Sorry to be Crude.

[cport]

Hi there everyone,
I'm sorry to bring up this subject but i need to get some information from somewhere.

I'm having a really bad time at the moment with my tummy and my bowels. I had a colonoscopy about two or three years ago after i had had a back xray and they noticed on the film that i had an unusuall empty desending colon and thought i had inflammatory bowel syndrome. Things on that front have been up and down for years.....diarrhea,constipation etc.

Now things have changed.....three weeks ago i started with alot of diarrhea and then i started to notice a bit of mucus. About a week and a half ago ithat changed to constipation and i have so much mucus that i even pass it when i just pass wind.The stool i do pass is coated in mucus. This is associated with the most incredable stomach ache that i don't know weather i want to be sick or pass out. My tummy is constantly bloated and i have lost my appetite though i haven't lost any weight....think thats cause i'm so bloated. The mucus i pass is orange in colour.

I don't know what to do with myself. I'm even more tiered than normal...if that is even possible and i fell asleep at work on Sunday at my desk.

Does anyone have any advice as too what could be going on. I worry as my Auntie had bowel cancer at a young age. I obviously don't think it is that but it always sits at the back of my mind.

Any help would be appreciated x

[Joe S.]

I would suggest that you go see your doctor as soon as you can.

While you are waiting for the appointment, you may try listening to the tones at http://www.chakraforce.com/Tonations.html#107. You can do this by clicking on the numbers between {}. To find out why you are using those frequencies you can click on the numbers between []. The tones that download are 30 seconds long and you should play them for 3 minutes (6 times). Try playing them once in the morning and once at night.

[Bopeep]

Joe,
awsome site thanks. Iv added it to my favorites list.

[Epson]

Cport,

What you're describing is only too familiar to me, all of it.  I just had my second colonoscopy about 5 weeks ago and the only thing that is any different from the colonoscopy I had 3 years ago was diverticulosis.  The doctor told me to continue the same course of treatment, which is obviously ineffective or I wouldn't subject myself to another procedure like a colonoscopy.

I don't have any advise for you other then to go back to the doctor just to make sure nothing more serious is going on.  I had a large cancerous tumor removed from my bladder about 2 years ago, so it's better to be safe then sorry.  No body in my family ever had cancer, so needless to say I was very surprised with a dx of cancer.

It seems like there is no cure for our problem, but it's not a bad idea to stock up on Imodium, lots of Imodium.  Ive turned my bathroom into a working office, high speed cable, live stock quotes, book shelves, wide screen plasma TV and fire place, might as well be comfortable where you spend the most of your time.

[inga]

Well, hmm, I am a nurse, and that is the most graphic description of a bowel movement I have EVER heard......tell your doctor these details.....He/She can use them.  And go see your doctor, immediately.....you can always take a stool sample with you, preferrably in an opaque container that seals well, in a plastic bag in case it 'dumps'.

This has seared such a colorful image in my mind, that it almost paints a picture.  I may be traumatized into permanent constipation.

[kwolfsheimer]

I have incredibly horrible diarrhea prevalent IBS and what you are describing fits me to a tee.  Although I do cycle on and off-- I don't really get constipated, but when I have the diarrhea, it's 6+ times a day and often uncontrollable.  I would also have the mucus really badly. Your description of that was spot on.  I hate to tell you this, but it might get a whole lot worse! I do take a medicine that has almost completely "cured" me (however it comes back immediately if I stop taking it).  It is very hard to get prescribed and incredible expensive.  I wouldn't recommend it unless this gets worse and if your issue is more diarrhea prevalent.

You will have to let me know what your doc says.

I m finding more and more people who have severe digestion issues. My gasto affirms that Sjogren's could be a huge culprit.  Do you also have acid reflux/ GERD?

[eyeamdry]

Along with the others, I urge you to go to your doctor and get things checked out.  Any time your bowel habits change (if I remember correctly) is a signal to see your doctor.

Not trying to be scary, but I lost a sister to colon cancer last year.  These growths get started and are much easier taken care of when caught early.  My sister had been 8 years without a colonoscopy and that was too long in her case.  She went through surgery then a year of awful chemo, not being able to eat and in and out of the hospital for every few weeks.  Don't let it happen to you.  I will be getting colonoscopies every other year now, because I have a history of polyps.    Lucy

[BonusMom]

I also urge you to get in to see a GI ASAP.  If your GI isn't available, see your PCP.  This needs immediate attention.

