# New Member - Stool Shape and Size Question



## clfergus (Jan 16, 2012)

I have been lurking on this board for a month and decided to ask a question. Up until a month ago I deemed myself normal. I never had a concern over my stool, abdominal pain etc. I would wake up and go to the bathroom on cue each day...possibly a second time around lunch.I am a 34 year old male and in relatively good shape. I was working long hours at my computer on a stressful project for work and would notice that my bottom would hurt when i would sit for hours on end. Then I started to feel as though my anal opening was loose and painful on one side. I had always suspected I had hemorroids and attributed it to long sits at my desk. After a few days of it not going away I made the mistake of going to Dr. Google and bammo...colon cancer popped up. I read about flattened thin stools and started to look at mine. For as long as I can recall I never have had the nice long, round stool. It has always been in multiple pieces and very soft. Never been constipated in my life. queried my dad and bro who too said that as they have gotten older they have had smaller pieces as well. I reflect back and I think I would recall seeing nice logs shaped stool and just can't recall it.I just could shake the thought of me not seeing these logs that Bristol scale and everyone else say are normal. To top it off, along with all of this I started having chest pains one day and saw blood when clearing my throat. So my Dr. sent me to get chest X-rays which came back normal but that was a anxiety ladened 2 day wait. Shortly after I developed a sinus infection and fever that my wife had as well. With that scare out of the way I decided to keep a Gastro Appt I had scheduled back when this all started since it takes forever to get in.The GI doc was nice, younger guy. He checked my bottom and said I had a couple of hemmorroids that were not flared at the moment whcih made sense as my anus wasn't sore any longer. He did a rectal check with his finger and said the prostate was fine and no signs of tumors present. I asked him about the fact that my stool is flatter than round and he said nothing to worry about, not everyones anus and rectum is perfectly round. Since I am young, no bleeding, no constipation or prolonger diarreha I shouldnt be concerned.To sum it up....I had been a perfectly care free individual who now just can't wrap my mind around how the colon works and wish I would have thought to ask more questions. I decided to try my own test based on a few posts I read and withheld my stool for 36 hours. The results were 4-5 normal shaped stools.Should I be satisfied that if I see I am capable of normal shape stool I am ok? I have tried adding more fiber in but it appears to upset my belly. Sounds like a growling war going on. When I do I can see that I do produce more of a 1 piece soft stool like a snake but it appear to be 1 inch wide and much narrower deep. My daily stool is like peanut butter texture almost. I guess it stands to reason that my anus could be shaping it more so. Even my wife says that when she goes every other day her stool is more normal shaped and when she goes daily its pieces and or mush.I feel like I am turning into a nut job and I am actually making my left abdomen hurt as I constantly evaluate if I feel pain in it. I don't know if I should call my GI dr. back and ask for a colonoscopy. I know I am being a bit over the top but I am analytical by nature and can't not evaluate. Thanks for any input...


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## Korga (Sep 8, 2011)

Yes, I think you are over reacting. If you have insurance and can do a Colonoscopy I would go ahead as this will undoubtedly set your mind at ease. I also had a stressful computer-desk job and had a lot of gastro complaints (long before I had IBS) which I can now see were caused by bad diet, anxiety, and lack of exercise. I improved miles when I started to take an hour-long walk at lunch break and packed a healthy lunch.


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## BQ (May 22, 2000)

I agree... relax. You are fine. Leave well enough alone! And for the love of Mike... STOP looking at your stool!


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## clfergus (Jan 16, 2012)

BQ said:


> I agree... relax. You are fine. Leave well enough alone! And for the love of Mike... STOP looking at your stool!


Yeah, I need to relax a little. I just keep telling myself I never had any issues until I started focusing on it. I do feel better, I had a normal...actually quite large BM this morning. General thought is if there was a blockage it wouldnt change shape and get bigger. So I am done with that shape worries.Still have the short sharp pains in my abdomen to the left of my naval. Can't tell if its gas or muscle or what. Maybe they too will go away if I focus on something else. These anxiety feelings are so new to me I am confused how I can't unfocus on this. Especially when I know people I have real health issues. I am usually the rock in the family.


