# 23/m — my story, your opinion



## nearly (Jan 26, 2014)

i am finally going to write down my story as far as digestive problems go and i was hoping that someone could give me their insight. i have read through these forums a lot over the past year when i encountered various symptoms and i am sure this is a good place to start with my experience.

right now, i am in the process of having everything down there checked out. i've had a full abdominal and pelvic x-ray which came back unremarkable, with "normal bowel gas pattern" and "some stool in colon." i will start back in the early part of last year; i was having a lot of constipation problems and spent the night in the hospital where they gave me a big enema which was completely embarrassing. it didn't really work, so they prescribed lactulose syrup which worked over the next day or two.

i had always had constipation problems and used laxatives a lot as a teen, and i guess that was where things came to a point. i haven't been constipated since then, though. ever since that night, i have been really focused on making sure things are moving, and i have had bowel movements daily since then.

the problem is that they aren't normal. my stool is never consistent in texture or colour. i have a few "types" of stool that seem to alternate pretty frequently. they are:

» very, very long; thinner (maybe a bit wider than my thumb), colour of cardboard or a bit lighter, softer

» short (finger length or less); dark brown, soft and oily

» "normal"; longer length, bigger diameter, normal brown colour

» mucous-covered; a bit paler, more yellow-green than brown, not very long or wide

the ones with mucous are only more noticeable lately; past couple of weeks. when i have to use the bathroom, it causes all sorts of symptoms elsewhere in my body. mainly: headaches, sensitive teeth, pain in forearms and thighs, sensitivity in groin, itchiness on back and neck. i have a peculiar red "rash" on my skin. doctors have seen it and say maybe folliculitis, and are not concerned, but it always itches when i have to use the bathroom. it covers my entire back and upper arms. i am positive it is connected to my abdominal issues.

in the past few months, i have been burping non-stop. this is something very new to me. i will wake up and burp, i will burp after eating, and i will have uncomfortable gas pains. it is relieved a bit by taking over-the-counter stuff and passing gas and burping, but i've never had so much gas before!

i have never had severe, severe abdominal cramping. sometimes there are very short, sharp pains in my lower-right or lower-left abdomen and what i feel as "near the exit" of my colon, but they are infrequent and never awful. cramping in the lower-right is present sometimes but is so dull that i can ignore it. sometimes i get the same in the lower-left. everything seems to improve in a general sense when i pass stool.

i am going in for an abdominal ultrasound in a few days. the last one i had was when i was seventeen or eighteen and dealing with constipation issues, but i am twenty-three now. the other symptom i notice is that sometimes i pass undigested food, like you would corn. except instead of just corn for me, it is often peas, leafy greens, tomato skin, peppers, and other fibrous vegetables. sometimes this presents itself very obviously, sometimes they are dark green and red spots on my stool

i don't think i have ever had blood in my stool, and i had a fecal occult blood test just over a year ago. if i do now, it isn't obvious. at all. the only blood i notice is when i am straining too much to go and there is a bit of fresh blood on the toilet roll from wiping too much (like blood on a tissue if you wiped your nose a lot when you have a bad cold).

for me, all of these symptoms which seem very benign suggest to me that i must have ibs. if it was something more serious like chrons or colitis, i would have had some escalation beyond uncomfortable gas and inconsistent stool over the past year. there is no long-lasting constipation in about a year, and i haven't had watery diarrhea in as long as i can remember. i use the bathroom an average of three or four times a day if the stool is coming out in the smaller size. if i am having "healthier, bigger" stools then it is maybe two times a day, or three.

anyways, i feel like i needed to write this down because maybe someone here will see something and have some insight. i am seeing a doctor like i said. i recently had bloodwork done and it came back perfectly; no thyroid issue and so on. x-ray came back unremarkable and i am having my ultrasound in a few days.

thank you for any replies; for as "benign" as the symptoms are, it is now interfering in my life because all of the small symptoms add up to make my life hugely, hugely uncomfortable. some of the symptoms are also worrisome.

take care.


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## nearly (Jan 26, 2014)

so, i guess no one really has anything to say - which is disappointing.

i went and had my ultrasound the other day and i will go and see my doctor on tuesday to discuss the results. since the last post i have made, i have been feeling mostly uncomfortable with digestion. i'm passing some stools that are made up of a lot of smaller, harder stools and covered in mucous. a lot of gas, burping.

i'm having small panic attacks frequently whenever my intestines grumble. not fun. i was just doing some stretching and i did a few where i was moving towards upside down. i do it often, but this time my mouth filled with vomit. my throat hurts a lot. i've never had heartburn all through this year or year and a half with this condition. just this burping, and today vomit.

hopefully tuesday goes well.


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