# What is the cause of hard lumpy stools?



## Christian25

What is the cause of hard, separated, lumpy marble like stools?


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## Kathleen M.

The amount of water and fiber in the stool is pretty much what determines consistancy. The harder, dryer and harder to pass the stool is the less water it has in it. Fiber usually helps to keep water in the stool rather than let the colon recycle it back into the body.K.


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## Christian25

But why are they separated and lumpy like marbles?


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## Kathleen M.

As opposed to one big hard, impossible to pass log?I assume that as the stool dries enough the action of the muscles of the rectum/colon can make it separate out. If it gets hard, and dry enough it can become small enough to be rabbit pellet vs marbles...but that is all just part of the spectrum.Rabbit pellet...hard marbles....formed stool....soft snake like stool...bits and pieces (here it is so soft/wet that the action of the muscles can separate it rather than allowing it to hold together)....water.Think of clay if you ever messed with it. When it is too wet it falls apart and won't hold shape. When it is too dry and you try to mold it, it falls into dry chunks.K.


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## Christian25

Thanks a lot for the reply Kmottus. Last Question, are there any vitamins/mineral supplements that I can use to ease this problem like taking Vitamin B Complex vitamins other that eating more fiber and drinking lots of H2O with exercise?


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## sugarbaby

I remember reading somewhere that foods that are hard (ex. vegetables, fruits) when you eat them are soft when they are passed. And, foods that are soft when eaten are hard when they are passed. Also remember to drink alot of water.


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## Kathleen M.

Some people find taking magnesium (USRDA is 400 mgs and max is 1,000 mgs) seems to help. Magnesium containing antacids are sometimes used as laxatives because they tend to loosen up the stools.Most of the people around here seem to find 200-750 mgs of magnesium (if it is going to help) taken regularly seems to help keep the stool moist (it is an osmotic laxative when taken for that purpose).If your kidneys are working OK then it should be alright for you to take the magnesium (usually OD on magnesium only occurs when you can't flush it out of the blood properly).If you take Calcium supplements (which can be constipating) you should make sure you get at least 1 mg of magnesium for every 2 mgs of Calcium to balance out the effects (some supplements come in this combination because people find calcium alone supplements to be constipating).Some people seem to find Flax (ground seeds have the oils and fiber) or things like Flax or Fish Oil to be helpful...do not know if it is how it effects the stool, or something else, but these omega 3 oils tend to be low in the diet unless you eat fish on a regular basis. And I know some people find Olive Oil seems to help as well.One other thing that can loosen the stools that is found in the diet is sorbitol. It is in pears, apples, and all the stone fruits like peaches and plums. It can increase gas for some people, but for others it can really help to keep the stools moving. In the summer when this kind of produce is fresh and eaten alot, it is common for many people to get looser stools than usual even when they are "normal" in the GI tract. Cooking them can destroy the sorbitol, so best to get this from raw or dried fruit.K.


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## cshaw

i have hard lumpy stool problem and i've tried all the stuff mentioned, nothing seems to work







except wen i'm well nervous like just before an exam i will suddenly get D, but apart from that i can't seem 2 control the C.


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## elvesrock

i read that hard, lumpy stools just means a slow transit time like over 100 hours, isn't this true? or can it be hard & lumpy because of water not retained? i know that water will not be retained as much as time goes on but can one person just have a problem retaining water? *ish confused*


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## Feisty

Kmottus is right on with the recommendations.Remember..........drink water, water, and more water. It's good for you. I drink at least eight 10 oz. glasses of water each day, or more. If I do not drink at least that much, the next day I will have firmer, harder stool.I also use Docusate Sodium Stool Softener (100 mg.) capsules every day as well. And I have been taking 500 mg. of magnesium. And.......1 dose of Metamucil. The water that I mix the Metamucil with is not counted as the total water intake of the day. My Doc told me to drink two 10 oz. glasses of water immediately following the Metamucil to insure that I get enough water.


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## Christian25

Thanks for the replies, water does help in these situations but it gets annoying sometimes that when you see the stool its not on its normal form, I develop these stools when I feel spasms in my colon, like a constant squeezing that you can feel (referred as spastic colon) on your tummy but not a cramping pain. And also when this happens its more difficult to pass a stool because of the hardness. But also sometimes i get normal bulky watery stools, its alternating actually. Is this normal? alternating bulky and lumpy stools, for me it shouldn't be, i consider myself that i have IBS constipation.


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