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## BQ (May 22, 2000)

> These anxiety feelings are so new to me I am confused how I can't unfocus on this.


clfergus if this is new to you have you looked into any ways to help yourself with it?I found this site after a real quick search; give it a look:http://www.anxietycoach.com/Anxiety can happen to all of us at times...Wait for it.....I wouldn't worry about it.....







Seriously though...Truly.... anxiety _can_ happen to all of us at times... So find yourself ways to distract your thoughts away from it.


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## Gizmo12 (Jan 12, 2012)

Mike,While "pencil stool" has often been thought of a symptom of colon cancer, that concept has fallen out of favor in recent years. There's simply no research to support it. It just sounds like one of those things that makes sense--an obstruction would flatten stool--but as one gastro said, "In my 30 years of practice, no one with colon cancer has had flat stool, and no one complaining of flat stool has had colon cancer."If you're truly preoccupied with the idea, you can get a test kit from a pharmacy that can detect occult (hidden) blood in the stool. But if you feel fine otherwise, I wouldn't go borrowing trouble.As for the fiber: adding too much at once can cause irritation. Try titrating up, adding a little bit more every couple of days. I know when I started taking Benefiber chewables, the gas was unbelievable. My body has since adapted to it. Good luck.


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## clfergus (Jan 16, 2012)

Gizmo12 said:


> Mike,While "pencil stool" has often been thought of a symptom of colon cancer, that concept has fallen out of favor in recent years. There's simply no research to support it. It just sounds like one of those things that makes sense--an obstruction would flatten stool--but as one gastro said, "In my 30 years of practice, no one with colon cancer has had flat stool, and no one complaining of flat stool has had colon cancer."If you're truly preoccupied with the idea, you can get a test kit from a pharmacy that can detect occult (hidden) blood in the stool. But if you feel fine otherwise, I wouldn't go borrowing trouble.As for the fiber: adding too much at once can cause irritation. Try titrating up, adding a little bit more every couple of days. I know when I started taking Benefiber chewables, the gas was unbelievable. My body has since adapted to it. Good luck.


Thanks for the input from everyone. Aside from what you said and seeing more normal sized BM the last few days after increasing fiber I think I am comfortable that my bad diet was contributing to my looser stool that was being shaped by my anus. Thanks for letting me share my worries on here.Hopefully my soreness and tinges in my abdomen on the left side will subside and things will be back to normal. Im going to back off the fiber for now since I think I use to only get approx 10-12 grams a day that I upped to anywhere from 18-22 grams overnight.


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## sick2much (Jan 18, 2012)

1. Pencil stool is normal in a lot of people. According to a lot of GI as long as you are going every day don't worry about it. Usually you will have blood marker in your blood test giving early warning with the stools. You will have backed up gas and sometimes your abdomen will be descended. Certain Fiber binds food together to make solid masses. I am guessing that you eat a lot of meats and fatty proteins.2. Pain in the bottom left near the naval is usually the last bend before the small intestine empties into the large. When you sit down a lot you pinch this area, especially if you are over weight. If you lay on your right side for about an hour or ingest some food this pressure should usually move to the right. Stress can cause a flex in that section of the stomach not allowing it to move and dump in the large intestine.3. The previous post are right. DO NOT WORRY SO MUCH! You make matters worse. I am highly analytical also, but a good friend told me a lot of knowledge is a good thing. A little knowledge is dangerous.


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## AmericanPatriot (Dec 6, 2009)

I wish my only problem was abnormal shaped stool. I've been suffering painful abdominal cramps with GI symptoms my entire life.


