# Edges and grooves on stools?



## whatisgoingon

I had stomach pain that lasted a couple weeks, this was some months ago and since then things have settled down a bit. I had some pretty bad constipation problems but now things are a bit more "normal". Bowel movements aren't completely "smooth" but for me they never really were. What bothers me though is that my stools have never been the same since. For one they smell bad and before they never did. If my stools pass through relatively quickly, like right after a big meal and I really have to go, I usually get smaller pieces of stools, sometimes with a defined edge to it. Kind of like the edge of a box but not 90 degree, its a flatter angle that runs down the length of the stool. Just this morning though I notice a groove running down a soft piece of stool around 2 inches long, kind of like a half pipe. It looked as if the stool passed through something round protruding from my colon wall... the stool was still soft. What I notice too is that my stools only look "normal" if they've had time to move through my bowels slowly for maybe 4-6 hours or so, though the stool I mentioned was from dinner last night, I didn't eat breakfast yet. I think what might be happening is that stools pass through the polyp (if I really have one) toward the beginning of my bowels and gets the edge shapes from that, but towards the end if given time to compact and harden the shape becomes more normal looking. Is that a possibility? I'm going to schedule a colonoscopy to get this checked out but I still want to know from others if they've experienced the same stool shapes, did you have a colonoscopy that checked out normal? If a polyp didn't cause these defined edges and groove in the stools what else could have?


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## BQ

Your stool sounds absolutely normal.... In fact looking at stool can lead one to think ALL kinds of things.. You are better off not studying it. Studying it can lead to needless anxiety. Get your colonoscopy and I would stop worrying.... so you do not bring ON the anxiety....


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## clfergus

I am at the place you dont want to be at right now and BQ is right....stop looking at your stool.I was a healthy, happy guy in end of December. Wake up....go # 2 once, then again a few hours later. Then my anus started to ache so I googles anus ache and colon cancer popped up which led me to flat stools etc....I lost it looking at my stool everyday. My stool was soft like peanut butter at the time, chunks.....never a nice round log like yuo hear of. Sometimes it would be chunks and water. had been this way forever. When it was flat I noticed it was realy soft.So I asked my GI dr. and he said stool shape and size is not an issue. In fact, no two peoples colons are the same and the majority of shape is done via the 2 inches of you anus. But I still worried until I started getting side pains which I have now and won't go away. My anxiety sky rocketed and I can't sleep.having the colonoscopy on Friday to be safe since i now have pains.My suggestion is stop looking at you stool for shape and size. If you see blood maybe worry then.


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## whatisgoingon

clfergus said:


> I am at the place you dont want to be at right now and BQ is right....stop looking at your stool.I was a healthy, happy guy in end of December. Wake up....go # 2 once, then again a few hours later. Then my anus started to ache so I googles anus ache and colon cancer popped up which led me to flat stools etc....I lost it looking at my stool everyday. My stool was soft like peanut butter at the time, chunks.....never a nice round log like yuo hear of. Sometimes it would be chunks and water. had been this way forever. When it was flat I noticed it was realy soft.So I asked my GI dr. and he said stool shape and size is not an issue. In fact, no two peoples colons are the same and the majority of shape is done via the 2 inches of you anus. But I still worried until I started getting side pains which I have now and won't go away. My anxiety sky rocketed and I can't sleep.having the colonoscopy on Friday to be safe since i now have pains.My suggestion is stop looking at you stool for shape and size. If you see blood maybe worry then.


My IBS started out with pains. It was to the left of my belly button first, just a small sensation that lasted the entire day, I thought it was a weird stomach ache but then it got worse and worse for the next couple weeks and started effecting my entire colon. How long has your side pains lasted? I hope yours goes away too. Please keep us updated on how your colonoscopy goes!Edit: Have you had a colonoscopy before or will this be your first one? I get that looking at my stools all the time will bring on anxiety, but wouldn't it be better to find the polyp early before it starts bleeding and everything?


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## Mona Jean

whatisgoingon said:


> I had stomach pain that lasted a couple weeks, this was some months ago and since then things have settled down a bit. I had some pretty bad constipation problems but now things are a bit more "normal". Bowel movements aren't completely "smooth" but for me they never really were. What bothers me though is that my stools have never been the same since. For one they smell bad and before they never did. If my stools pass through relatively quickly, like right after a big meal and I really have to go, I usually get smaller pieces of stools, sometimes with a defined edge to it. Kind of like the edge of a box but not 90 degree, its a flatter angle that runs down the length of the stool. Just this morning though I notice a groove running down a soft piece of stool around 2 inches long, kind of like a half pipe. It looked as if the stool passed through something round protruding from my colon wall... the stool was still soft. What I notice too is that my stools only look "normal" if they've had time to move through my bowels slowly for maybe 4-6 hours or so, though the stool I mentioned was from dinner last night, I didn't eat breakfast yet. I think what might be happening is that stools pass through the polyp (if I really have one) toward the beginning of my bowels and gets the edge shapes from that, but towards the end if given time to compact and harden the shape becomes more normal looking. Is that a possibility? I'm going to schedule a colonoscopy to get this checked out but I still want to know from others if they've experienced the same stool shapes, did you have a colonoscopy that checked out normal? If a polyp didn't cause these defined edges and groove in the stools what else could have?