So sorry that you're experiencing this and hope that it's nothing serious.  Please keep us posted.

P.S.  Are you gluten sensitive?

[Bopeep]

cport
I have been quietly watching this posting.
I have to admit I have a mucus type thing going on in the bowel. It is not always and seemily just comes and goes, its like a sort of plug of the same sort of mucus, then, nothing, normal bowel motions
About 8 months ago O had a bit of a bleed in the bowel and had a colonoscopy done. Nothing came up, and Iv had no problems since.
When you have something like that happen its almost a dissapointment. At least if they found something they could treat it.
Ill be interested in what it is they find with you.
Good luck

[cport]

Thank you all for you're messages.

Inga i think i've given a graphic description cause i to work in a hospital. Was a Health care assistant for 14 years but now do ward clerking as i can't manage lifting patients anymore. I learnt there that a good description is the most helpful Lol.

I have had hard constipated type stool for a couple of weeks now after weeks and weeks of diarrhea so it is very worrying. It's not that i can't go either it just takes a whle and the whole time i'm waiting i'm in agony with my stomach. I don't know what to do with myself i feel like i'm going to be sick or pass out but as soon as i've managed to go the stomach ache stops immediatly.

I am at the moment waiting to here back from my doctor about getting an appointment today but thats only my gp,they will have to refer me on to the gastro team.

Will keep you all updated.

Thanks again...Claire x

[cport]

Well.....what a nightmare of a day.

Saw my GP earlier and all he could come up with was that i was constipated and gave me some bowel medicine.

I'm still in agony and i'm still passing so much mucus you wouldn't beleive.
He never really listened to what i had to say but the one good thing is he is sending me off for somemore bloods.

Think i'll have to wait and see the Rheumy in December before i get to the bottom of it all.
In the mean time i will have to suffer in silence....but i'm used to that.

Thank you all. Claire xxx

[Bopeep]

Oh Claire how horrid for you. Bloody GPs makes you wonder why you pay the bill half the time.
Please keep us posted on what it is, my GP is about as hopeless as yours seems to be.

The good news with me is my Rheumy knows my GP's not confident so has given me his E-mail address as well as his cell phone number.
Good luck and stay well

[inga]

If they don't believe it, take them a stool sample. 

I have been as constipated as a human can be and still alive.....you don't sound constipated to me.  Sounds more like IBS. Hopefully you haven't been on any long term antibiotics and gotten clostridium difficile.   Most colon cancer has no symptoms, it is highly unlikely to be that, but it won't kill them to do a colonoscopy.

[Prairie Gal]

Cport, my gut has acted up at times, including months-long episodes of diarrhea, so I sympathize.  I could add quite a vivid description of what my body eliminated during one of those episodes -- different from yours, but equally gross!

At the two SjS conferences I've attended, digestive problems were mentioned as being quite common for SjS patients.  Unfortunately.

I've taken in stool samples during the episodes of diarrhea; my gastroenterologist said I could have something that just doesn't register high enough to show up on the lab tests.

The last episode ended after I'd been taking probiotics for 4-5 weeks.  I asked him if that could have been what helped and he said it was hard to tell.  I had a colonoscopy 4 months after the last episode and everything looked fine, he said.

I eat a lot of fiber because when I don't have diarrhea, I'm almost constipated -- not totally, but very uncomfortable.  Interestingly, I've been taking two probiotic tablets every day for the last month and have had fewer problems with almost-constipation and gas.  Maybe I've finally figured out what helps me!

BTW, if you look up IBS symptoms, yours seem to fit.  But you should get things checked out to be sure there's nothing else going on.   I hope your symptoms ease up soon.

I read an article that quoted a dr. as saying our guts are our "second brain."   In other words, if something is going awry -- I think SjS qualifies -- our guts tell us loud and clear.

[irish]

I don't know what your doc is thinking!!! It sounds like you need to have a colonoscopy for sure. When one passes stool and then the pain stops it demands attention. Should not have pain when passing stool.

I am also a registered nurse and I would hope that you could get in to see a GI doc who would take you serious. Often times things turn out to be not serious, but it is amazing all the trouble the colon can cause and we should always listen to it!!! Good luck! Irish