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## clfergus (Jan 16, 2012)

sick2much said:


> 1. Pencil stool is normal in a lot of people. According to a lot of GI as long as you are going every day don't worry about it. Usually you will have blood marker in your blood test giving early warning with the stools. You will have backed up gas and sometimes your abdomen will be descended. Certain Fiber binds food together to make solid masses. I am guessing that you eat a lot of meats and fatty proteins.2. Pain in the bottom left near the naval is usually the last bend before the small intestine empties into the large. When you sit down a lot you pinch this area, especially if you are over weight. If you lay on your right side for about an hour or ingest some food this pressure should usually move to the right. Stress can cause a flex in that section of the stomach not allowing it to move and dump in the large intestine.3. The previous post are right. DO NOT WORRY SO MUCH! You make matters worse. I am highly analytical also, but a good friend told me a lot of knowledge is a good thing. A little knowledge is dangerous.


Thanks Sick2much - Going everyday right when I wake up without issue. I am going to try and get into my GP today if I can. Yesterday evening I ate some fettucini alfredo and about an hour later my stomach was growling and I could feel the tinges of pain in my left side. It only happens when I am sitting though which is weird. I have always eaten what I want and up until last week never had these issues. I am so gassy now and burping more than ever. My wife is convined I had a mild ab pain from my muscles that I have worried so much over and favored that I have upset my stomach balance.Maybe she is right...hopefully my GP will have some clue.


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## jmc09 (Oct 5, 2009)

clfergus,try some imodium or calcium to firm up your morning BMs and it may help your problems.


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## clfergus (Jan 16, 2012)

jmc09 said:


> clfergus,try some imodium or calcium to firm up your morning BMs and it may help your problems.


Will that possibly help with the side issues? The stools have seemed to firm up on their own. Possibly all the fiber I have eaten for the last few weeks is still cleaning out? I know I ate green beans on Sunday night and saw them in my stool a little on Monday morning and more so again on Tuesday morning. Didn't do a good job at chewing it looked like. I have cut my fiber back but not sure how long it might take to clear out totally. I should have never taken 6 grams of benefiber.


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## sick2much (Jan 18, 2012)

clfergus said:


> Thanks Sick2much - Going everyday right when I wake up without issue. I am going to try and get into my GP today if I can. Yesterday evening I ate some fettucini alfredo and about an hour later my stomach was growling and I could feel the tinges of pain in my left side. It only happens when I am sitting though which is weird. I have always eaten what I want and up until last week never had these issues. I am so gassy now and burping more than ever. My wife is convined I had a mild ab pain from my muscles that I have worried so much over and favored that I have upset my stomach balance.Maybe she is right...hopefully my GP will have some clue.


No problem! I have have an extreme severe form of IBS with special reference to spleenic flexure syndrome. When I first passed out I was scared sh--less, pun intended. My doctors couldn't tell me what my pain was from. The ultrasounds caused me more pain. I was pulling my rhomboids every month from the swelling. I found that I had to study and find things out for myself. Had to now spend thousands of hours looking up things. I'm fricken encyclopedia. So I am now hoping as I help myself, hoping someone can help me, that I might be able to help others. So don't freak about the gurgling. Let me guess, you waited a long time before eating didn't you? Here is some info. It takes the stomach two hours to empty its content, it takes the stomach 1/2 hour to send the full signal to the brain. From the small intestine to the anus typically takes between 24 to 36 hours, unless you have a condition like mine were the flexures are pinching. So, your stomach emptied, you might of started cramping, you freaked, you were sitting down, the contents left in you small intestine took longer to empty. You ate the fettucine alfedo and the pressure pushed the previous matter out pushing the gas out. If this is it, or you have starved yourself in the past and your body refuses to release waste unless you eat, try to eat small amounts every two hours for a few days. Also try: some leg lifts, crunches, and lateral abdominal exercises. Unless your body won't due it naturally, I do not promote chemicals. I have pencil stools all the time and a large BM will hold back to much gas sending me to the ER. If I want a large BM all I have to do is have something like and heart of romaine or spinach salad and look out for the lumpy whale. But, eat the dark greens with proteins and starches so they can all bond together. I have questioned alot of people with IBS in real life, a startling percent seem to be like me and have had a very high protein diet at one time. I am working on this as possibly being a main cause in IBS. My theory is the small intestine is producing to much prehormone, wich triggers excessive galbladder enzymes and hormones, also triggering spasm, enzymes, and hormones from the liver. This is return would cause rapid movement through the small intestine. Once this dumps in to the large intestine the protein masses, carb masses, and fiber masses are all trying to move through at different speeds creating areas of pressure in the intestine. Prolonged I believe this confuses the neural signal from the intestine to the brain and vise versa.Hope all this knowledge helps.