Yes I think too for awhile I was pretty obsessed with the shape, size, texture of my stool and WHAT could it tell me. Although I got "over" focused and my anxiety levels were very high..... I think it is good to have an understanding of what is "normal" and what is not with a Bowel Movement. Even a lay person should be in tune with his/her body....the fact is ... it is your body. So yes get the tests absolutely..... But after 20 plus years of IBS I have come to learn that there are very simple things that you can do with your diet to give you a "regular" bowel movement with regular consistency...... I write more about my story on my blog.....and one of the most helpful people that have helped me overcome my pain AND understand what is going on "in there" is Sherry Brescia ......anyways here is a bit of information that she wrote to me about this topic and I though it may help you too......"Many people think their feces is just what's left after everything they've eaten is broken down and nutrients are absorbed. Not quite. About two-thirds of your stool is made up of water, undigested fiber and food residue. The remaining third is living and dead bacteria. Also in your stool are waste products like medication residue, toxins and hormones that have been broken down by your body. Knowing what's in your feces gives you a clue why it's SO important to have regular bowel movements.For example, many harmful bacteria are eliminated when you "go." So if you're not going as often as you should, those nasty bacteria can be absorbed into your bloodstream and wreak havoc throughout your body and/or fester in your colon and encourage a diverticulitis attack.Same goes for dangerous toxins that you ingest from your food or the environment. Your intestinal tract is the elimination route for those toxins. So if your body isn't getting rid of them like it should, you could end up with food poisoning or other poisoning as a result. How often does Nature call?:If you are a reasonably healthy person with a decent diet, Nature should call a minimum of once a day, and ideally 2-3 times a day. Do the math. If you eat 3 meals a day, 7 days a week yet only "poop" 2 or 3 times a week, unless you're majorly plugging the toilet each time, you've got some serious waste buildup going on.Size DOES matter:Research has shown that most people eating a typical low-fiber Western diet eliminate only about 5 ounces of stool each day. But Africans eating their traditional healthy, high fiber diet "crank out" at least 16 ounces (one pound) or more--over three times as much. And while you can't expect the volume of your bowel movement to equal the volume of what you eat, looking at the comparison I quoted above, it appears that size does matter...and many people are on the small side. Take a close look:*Now it's time to take a look at what's in the toilet bowl*. A normal healthy bowel movement should look like a brown banana with a slight point at one end, and appear to be moist or well-hydrated. It should glide out easily with no significant grunting involved. On the other hand, if your stool looks like a bunch of balls all wadded together, or worse yet, rabbit pellets, it's been hanging around inside of you way too long. Chances are excellent that a significant amount of grunting was needed to get it out and constipation is a regular thing for you.If your stool has undigested food particles in it on a regular basis (aside from the occasional corn on the cob), that's an indicator that digestion isn't being accomplished efficiently, and may suggest low digestive enzymes.If your feces is very loose or watery, that means that it passed through the digestive tract too quickly, and not enough water was absorbed by the colon like it should have been. This too suggests poor digestion and may mean you're not absorbing nutrients like you should. Poor nutrient absorption can make you prone to conditions like anemia and osteoporosis, among others."


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## clfergus

whatisgoingon said:


> My IBS started out with pains. It was to the left of my belly button first, just a small sensation that lasted the entire day, I thought it was a weird stomach ache but then it got worse and worse for the next couple weeks and started effecting my entire colon. How long has your side pains lasted? I hope yours goes away too. Please keep us updated on how your colonoscopy goes!Edit: Have you had a colonoscopy before or will this be your first one? I get that looking at my stools all the time will bring on anxiety, but wouldn't it be better to find the polyp early before it starts bleeding and everything?


