# Incomplete feeling after bowel movements & foul-smelling farts and stools



## stoolboy (Jan 28, 2012)

Do any IBS sufferers here experience these symptoms?


----------



## Korga (Sep 8, 2011)

Yes, I think that's common.


----------



## overitnow (Nov 25, 2001)

I was able to make a real difference to my soft stools and IE with a daily dose of fiber. I also use a flavonoid supplement which helps to reverse the D, which has led to much less foul smell over the past 14 (!) years.Mark


----------



## Lindsay38 (Apr 28, 2012)

Hi, I developed those symptoms after I moved to England from a hot country, and stopped eating dairy (I developed an allergy). I tried the following two things and within 48 hours the problem was gone and never returned: I took a calcium with vitamin D supplement as prescribed, and also digestive enzymes with every meal except raw fruit. I don't know if it was one thing or the other that helped me, but my problems vanished in 2 days. I know I was deficient in calcium because I was suffering other symptoms after I stopped eating dairy. And I realised I must have a vitamin D deficiency because we get most of our vitamin D from sunshine on our skin, and my arms and legs are covered up almost all the time in this country, unlike before when I was living in a hot climate. I don't know if those deficiencies were responsible for the problem which I developed with horrid sticky stools, but I read somewhere that we need calcium and vitamin D to make the enzyme lipase, which the body uses to break down and digest fats in our diet. If we don't (or can't) absorb the fats from our food, they pass straight through our digestive system and get mixed up with our stools making them sticky ("greasy") and bad-smelling. I take the digestive enzymes as an added precaution because I hated that problem while it lasted. Since taking these two supplements, my stomach doesn't get bloated anymore either, and I used to always get a bloated stomach after eating. This is just my experience, so someone who eats enough dairy or gets plenty of sunshine probably doesn't have a calcium or vitamin D deficiency. The digestive enzymes may still help though. I take one or two before every meal. I don't know if I'm allowed to mention brand names here, but I don't use the cheapest enzymes available. Enzymes are supposed to be alive (similar to probiotics in yogurt), so with a cheap supplement you might be buying dead enzymes which won't make any difference. I take a good quality one. It's expensive - 90 capsules for £20.00, but they saved me from misery, discomfort and embarrassment. If that doesn't work, I heard of someone else who tried bile salts (also called bile acids) and that helped him. Our body also needs bile to digest fat, and if your body isn't producing enough bile, then that supplement might help. It's worth talking to a doctor as well and maybe giving a stool sample and taking a blood test in case there is an underlying problem with pancreas, liver or gallbladder. They all play a part in digesting our food and producing digestive enzymes and bile. If your body is not digesting your food properly, it's worth getting these things checked. I know some people have had good results with fibre supplements. That's great, and for some people the problem probably is inadequate fibre. That might also result in fatty or sticky stools from a lot of meat and fat in the diet. But I eat a plant-based diet with mostly vegetables, fruit, whole grains, lentils, nuts and seeds, so that wasn't the problem for me. I actually tried adding extra fibre to my diet at first because I didn't know what else to do when the problem started, and it actually made the problem worse for me. I think I was getting too much fibre and I was running to the bathroom several times a day. I was afraid to leave my house or go too far away from a toilet. It didn't solve the problem either - the feeling of incompleteness and stickiness. Only those other things worked for me: calcium, vitamin D supplement, and digestive enzymes. I also spend more time in the sun now during our very short unpredictable summers. But again, don't take supplements if you don't have a deficiency! Best to talk to a doctor.


----------



## PD85 (Aug 19, 2010)

Incomplete Evacuation is absolutely one of my most annoying problems. It makes all the difference in the world between a great poop or not. I wish I could just have the D and feel like I finished going. Instead there is always that feeling of needing to go more, which it turns out I often do! God what an awful feeling it is.


----------