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## clfergus (Jan 16, 2012)

sick2much said:


> No problem! I have have an extreme severe form of IBS with special reference to spleenic flexure syndrome. When I first passed out I was scared sh--less, pun intended. My doctors couldn't tell me what my pain was from. The ultrasounds caused me more pain. I was pulling my rhomboids every month from the swelling. I found that I had to study and find things out for myself. Had to now spend thousands of hours looking up things. I'm fricken encyclopedia. So I am now hoping as I help myself, hoping someone can help me, that I might be able to help others. So don't freak about the gurgling. Let me guess, you waited a long time before eating didn't you? Here is some info. It takes the stomach two hours to empty its content, it takes the stomach 1/2 hour to send the full signal to the brain. From the small intestine to the anus typically takes between 24 to 36 hours, unless you have a condition like mine were the flexures are pinching. So, your stomach emptied, you might of started cramping, you freaked, you were sitting down, the contents left in you small intestine took longer to empty. You ate the fettucine alfedo and the pressure pushed the previous matter out pushing the gas out. If this is it, or you have starved yourself in the past and your body refuses to release waste unless you eat, try to eat small amounts every two hours for a few days. Also try: some leg lifts, crunches, and lateral abdominal exercises. Unless your body won't due it naturally, I do not promote chemicals. I have pencil stools all the time and a large BM will hold back to much gas sending me to the ER. If I want a large BM all I have to do is have something like and heart of romaine or spinach salad and look out for the lumpy whale. But, eat the dark greens with proteins and starches so they can all bond together. I have questioned alot of people with IBS in real life, a startling percent seem to be like me and have had a very high protein diet at one time. I am working on this as possibly being a main cause in IBS. My theory is the small intestine is producing to much prehormone, wich triggers excessive galbladder enzymes and hormones, also triggering spasm, enzymes, and hormones from the liver. This is return would cause rapid movement through the small intestine. Once this dumps in to the large intestine the protein masses, carb masses, and fiber masses are all trying to move through at different speeds creating areas of pressure in the intestine. Prolonged I believe this confuses the neural signal from the intestine to the brain and vise versa.Hope all this knowledge helps.


Wow..that is a wealth of Knowledge....I didn't eat as much yesterday for lunch as I normally do. Small sandwich and a yogurt...then didn't eat anything again until dinner which was at 5:30. I do recall being extremely hungry before bed as well.Kinda sounds like from what you said and what I am doing...I'm just off my normal schedule.


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## clfergus (Jan 16, 2012)

Just got back from my GP.He thinks I have a couple of issues happening at once. Back around 12/28/11 he gave me a zeepak for a sinus infection. He said that could have allowed an overgrowth of bacteria in my intestines which is common and could be the reason for the excessive gas and grumbling..possibly part of the pain. I suffer also from epiditimitis occasionally on my right side where i get an infection in my testiscles that radiates into my abdomen. He said sicne my left testicle is sore with no sign of cancer and my abdomen is sore with tenderness into my oblique thats probably what I have now on my left side.He said cut out the fiber and relax..take my meds. He also gave me something for the anxiety when it hits. Stopped after my appt and had chik-fila. Stomach is growling like crazy and slight left ab pain. Maybe it is just gas.I asked about more sever things and he said based on my age, no nausea, no vomiting, no blood in stool, no pain that doubles me over, and normal daily stools that something sever like cancer was highly unlikely. He did say that stress can stir up some irritable bowel syndrom and that most likely it will pass when i relax as I am not having stool changes. Is this what IBS-PI is?