Thats exactly how mine started...left of my belly button. More of a twinge than a pain. Now it moves to the left and down.I have a few addl details too that might factor into this. I was given 3 rounds of antibiotics within 1 month which on top on my anxiety is what the GI and GP thinks have led to my pains. They think my system is simply off. I have also had some normal BM since I started freaking that have been rather normal. I held my tool once for a whole day and the next day had round logs. Just yesterday I went and had the most perfect looking stool I have had before...but it was followed by 2 rounds of loose stool kinda like mush.But who really knows whats going on.....my anxiety is so high. I might not even notice my pain if I wasnt OCD about it. It could be my system is just upset and needs time to heal. I hope its not Cancer which at 34 I know isnt likely along with I have no addl symptoms. I also hope its not Crohns or Ulcerative Colitis as well.As far as stool goes....My brother said he has flatter stool. My dad is 70 and said his stool has never been 1 piece and sometimes he goes all water, has his whole life but never thought much about it. My wife has alternating stool as well. My 3 year old son.....had a huge one yesterday but the day before a small flat one..shaped by his anus.This will be my first colonoscopy. My GP said based on my blood work and inflamation tests there was no way I has anything going on. My GI agreed it was unlikely but agreed to do the test since my anxiety has been so high.If I do not have anything, and my pains continues I am not even sure I will be classified as IBS. My ab pain doesnt get better with a BM. And I dont ever get constipated..have one large BM a day thats normal for me and for the last 3-4 days the follow-up secondary loose stool (almost like sand).Most likely I brought this on myself with stress. I doubt that a Polyp like your saying would bring on pain that moves. It almost sounds like you and I have backed up gas issues and as they move along slowly they hurt us.If your stool is moving through you that fast then it doesnt have the time to firm up like a person who goes 1 every other day so it will tend to be softer and takes its shape from the anus.


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## whatisgoingon

clfergus said:


> Thats exactly how mine started...left of my belly button. More of a twinge than a pain. Now it moves to the left and down.I have a few addl details too that might factor into this. I was given 3 rounds of antibiotics within 1 month which on top on my anxiety is what the GI and GP thinks have led to my pains. They think my system is simply off. I have also had some normal BM since I started freaking that have been rather normal. I held my tool once for a whole day and the next day had round logs. Just yesterday I went and had the most perfect looking stool I have had before...but it was followed by 2 rounds of loose stool kinda like mush.But who really knows whats going on.....my anxiety is so high. I might not even notice my pain if I wasnt OCD about it. It could be my system is just upset and needs time to heal. I hope its not Cancer which at 34 I know isnt likely along with I have no addl symptoms. I also hope its not Crohns or Ulcerative Colitis as well.As far as stool goes....My brother said he has flatter stool. My dad is 70 and said his stool has never been 1 piece and sometimes he goes all water, has his whole life but never thought much about it. My wife has alternating stool as well. My 3 year old son.....had a huge one yesterday but the day before a small flat one..shaped by his anus.This will be my first colonoscopy. My GP said based on my blood work and inflamation tests there was no way I has anything going on. My GI agreed it was unlikely but agreed to do the test since my anxiety has been so high.If I do not have anything, and my pains continues I am not even sure I will be classified as IBS. My ab pain doesnt get better with a BM. And I dont ever get constipated..have one large BM a day thats normal for me and for the last 3-4 days the follow-up secondary loose stool (almost like sand).Most likely I brought this on myself with stress. I doubt that a Polyp like your saying would bring on pain that moves. It almost sounds like you and I have backed up gas issues and as they move along slowly they hurt us.If your stool is moving through you that fast then it doesnt have the time to firm up like a person who goes 1 every other day so it will tend to be softer and takes its shape from the anus.


When I had those stomach pains my stools were all weird looking too. Sometimes it had white spots in it, most the times there was a lot of mucus covering the stools too. It was impossible to pass stools sometimes and I couldn't for 2-3 days. I think making ginger tea could help, just chop them up thinly and boil for 10-15 minutes and drink. You could also try some laxitive tea like with Senna in it as an ingredient, but you could become dependent on it so don't use it for too long. I chose not to use it... I went to a chinese herbalist, a few of them actually, and I think it helped me. According I just needed to get more active, my overall body system was too weak. Prior to this I had gum problems, I'm in my 20s and my gums have already slightly receded and it was painful for months. excersizing helped out a lot with it, I didn't believe it at first and just kept going back to my dentist over and over and he just kept telling me there's nothing he can do. The change in my gum health with excersize was very noticeable and I think maybe staying active could help out with IBS too though I'm still not sure if that's what I really have...My stools don't move through consistently, sometimes its fast and when its fast it usually is smaller pieces or slightly longer with ridges on it, when it gets to sit longer the shape becomes more normal...Alot of what you said was pretty much exactly what I went through with the stomach pain and stress. Mine didn't feel better after bowel movements either...


