nauseated before giving a presentation, or feel intestinal pain during times of stress. That doesn’t mean, however, that functional gastrointestinal illnesses are imagined or “all in your head.” Psychology combines with physical factors to cause pain and other bowel symptoms. Psychosocial factors influence the actual physiology of the gut, as well as symptoms. In other words, stress (or depression or other psychological factors) can affect movement and contractions of the GI tract, cause inflammation, or make you more susceptible to infection.

In addition, research suggests that some people with functional GI disorders perceive pain more acutely than other people do because their brains do not properly regulate pain signals from the GI tract. Stress can make the existing pain seem even worse.

Based on these observations, you might expect that at least some patients with functional GI conditions might improve with therapy to reduce stress or treat anxiety or depression. And sure enough, a review of 13 studies showed that patients who tried psychologically based approaches had greater improvement in their digestive symptoms compared with patients who received conventional medical treatment.

Is stress causing your symptoms?
Are your stomach problems — such as heartburn, abdominal cramps, or loose stools — related to stress? Watch for these other common symptoms of stress and discuss them with your doctor. Together you can come up with strategies to help you deal with the stressors in your life, and also ease your digestive discomforts.

Physical symptoms
Stiff or tense muscles, especially in the neck and shoulders
Headaches
Sleep problems
Shakiness or tremors
Recent loss of interest in sex
Weight loss or gain
Restlessness
Behavioral symptoms
Procrastination
Grinding teeth
Difficulty completing work assignments
Changes in the amount of alcohol or food you consume
Taking up smoking, or smoking more than usual
Increased desire to be with or withdraw from others
Rumination (frequent talking or brooding about stressful situations)
Emotional symptoms
Crying
Overwhelming sense of tension or pressure
Trouble relaxing
Nervousness
Quick temper
Depression
Poor concentration
Trouble remembering things
Loss of sense of humor
Indecisiveness
 

[Peterbelfast]

Thanks sixpack. Very interesting reading. Thank you for posting this.

[Slangevar]

Great article, Sixpack (as always!).  Peterbelfast - the more anxiety I feel, the more creative my bowel movements become.

Most of it is the anxiety... anxiety can cause intestinal spasms (resulting in pain, small weird stools, mucus, etc.); it can slow your digestive system (resulting in constipation and light colors) or speed it up tremendously (resulting in loose stools or stools that look like they were formed from a loose packing of hay).  The rule is, when you're anxious, don't look at your stool. It is guaranteed to look weird and probably different every day.

Doctors aren't looking for "different every day." They're looking for consistently flat stools (I mean FLAT... not small) or black smelly stools (I mean BLACK... not dark brown) or bloody stools (I mean BLOODY... not with little flecks of red, which are often tomatoes or red peppers) or a consistent change in your stool (e.g. you've been constipated for a month and you never get constipated, or you've had diarrhea for a month and you never get diarrhea). 

Occasionally, our response to anxiety can also cause changes to our digestive system. In response to our health fears, we may start taking vitamin supplements, eating more vegetables, increasing our water intake, drinking more alcohol or eliminating things like gluten. Any and all of those can easily result in changes to your stool. (I wound up getting a colonoscopy after a diabetes scare caused me to cut out bread and increase water.) 

[wegngis]

I'm no expert in this field, but I tell people all the time:  Blueberries change a man.  Actually, so does red rope licorice.

[Peterbelfast]

Thanks Slangevar. Was just going to ask about what doctors look for and how serious your symptoms have to be for it to be something sinister.
How long will it take to get you digestive system / stools back to normal....if there is a normal lol

[Slangevar]

I suspect everyone is a little different, but it takes me anywhere from a few days to a couple of weeks for my digestive system to recover after a period of anxiety.  I came out of a terrible bout of anxiety a couple of days ago and my system is still a mess... my stomach gurgles; I seem to burp constantly; I have aches in scary abdominal places from gas; my abdomen is bloated and feels firm and my stool is too creative and ever-changing to be described.  (TMI, I know, but I felt it might help to hear what "normal" anxiety-related digestive issues sound like.) 

If you're really worried about it, what I do is set a calendar reminder for two weeks in the future. For the intervening two weeks, I try to distract myself, go to the gym and recover from the anxiety. By the time the calendar reminder comes up ("Still having digestive problems?"), I'm usually back to normal. 

Hope you stop gurgling soon!  I literally feel your pain. :-)

[vardnas]

Slang, that calendar reminder idea is one of the BEST I've ever heard. It could definitely be applied to all manner of health concerns.

[Slangevar]

Thanks!  I wish I could take credit for it, but I think it's a CBT trick I read somewhere. Anyway, it successfully defuses probably 70% of my HA freak-outs. 

[Flyerfan]

Diet and stress can really do a number on our digestive system.

A couple years back after cutting some things out of my diet, I went through a period of constipation for about two weeks, then It seemed to normalize, but then I went through a couple of months of a period of soft, frequent bm's. Something I hadn't been used to most of my life. I was going to a naturopath at the time and in the end we figured it was my diet changes and stress.  It eventually worked itself out but during that time I stressed and stressed to the point of getting a colonoscopy in my early 40's. 

That all being said, I'm going through a little bit of a rough patch right now and I think it is my diet again (which I've been "playing" with) and stress.  I'm hoping once I get back on track I'll be good to go.