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## Gizmo12 (Jan 12, 2012)

clfergus said:


> Just got back from my GP.He thinks I have a couple of issues happening at once. Back around 12/28/11 he gave me a zeepak for a sinus infection. He said that could have allowed an overgrowth of bacteria in my intestines which is common and could be the reason for the excessive gas and grumbling..possibly part of the pain. I suffer also from epiditimitis occasionally on my right side where i get an infection in my testiscles that radiates into my abdomen. He said sicne my left testicle is sore with no sign of cancer and my abdomen is sore with tenderness into my oblique thats probably what I have now on my left side.He said cut out the fiber and relax..take my meds. He also gave me something for the anxiety when it hits. Stopped after my appt and had chik-fila. Stomach is growling like crazy and slight left ab pain. Maybe it is just gas.I asked about more sever things and he said based on my age, no nausea, no vomiting, no blood in stool, no pain that doubles me over, and normal daily stools that something sever like cancer was highly unlikely. He did say that stress can stir up some irritable bowel syndrom and that most likely it will pass when i relax as I am not having stool changes. Is this what IBS-PI is?


Good news. If your intestinal flora has been disrupted due to antibiotics, try eating some yogurt once or twice a day. (Avoid buying any probiotic pills in stores that's not being refrigerated: the bacteria don't survive on a shelf.)


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## jmc09 (Oct 5, 2009)

clfergus said:


> Just got back from my GP.He thinks I have a couple of issues happening at once. Back around 12/28/11 he gave me a zeepak for a sinus infection. He said that could have allowed an overgrowth of bacteria in my intestines which is common and could be the reason for the excessive gas and grumbling..possibly part of the pain. *I suffer also from epiditimitis occasionally *on my right side where i get an infection in my testiscles that radiates into my abdomen. He said sicne my left testicle is sore with no sign of cancer and my abdomen is sore with tenderness into my oblique thats probably what I have now on my left side.He said cut out the fiber and relax..take my meds. He also gave me something for the anxiety when it hits. Stopped after my appt and had chik-fila. Stomach is growling like crazy and slight left ab pain. Maybe it is just gas.I asked about more sever things and he said based on my age, no nausea, no vomiting, no blood in stool, no pain that doubles me over, and normal daily stools that something sever like cancer was highly unlikely. He did say that stress can stir up some irritable bowel syndrom and that most likely it will pass when i relax as I am not having stool changes. Is this what IBS-PI is?


I too suffer from epididymitis but it has nothing to do with IBS but can radiate and cause severe testicular and lower abdominal pain.


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## sick2much (Jan 18, 2012)

clfergus said:


> Just got back from my GP.He thinks I have a couple of issues happening at once. Back around 12/28/11 he gave me a zeepak for a sinus infection. He said that could have allowed an overgrowth of bacteria in my intestines which is common and could be the reason for the excessive gas and grumbling..possibly part of the pain. I suffer also from epiditimitis occasionally on my right side where i get an infection in my testiscles that radiates into my abdomen. He said sicne my left testicle is sore with no sign of cancer and my abdomen is sore with tenderness into my oblique thats probably what I have now on my left side.He said cut out the fiber and relax..take my meds. He also gave me something for the anxiety when it hits. Stopped after my appt and had chik-fila. Stomach is growling like crazy and slight left ab pain. Maybe it is just gas.I asked about more sever things and he said based on my age, no nausea, no vomiting, no blood in stool, no pain that doubles me over, and normal daily stools that something sever like cancer was highly unlikely. He did say that stress can stir up some irritable bowel syndrom and that most likely it will pass when i relax as I am not having stool changes. Is this what IBS-PI is?


Testicular pain is severe and causes to different pains in return: transferred, and radiating. You have nerve fibers from your kidneys to your testicles that cause pain there. The transferred pain usually goes to the gut, happens a lot if you have ever been kicked. You also need to know soluble and insoluble fiber. Soluble can be digested and binds food, insoluble can not be digested and goes through your system quickly because of that moving and pushing things out. For example corn that is whole is indigestible, bell peppers is indigestible. Spinach, lettuce, and a lot of others are soluble. What meds are you on as a lot can affect the system. If the anti anxiety is a muscle relaxer it will reduce the contraction in the intestine, hold the fecal matter longer, might cause dehydration. What I know from someone else who had hypergonadism is if you have testicular pain that radiates into your stomach first use a cold compress that isn't so cold it causes pain on your testicles. Use heat on the portion of your abdomen that is hurting, now do abdominal stretches, repeat as neccesary.