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## whatisgoingon

Mona Jean said:


> Yes I think too for awhile I was pretty obsessed with the shape, size, texture of my stool and WHAT could it tell me. Although I got "over" focused and my anxiety levels were very high..... I think it is good to have an understanding of what is "normal" and what is not with a Bowel Movement. Even a lay person should be in tune with his/her body....the fact is ... it is your body. So yes get the tests absolutely..... But after 20 plus years of IBS I have come to learn that there are very simple things that you can do with your diet to give you a "regular" bowel movement with regular consistency...... I write more about my story on my blog.....and one of the most helpful people that have helped me overcome my pain AND understand what is going on "in there" is Sherry Brescia ......anyways here is a bit of information that she wrote to me about this topic and I though it may help you too......"Many people think their feces is just what's left after everything they've eaten is broken down and nutrients are absorbed. Not quite. About two-thirds of your stool is made up of water, undigested fiber and food residue. The remaining third is living and dead bacteria. Also in your stool are waste products like medication residue, toxins and hormones that have been broken down by your body. Knowing what's in your feces gives you a clue why it's SO important to have regular bowel movements.For example, many harmful bacteria are eliminated when you "go." So if you're not going as often as you should, those nasty bacteria can be absorbed into your bloodstream and wreak havoc throughout your body and/or fester in your colon and encourage a diverticulitis attack.Same goes for dangerous toxins that you ingest from your food or the environment. Your intestinal tract is the elimination route for those toxins. So if your body isn't getting rid of them like it should, you could end up with food poisoning or other poisoning as a result. How often does Nature call?:If you are a reasonably healthy person with a decent diet, Nature should call a minimum of once a day, and ideally 2-3 times a day. Do the math. If you eat 3 meals a day, 7 days a week yet only "poop" 2 or 3 times a week, unless you're majorly plugging the toilet each time, you've got some serious waste buildup going on.Size DOES matter:Research has shown that most people eating a typical low-fiber Western diet eliminate only about 5 ounces of stool each day. But Africans eating their traditional healthy, high fiber diet "crank out" at least 16 ounces (one pound) or more--over three times as much. And while you can't expect the volume of your bowel movement to equal the volume of what you eat, looking at the comparison I quoted above, it appears that size does matter...and many people are on the small side. Take a close look:*Now it's time to take a look at what's in the toilet bowl*. A normal healthy bowel movement should look like a brown banana with a slight point at one end, and appear to be moist or well-hydrated. It should glide out easily with no significant grunting involved. On the other hand, if your stool looks like a bunch of balls all wadded together, or worse yet, rabbit pellets, it's been hanging around inside of you way too long. Chances are excellent that a significant amount of grunting was needed to get it out and constipation is a regular thing for you.If your stool has undigested food particles in it on a regular basis (aside from the occasional corn on the cob), that's an indicator that digestion isn't being accomplished efficiently, and may suggest low digestive enzymes.If your feces is very loose or watery, that means that it passed through the digestive tract too quickly, and not enough water was absorbed by the colon like it should have been. This too suggests poor digestion and may mean you're not absorbing nutrients like you should. Poor nutrient absorption can make you prone to conditions like anemia and osteoporosis, among others."


But none of that says anything about ridges/edges on your stools, normal stools are round, my stools sometimes have an edge to it which doesn't seem very normal...


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## Linda46

whatisgoingon said:


> I had stomach pain that lasted a couple weeks, this was some months ago and since then things have settled down a bit. I had some pretty bad constipation problems but now things are a bit more "normal". Bowel movements aren't completely "smooth" but for me they never really were. What bothers me though is that my stools have never been the same since. For one they smell bad and before they never did. If my stools pass through relatively quickly, like right after a big meal and I really have to go, I usually get smaller pieces of stools, sometimes with a defined edge to it. Kind of like the edge of a box but not 90 degree, its a flatter angle that runs down the length of the stool. Just this morning though I notice a groove running down a soft piece of stool around 2 inches long, kind of like a half pipe. It looked as if the stool passed through something round protruding from my colon wall... the stool was still soft. What I notice too is that my stools only look "normal" if they've had time to move through my bowels slowly for maybe 4-6 hours or so, though the stool I mentioned was from dinner last night, I didn't eat breakfast yet. I think what might be happening is that stools pass through the polyp (if I really have one) toward the beginning of my bowels and gets the edge shapes from that, but towards the end if given time to compact and harden the shape becomes more normal looking. Is that a possibility? I'm going to schedule a colonoscopy to get this checked out but I still want to know from others if they've experienced the same stool shapes, did you have a colonoscopy that checked out normal? If a polyp didn't cause these defined edges and groove in the stools what else could have?


I had my colonoscopy 2 weeks ago and no, I did not have polyps or bowel cancer. That was despite having very irregular bowel movements. I had mucus, diarrhea, some days normal, some days all over the place! The colour of my stools was also all over the place. I am currently waiting for my follow up appointment on the 17the February to see if I have Celiacs (or something else). Linda.


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## BQ

> I get that looking at my stools all the time will bring on anxiety, but wouldn't it be better to find the polyp early before it starts bleeding and everything?


You won't find a polyp by looking at your stool hon. So I would still urge you to Stop looking.... please.... And get yourself a colonoscopy.


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