# Flat Stools



## 20122 (Apr 24, 2005)

I am sure this topic has been beaten to death on this board. I have been eating 80% fruits and vegetables lately and therefore I am pretty regular and for the most part the stools look normal except they are flat.About 1" wide and 1/2" thick. I am getting worried. I also have been under a great deal of stress/anxiety for the past 6 months.I also have this dull pain that never seems to leave in my lower right ribs (have had all internal organs checked already, no probs)I also had severe itching in my anus and some bright red blood on my toilet paper over the last few years (hemmorhoids??) and noticed what looked like swollen blood vessels.Every where I look on the internet, flat stools = colon cancer. Can there be other reasons for flat stools. I am a 23 year old male.


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## 23470 (Apr 18, 2005)

I think that your answer lies within your question. More fruits and vegetables mean more fiber/"roughage" and more maleable stools. Stool that is softer ends up being like a "smoothie machine" and its shape is determined at the point of exit, not by your colon. When you're stressed, the latter part of it can spasm and determine shape too. The blood thing, I'd guess hemorrhoids....I've had them, had them banded, and now they're no more. I still have the occasional bit of blood from wiping too much, etc. In the end most of all of this is no worries. These are maladies that man has had since the beginning of time, but modern medicine has convinced us all that death lurks around the corner for all of us. I know there will be those who will say "I'm young and I have cancer". I feel for those folks...but chances are you won't be one of them. If you're anything like me (and from reading your post compared to how I phrase mine you probably are) you tend to worry a lot about things....stress over things and then can't get de-stressed, some physical ailment crops up which is benign and BAM! "uh oh...it must be cancer" enters your mind. If I'm right, my advice to you is that if you want a peace of mind, go to your GP or specialist and get it checked out purely so you can get back to life. But find a way to get rid of the stress and the cancer obsession that lots of us young people deal with because of what modern "commercialized medicine" has brainwashed us into believing. Take care!


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## Lagomorph (Mar 4, 2005)

You can have blood from anal fissures too. But there is usually some pain with a b.m.


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## 20122 (Apr 24, 2005)

Hey thanks a lot for your help. Its nice to hear some common sense as I am used to thinking the worst. I move from one concern to another, so as I may slowly forget about this one, the next worry is just around the corner. The internet has made me aware of alot of health issues, but in general, it does much more harm then good for me. I am seeing a doctor next week, hopefully everything goes well with him


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## Guest (Apr 25, 2005)

I'd be a little wary of some of these sites (which is why I like this one) - I think probably any symptom you key into a search engine could come back as "possible cancer" - scaremongers!! My poo is always the most bizarre shapes and sometimes ribbed (like those awful jumpers I wore in about 1974) - I have had all manner of symptoms for about 9 years and I ain't dead yet!!All the bestSue Manchester


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## 20122 (Apr 24, 2005)

I ocassionally end up reading site where people complained about a number of individual symptoms to their doctors. Within a little bit of time they were in the hospital with cancer and that each individual symptom was an overlooked sign. Thats my worry now. I have all kinds of weird symptoms, and in the short term, they will all come together as something nasty.I have to stop worrying


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## Lagomorph (Mar 4, 2005)

Worrying seems to be correlated with IBS. I worry lots too. As long as you are seeing a doctor that is good. But IBS causes lots of symptoms, and they are different for everyone but that doesn't necessarily mean that you have cancer. But for sure see your doctor regularily and make sure you express your concerns to him/her.


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## SteveE (Jan 7, 1999)

Your doctor will likely recommend scoping the intestine to verify that you don't have cancer or some other illness. You should definately do that, but rest assured, I've had flat stools for 13 years with this irritable bowel stuff and no sign of cancer on the scope. I think they can go flat because of the way the colon pinches itself when it spasms, but I could be wrong. Consuming extra fiber can bulk-up the stool and expand the colon--although some forms of fiber cause more gas which = more pain. Still, fiber is worth trying.


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## Guest (Apr 26, 2005)

Oh Jaysus - now you've really got me panicking!!Sue


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