# Flat stools



## spc1

Hi first post here, I have had some consern with flat stools I have been having, I have always went poo about 3-5 times a day and over the years I have noticed somtimes I get flat stools and never really thought much about it till recently. I got constipated for like the first time in my life so I called my doc and they said up my fiber, so I did and my stool returned to normal, but then it has went back to flat and then back to normal, I have no bleeding, no pain I do feel like I have to go more often when I have the long flat stools , and when I read on the internet it says flat stools equals obstruction or tumor, but it goes back and forth so I am woundering if it is just my body and nothing to worry about? I had a appointment with my doctor last week he said if it was a obstruction, it would not switch back and forth? and it seems the more I woory about my stool being flat the worse it gets, could it be anxiety causeing this? Is their anything I can do to bulk my stool up all the time? the other thing I notice a lot of days is my first time to the bathroom it looks great like banna size and shape and then toward the end after the big peice gets out it flatens out, I am male and 36 years old.Thanks in advance


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## BQ

> so I am woundering if it is just my body and nothing to worry about? I had a appointment with my doctor last week he said if it was a obstruction, it would not switch back and forth?


It _is_ just your body and nothing to worry about. And I agree with your Dr. .... it wouldn't go back & forth.


> and it seems the more I woory about my stool being flat the worse it gets, could it be anxiety causeing this?


 Maaaybe??? I would just stop looking at your stool. I have learned that the people who are looking at their stool everyday, regularly needlessly worry.


> Is their anything I can do to bulk my stool up all the time?


Yes try using a fiber supplement like Benefiber.


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## spc1

ok so how does benifiber work to bulk up your stool? I thought fiber was a laxative and would loosen up your stool if you were constipated? I have no problems passing my stools? I would just like to get them to bulk up and return to normal size and consistancy? So your saying this will do that? I already eat oatmeal for breakfast, a fiber one bar once in a while I have also been eating peanuts and sunflower seeds small amounts and apples and bannas? for fiber but have had lots of loose and flat stools? and you know everything you read says it has to be a tumor or obstruction causeing this, so it scares the heck out of me...I went this am started out good then went flat again.thanksJM


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## BQ

Here is some info on Fiber:http://nutrition.about.com/od/nutritionglossary/g/Fiber.htm


> and you know everything you read says it has to be a tumor or obstruction causeing this, so it scares the heck out of me...


Well.. "has to be a tumor or obstruction" .....that simply isn't true. Our stools will vary in length, width total amount because of a myriad of factors. And that is in folks withOUT IBS.Like I said... I think it would be best if you trusted your Dr on this one and STOP looking at your stools.. If you have too much trouble doing that.. you might want to talk to your Dr about your anxiety.


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## Kathleen M.

Fiber is a stool normalizer rather than a laxative like Milk of Magnesia or other osmotics.Fiber absorbs water and holds it in the stool.It also takes up room and has some structure to it so it can hold water in and provide bulk (takes up space).Unfortunately the "it's a tumor!!! DANGER PANIC NOW!!!" is a widespread *myth* and gets repeated a lot more than the actual data we have.The data actually shows that thin/flat/funny shaped stools are generally when the stool is too soft to hold it's shape and gets squished like playdoh as the colon squeezes to move the stool along.A doctor recently investigated where the myth came from, figuring somewhere there was even one bit of hard data for it and found it started as a hypothesis by some doctor in the mid 1800's and people just thought it seemed logical so repeated it, each one thinking there had to be some hard data for it sometime, somewhere.So if you want to ramp up your anxiety you can believe the myth repeaters or you can believe the data that pretty much all IBSers (and everyone with everything that can ever make your stools loose) has thin/flat/funny shaped stools and most people with tumors have no idea they are in there based on an obvious stool shape and usually find out about it when they get a screening colonoscopy or the tumor is so big it completely blocks the colon to the point they can't pass anything, and they tend to vomit it back up when it can't go out the other end. IBS causes lots of obvious and obnoxious symptoms. Part of the reason cancer is such a problem is that it causes either no symptoms or very vague and hard to notice symptoms until way too late. Add to that colon cancer is a disease of the aged, so under 50 is really rare and usually in someone who is 50 you genererally (if you find anything) find polyps that will be cancer in 10-200 years. So a lot of people will die long before the polyp ever is anything other than a polyp.Now, you may be eating too much fiber for your system. It can happen. IBS by itself no matter what you eat or how much fiber you do or do not eat can cause loose stool or soft easily deformed stools.What to read if you want to counter the misperception that thin/flat stool is only from a tumor and there is no other reason for it.http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18683051


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## spc1

ok, so your saying flat stool and pencil thin stools is totaly acceptible , that is great to here so what would you suggest i take to help normal lize it? or eat?ThanksJM


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## BQ

Like we said.... try the fiber therapy. Like Benefiber maybe would really help. And it is tasteless and so easy to put into one's daily routine.


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## Kathleen M.

Playing with fiber, see if you eat a lot of fruits with sorbitol in them as they can loosen stools (like cherries and apples), drink more alcohol or caffeine than your system can handle, or take Calcium Carbonate and see if that helps firm things up. (see LNAPE's Calcium Thread).


