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Suggest Treatment For Irritable Bowel Syndrome
Question: Hello, Dr.
I am a 42 yr old male. I have been having irregular bowel movements for just over 2 months now. My stool has been soft/ sticky/ pasty. It comes out together and it's a brown color. When I bring it out of the water it falls apart and it's mushy like. It does break off too. Also when I clean myself it slimmy. I have to wipe many times to clean with my first hand full of toilet paper and I do also get little more to finish off. There are times that I do have firmer bowel movements with no clean up. And at time where it's on the softer side it's not thatch clean up. Just this past week I went 2-3 straight days with firm bowel movements. One day I went to the bathroom at 9:30 pm then didn't have to go next until 9:00 pm the next day. Then there's times where I will go 2-3 times in just a 12 hrs period. I have went to my dr about it early on and he told me to take away dairy for a week. I do have milk in my cereal, a Yogurt on a daily basis and milk at dinner time. This past Saturday I went to have a colonoscopy done and found nothing. Could possibly have IBS? I am very worried this is something serious!! Could stress be a factor? The end of February I did loose my father in law. I have been reading about others having similar problems when I Google it. I hope you can give me some relief about this!!
Thanks, XXXXXXX
I am a 42 yr old male. I have been having irregular bowel movements for just over 2 months now. My stool has been soft/ sticky/ pasty. It comes out together and it's a brown color. When I bring it out of the water it falls apart and it's mushy like. It does break off too. Also when I clean myself it slimmy. I have to wipe many times to clean with my first hand full of toilet paper and I do also get little more to finish off. There are times that I do have firmer bowel movements with no clean up. And at time where it's on the softer side it's not thatch clean up. Just this past week I went 2-3 straight days with firm bowel movements. One day I went to the bathroom at 9:30 pm then didn't have to go next until 9:00 pm the next day. Then there's times where I will go 2-3 times in just a 12 hrs period. I have went to my dr about it early on and he told me to take away dairy for a week. I do have milk in my cereal, a Yogurt on a daily basis and milk at dinner time. This past Saturday I went to have a colonoscopy done and found nothing. Could possibly have IBS? I am very worried this is something serious!! Could stress be a factor? The end of February I did loose my father in law. I have been reading about others having similar problems when I Google it. I hope you can give me some relief about this!!
Thanks, XXXXXXX
Brief Answer:
Need Management, Likely IBS
Detailed Answer:
Hello jared!
It sounds like IBS. Alternating soft stools with constipated ones and fatty stools are due to too much dairy intake i want you to reduce that and see if that help. If the colonoscopy is clear then the odds for functional bowels like IBS are more likely. i would like you to seek a gastroenterologist for further work up as there are thousands of etiologies possible for it. washout techniques, radiography and breath tests., CT volumetry and some other GI functional assessment would make things clear for the etiology.
. Intolerance to lactose, fructose and sorbitol are relatively common and thus lipids intake should be minimized to the minimum to avoid such bloating. Bifidobacteria and associated probiotics have proved useful and helpful in the bloating issues.
Another rare cause of bloating is abdominal anterior wall tone dysfunctions resulting in bloating.
Also prokinesis and peristalsis of Gu tract once impaired may also cause the bloating.
Postprandial bloating is a hallmark of an inflammatory bowel disease and it needs to be assessed by a gastroenterologist and treated accordingly to permanently have a solution for it.
In nut shell, DIet and lifestyle modifications for the functional Gi troubles, More fibres, less fats and carbohydrates, small meals of frequent durations that few larger ones, use of healthy lifestyle and exercise, losing weight if an issue, controlling lipid profile in a limit and compliantly using hypertensive medicines and staying in touch with your doctor is advised.
Fiber supplementation improve symptoms of constipation and diarrhea. Polycarbophil compounds (eg, Citrucel, FiberCon) may produce less flatulence than psyllium compounds (eg, Metamucil).
Judicious water intake is recommended and should be followed. minimum of 2 litres in a day is advised.
Caffeine avoidance may limit anxiety and symptom exacerbation. Legume avoidance may decrease abdominal bloating. Lactose and/or fructose should be limited or avoided Take care to supplement calcium in patients limiting lactose intake.
Gluten intolerance has been further associated with irritable bowel syndrome. so try gluten free diet and see if it helps.
Meanwhile some prokinetics like metoclopramide and domperidone and erythromycins would keep the propelling work and make the bloating less but it needs a work up as i mentioned to sort out the most likely functional cause as IBS etc.
Seek a gastroenterologist for further management.
I hope it helps.take good care of yourself and don't forget to close the discussion please.
Regards
S Khan
Need Management, Likely IBS
Detailed Answer:
Hello jared!
It sounds like IBS. Alternating soft stools with constipated ones and fatty stools are due to too much dairy intake i want you to reduce that and see if that help. If the colonoscopy is clear then the odds for functional bowels like IBS are more likely. i would like you to seek a gastroenterologist for further work up as there are thousands of etiologies possible for it. washout techniques, radiography and breath tests., CT volumetry and some other GI functional assessment would make things clear for the etiology.
. Intolerance to lactose, fructose and sorbitol are relatively common and thus lipids intake should be minimized to the minimum to avoid such bloating. Bifidobacteria and associated probiotics have proved useful and helpful in the bloating issues.
Another rare cause of bloating is abdominal anterior wall tone dysfunctions resulting in bloating.
Also prokinesis and peristalsis of Gu tract once impaired may also cause the bloating.
Postprandial bloating is a hallmark of an inflammatory bowel disease and it needs to be assessed by a gastroenterologist and treated accordingly to permanently have a solution for it.
In nut shell, DIet and lifestyle modifications for the functional Gi troubles, More fibres, less fats and carbohydrates, small meals of frequent durations that few larger ones, use of healthy lifestyle and exercise, losing weight if an issue, controlling lipid profile in a limit and compliantly using hypertensive medicines and staying in touch with your doctor is advised.
Fiber supplementation improve symptoms of constipation and diarrhea. Polycarbophil compounds (eg, Citrucel, FiberCon) may produce less flatulence than psyllium compounds (eg, Metamucil).
Judicious water intake is recommended and should be followed. minimum of 2 litres in a day is advised.
Caffeine avoidance may limit anxiety and symptom exacerbation. Legume avoidance may decrease abdominal bloating. Lactose and/or fructose should be limited or avoided Take care to supplement calcium in patients limiting lactose intake.
Gluten intolerance has been further associated with irritable bowel syndrome. so try gluten free diet and see if it helps.
Meanwhile some prokinetics like metoclopramide and domperidone and erythromycins would keep the propelling work and make the bloating less but it needs a work up as i mentioned to sort out the most likely functional cause as IBS etc.
Seek a gastroenterologist for further management.
I hope it helps.take good care of yourself and don't forget to close the discussion please.
Regards
S Khan
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Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Answered by
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