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## clfergus (Jan 16, 2012)

sick2much said:


> Testicular pain is severe and causes to different pains in return: transferred, and radiating. You have nerve fibers from your kidneys to your testicles that cause pain there. The transferred pain usually goes to the gut, happens a lot if you have ever been kicked. You also need to know soluble and insoluble fiber. Soluble can be digested and binds food, insoluble can not be digested and goes through your system quickly because of that moving and pushing things out. For example corn that is whole is indigestible, bell peppers is indigestible. Spinach, lettuce, and a lot of others are soluble. What meds are you on as a lot can affect the system. If the anti anxiety is a muscle relaxer it will reduce the contraction in the intestine, hold the fecal matter longer, might cause dehydration. What I know from someone else who had hypergonadism is if you have testicular pain that radiates into your stomach first use a cold compress that isn't so cold it causes pain on your testicles. Use heat on the portion of your abdomen that is hurting, now do abdominal stretches, repeat as neccesary.


Yep...thats what I am doing. Cold pack on my testicles along with wearing a jock strap to keep the testicles elevated. As for the medication he gave me. Once is a prednisone for anti-inflam and Xanax should i feel anxious and need relief.


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## jmc09 (Oct 5, 2009)

Ask your doc about getting a genito femoral nerve block to help with your epididymitis.It helped me a lot.


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## clfergus (Jan 16, 2012)

jmc09 said:


> Ask your doc about getting a genito femoral nerve block to help with your epididymitis.It helped me a lot.


Thanks, i'll take a look into that if things get worse. I had my first diagnosed flare up 3 years ago that lasted for 3 weeks. Second back in December of last year that lasted for 3-4 weeks. Now its back again and flipped sides on me. It sucks because my testicle gets sore to some degree but the fullness in the ab and up into my oblique and hip sucks. I am hoping that aside from the cold compress and jock strap..medicine that once I loose some weight and start eating better it will subside. Don't like that I have gotten it bakc to back so quickly.Looking back though to 2004 is when it prob started so I made it 5 years between flares. The only thing that changed was my diet and lifestyle. I was 26/27 when It happened initially. Had no idea why my ab and groin hurt so badly. went to an immediate care one night in Atlanta. Got a rectal exam which passed ok. Since I didnt have a primary GP then, they sent me to the Hospital for abdomen and chest MRI or CT scans but I cant recall now. Nothing was found so they just said it will go away at some point.Wasn't until I moved to Indiana...got married and stopped working out and eating right that it popped back up. Thank god my wifes GP who has been around 34 years knew right away what it was the first time. He even said he has had a few chronic cases over his time that had to have surgery.


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## clfergus (Jan 16, 2012)

Well been on my prednisone anti inflam and antibiotic now since Thursday. Some noticed improvement but still have a full feeling in my left abdomen. Thats typical on my epiditymitis somewhat but what makes me nervous are the few quick pains in my left ab that happen every once in awhile.Wife says its just your nerve running into you ab reacting and or gas.Exhaling outward and feeling tinges is reflective of muscle irritation vs organ issues like colon correct?


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## jmc09 (Oct 5, 2009)

clfergus said:


> Well been on my prednisone anti inflam and antibiotic now since Thursday. Some noticed improvement but still have a full feeling in my left abdomen. Thats typical on my epiditymitis somewhat but what makes me nervous are the few quick pains in my left ab that happen every once in awhile.Wife says its just your nerve running into you ab reacting and or gas.Exhaling outward and feeling tinges is reflective of muscle irritation vs organ issues like colon correct?


Could be muscle irritation or even gas as your wife says.


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