# Thin stool/constipation



## Kristen_ (Jul 3, 2009)

First of all, I'm not professionally diagnosed with IBS, but I'm working on it.I have a few questions. First; is it normal for your bowel movements to change when you're stressed? I've been extremely stressed out and worried since Monday night, and I noticed my bowel problems shortly after.Second; I've always read that thin stool is something to be concerned about, whether it means colon cancer, an obstruction, or something else. Is this true? Can regular constipation cause thin stool? I have been going to the bathroom every day since this past Tuesday, which is not normal. Usually I only go every 3 days or so, sometimes longer. I am getting extreme urges to go, but when I go the bathroom, I have to try and try to get anything out, and when I do, it's thin. All of the stool is thin today. Yesterday, there were normal sized pieces after I pushed some thin stool out, so I guess that's a good sign. But today, I feel like I need to go SO badly, but it takes me 30 minutes to pass a few thin stools. It's sooo frustrating! So, any ideas as to what's going on? Could it all be stress? Should I worry?


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

Sometimes people without IBS can see changes in stool consistency when stressed, with IBS that is pretty common.The idea that thin stools = colon cancer was thought up in the mid-1800's and repeated as it seems logical. There is no data to suggest it is a real feature of colon cancer and there was a recent paper that looked to see if there was anything to it and determined that all evidence suggests thin stools is from stool consistency changes not from something blocking part of the colon.Could be stress and sometimes if you are backed up for awhile you'll have a "clean out" sort of thing with a lot of BM's.


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## CMJMHOME (Aug 8, 2009)

I too have noticed thin stool lately. How long I don't know because I recently have had some ibs issues that have now made me aware of the fact I have thinner stools. I have the opposite of you where I need a bathroom right now and many times it is after I just went a few hours ago. Since the awareness is new I have become overly sensitive to everything which is stressfull which is causing me more problems, so its feeding on itself. Fiber has helped some and the fact that thinner stools are not really and issue have calmed the stress some. If you really spend time on this forum I would guess thin stool has got to be in the top 10 topics and we can't all have colon cancer esp. since most of us here are younger(under 50). Chances of IBS is like 1 out of 6 people(maybe 1 out of 10) and chances of colon cancer under 40 is like 1 to 4000 (cdc website) which doesn't account for how many under 40 have markers or high immediate family history so without this I bet the odds are even higher. The fact you can go at all means no blockage and changes in shape of stool means no tumor(which doesn't change in shape)


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## Theloneone (Jul 16, 2017)

I too have thin stools and i know this is like 8 years later but did any of you find out what was going on?


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