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## spc1

I have been eating bannas, a few apples, was eating fiber one bars, sunflower seeds and peanuts, been trying oatmeal, I have been trying a bunch of different things with fiber in it, seemed like it has worked on and off but I dont know if its the right kind of fiber or the wrong kind, I drink beer to a few days a week, I tried to find some benifiber today at wallgreens and cvs neither had it they both had metamucil, but I did not buy any, I will read the links you guys have provided, I have had lots of snakes and even diareha today, I think it is from nerves but I have been trying to forget about it, but my bottom is on fire right now just need to harden things up a bit, I really appreciate all the help and support you guys have already given me!!!!JM


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## Kathleen M.

Apples can loosen stools when raw. Generally bananas, melons, berries and citrus are better fruits if you tend to diarrhea. Apples and Pears as well as stone fruit (cherries, peaches, plums, etc) tend to be the ones that loosen the stools when raw, dried or juiced.


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## spc1

Well this am my first stool was normal, yea then to diarrhea, I have had lots of gas and cramping, what will help with that? I did have some yougert yesterday how is that on your system?What about nuts and seeds?Kaythleen do you recomend the benifiber too? Where do you get it?ThanksKm


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## Kathleen M.

It does seem to be a fiber a lot of people like. I've usually seen it at most of the pharmacy/discount places. Another generally low gas fiber is Citrucel.Yogurt can be good, but some people are sensitive to the lactose that remains (it isn't all digested) or the fruit/flavor/sweeteners in it. Have you tried peppermint for the cramping? Either a tea, capsule, or I find peppermint Altoids have enough peppermint oil in them to help.


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## spc1

No thus stuff has just really hit me in the last month or so, about 12 years ago I had what I would call ibs for a little over a year . I had constant diareah upset and burning guts finally went away and I have not had any problems with it for years untill now..I just need the cramps and gas in my stomach to go away and the stools to normalized, I really did not have a upset or gassy stomach untill about 3 weeks ago, I did have a stomach virus with diareah for a week and half all my kids had it as well but they are all normal now, seems like mine had got normal for a couple days and now bam I got rumbles and diareah all over again...


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## Kathleen M.

That is pretty typical for post-infectious IBS. I do think that if you had IBS before it can be likely to flare up again after a GI-Infection even if it has been behaving for the last while.Try the Calcium Carbonate to see if that helps with the stools. Maybe take a probiotic (if you tolerate them) to help get the flora back to a better state as they could be upset/disrupted from the GI-infection and what it is doing now may not be so helpful.Look at the low FODMAP diet to see if limiting gassy foods may be helpful for you as well.Peppermint is good for the gas and you could see the doctor about getting a prescription antispasmodic as well.


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## spc1

What is Calcium Carbonate ? where can i find some info on that? I have been eating the yougurt trying to put good bacteria back in me, but it seems as though it may be upsetting my stomach, I had asked my doc about probiotics and he said yougurt should be fine, I really don't know anything about any of this stuff it is all new to me, you say try a pro biotic if I can tolorate it what do yoyu mean by that it may cause diareha?Tell me more about the calcium cafrbonate?Also are you saying you think this may be still from the virus I had and it will normalize on its own? or their is more to it?


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## Kathleen M.

Like anything, some people feel a lot better on probiotics, but others sometimes find they seem to upset the system, but I have no way to predict.Most of the probiotic pills are bacteria known to live well in humans rather than strains chosen because they do well in taking a big vat of milk and turning it into yogurt. Some have some evidence they work in IBSers (Align, Culturelle, VSL#3).It can take 6 weeks for a person who never had IBS before to normalize after a GI infection. If it is PI-IBS it usually lasts longer than 6 weeks but generally tends to calm down for most people in the couple of year range.http://www.ibsgroup.org/forums/topic/72764-lindas-calcium-info/ is the thread with LNAPE's info. It is a long thread, a lot of people have tried it. Linda still monitors the thread so if you have questions she is usually more than willing to help.Everything you can do to reduce your stress and worry about the symptoms tends to help it calm down (kind of like trying not to poke the hornet's nest with a stick). And eating what tends to soothe it, etc and all that kind of lifestyle stuff will tend to be a good thing.


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## spc1

So do you think I have ibs? could it be mild ibs and my viral infection flared it up? Thanks for the link on the calcium!!!JM


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## Kathleen M.

Most likely the infection flared up the IBS you had before that had gone into remission. But like I said anyone can have a few weeks of "dodgy" colon issues after a GI infection like the virus.So far it sounds all IBS-y. If you start having bloody stools or start dropping weight all out of proportion to what you eat go back to the doctor ASAP.


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## spc1

ok I got some benifiber and I got some caltrate 600 should I try taking both of them together or just start with the caltrate 600?


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## Kathleen M.

Depends. Do you like to know exactly how much each individual thing helped, or are you more of a do everything get better faster kind of person.I think it is more personal choice than solid data as to which to do first/in what combination.But if going one at a time, I'd start with the Caltrate.


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## spc1

I was thinking caltrate first too, so I gott 600mg pills so should I do half pill 3 times a day for 3 days then go to full pill 3 times a day?


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## Kathleen M.

That sounds like a plan, start with the lower dose for a few days to about a week to see how it goes. It may be enough, and if it isn't then you can up it.


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