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Okay, I need the insight of better minds than mine and maybe someone else has had this happen. I am prone to C with my LC, so I have been taking just one Phillips Milk of Magnesia tablet per day. Over time it has proven to be helpful as in once the BM is softer my body tends to take care of the rest and I had been thinking it's good to let my body do what it's supposed to..... so I only use softeners, no laxatives. And generally I'll get daily results.
Last week and this week I have had a day where I'll have 4-5 Bm's in a day, like my gut is overly aggressive. Finally after those 4-5 I'll have 2 more and these are the pencil thin soft ones. By this point I'm feeling nauseated and generally end up taking my Zofran and Imodium to get everything calmed again. Gotta say that the pencil thin BMs scare me because when I had my first BIG flare this was one of the symptoms.
I had always thought pencil BMs were a sign of inflammation. Yet once I take the meds (and it's over in a few hours), the next day I may have a small BM that's not pencil shaped--- so it's not a long lasting flare.
I have 2 questions: 1. What is this pattern I've gotten into, where I have one day every 7-9 days where my gut is overly aggressive and 2. what do pencil thin BMs indicate?
thanks so much,
Carol
Need advice about this pattern.
Moderators: Rosie, Stanz, Jean, CAMary, moremuscle, JFR, Dee, xet, Peggy, Matthew, Gabes-Apg, grannyh, Gloria, Mars, starfire, Polly, Joefnh
Need advice about this pattern.
“.... people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” Maya Angelou
Thanks Jenny. And of course I'm asking myself, "if it is inflammation is it due to aggravation from the other BMs before it or am I now reacting to one of the 7 foods I now eat?" Hmmmm.
Carol
Carol
“.... people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” Maya Angelou
Carol,
Usually, a pencil type BM is a sign of swelling or a stenosis, (stricture or restriction), and many doctors would suspect cancer, but assuming that you were diagnosed by means of a colonoscopy within the past few years, that pretty well rules out cancer. (Besides, it would be persistent, not intermittent, if cancer were the cause). It could also be due to inflammation, or hemorrhoids, but the question is, "why does this happen only on certain days?"
That was one of my symptoms, too, sometimes, but I actually had a stenosis in my sigmoid colon. I doubt that is your problem, (unless it's noted in your colonoscopy report).
If I were in that situation, I would carefully analyze my diet during the preceding 36 to 48 hours prior to the days which begin with the 4 or 5 BMs. Those extra BMs are surely a clue that something different is going on, on those days. This pattern suggests that something promotes additional BMS on certain days, and after a certain volume of "Normans", any fecal matter that follows, has not had sufficient time for normal water extraction, so the texture is softer, and it simply conforms to the pressures and the shape of the channel.
IOW, pencil shaped BMs can easily occur, even if no stenosis is present, simply because softer fecal matter will naturally be extruded in a smaller diameter, due to normal physical constraints, and your pattern, (preceded by 4 pr 5 more normal BMs), verifies that this is probably what's happening. Inflammation, of course, would cause swelling, which could certainly contribute to more constriction pressure, if inflammation were present.
Tex
Usually, a pencil type BM is a sign of swelling or a stenosis, (stricture or restriction), and many doctors would suspect cancer, but assuming that you were diagnosed by means of a colonoscopy within the past few years, that pretty well rules out cancer. (Besides, it would be persistent, not intermittent, if cancer were the cause). It could also be due to inflammation, or hemorrhoids, but the question is, "why does this happen only on certain days?"
That was one of my symptoms, too, sometimes, but I actually had a stenosis in my sigmoid colon. I doubt that is your problem, (unless it's noted in your colonoscopy report).
If I were in that situation, I would carefully analyze my diet during the preceding 36 to 48 hours prior to the days which begin with the 4 or 5 BMs. Those extra BMs are surely a clue that something different is going on, on those days. This pattern suggests that something promotes additional BMS on certain days, and after a certain volume of "Normans", any fecal matter that follows, has not had sufficient time for normal water extraction, so the texture is softer, and it simply conforms to the pressures and the shape of the channel.
IOW, pencil shaped BMs can easily occur, even if no stenosis is present, simply because softer fecal matter will naturally be extruded in a smaller diameter, due to normal physical constraints, and your pattern, (preceded by 4 pr 5 more normal BMs), verifies that this is probably what's happening. Inflammation, of course, would cause swelling, which could certainly contribute to more constriction pressure, if inflammation were present.
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
Hi Carol. I'm not a regular on the board mainly because my LC is with C primarily like you. I have had this same thing happen to me and always just thought it was because of the constipation build up. I do drink coffee in the morning and this is usually when it happens to me. Can I ask you if you experience a lot of gas build up. I seem to be in a pretty good flare again myself and finally gave up all gluten. Tried last year but got aggravated that I didnt feel better after 6 weeks so I gave up. what are you 7 foods you eat. Right now I'm eating rice, chicken, white potato, eggs, bananas, and applesauce sometimes while in this flare.
Hope you get some relief soon,
Sondra
Hope you get some relief soon,
Sondra
Please consider rescuing a dog from your local shelter today.
Thank you Tex and Sondra. Interestingly I had the same pattern when I was on Entocort except that i'd have 5-8 BMs in a 2 hour period- like something every 15 minutes usually followed by cramping for a few hours. And I could plan on it every 8-9 days. Now it appears it's slowed down enough that it at least is spread out during the day but it's still problematic and I've been off Entocort for 8 weeks. The cramping I realize was a side effect of the Entocort. I suspect I am ingesting something that maybe has an additive that is casein or soy maybe. I'll check my food log more closely.
Sondra, in answer to your questions I now eat white rice, chicken, beef, white potato, green beans, Chex, Baked Lays and sometimes carrots or sweet potato. I rotate things so if I eat rice at lunch then it's potato at dinner for example. I have been doing this since July and for the most part, it works. I used to eat applesauce but was having some GERD symptoms so I backed off. I can't eat bananas because I have an allergy to them. I am anxiously waiting for my Enterolab results and thinking that may give me some insights. It will be 3 weeks on Thursday that they've received the sample so I hope for results this week. I went gluten free because about 90% of the people on this board have found benefit in being gluten free and I figured I was no different. A few months later I had the gene tests done and found I have two gene markers for developing gluten sensitivity(one from each parent) . So what more do I need? If I want to avoid future autoimmune diseases, I'd better get rid of the gluten.
When I asked my GI about this pattern she made reference to a dumping syndrome but when I looked that up it referred to food 'dumping' rapidly from the stomach to the small intestine. I never found any references for this kind of pattern regarding BMs.
thanks again for your responses,
Carol
Sondra, in answer to your questions I now eat white rice, chicken, beef, white potato, green beans, Chex, Baked Lays and sometimes carrots or sweet potato. I rotate things so if I eat rice at lunch then it's potato at dinner for example. I have been doing this since July and for the most part, it works. I used to eat applesauce but was having some GERD symptoms so I backed off. I can't eat bananas because I have an allergy to them. I am anxiously waiting for my Enterolab results and thinking that may give me some insights. It will be 3 weeks on Thursday that they've received the sample so I hope for results this week. I went gluten free because about 90% of the people on this board have found benefit in being gluten free and I figured I was no different. A few months later I had the gene tests done and found I have two gene markers for developing gluten sensitivity(one from each parent) . So what more do I need? If I want to avoid future autoimmune diseases, I'd better get rid of the gluten.
When I asked my GI about this pattern she made reference to a dumping syndrome but when I looked that up it referred to food 'dumping' rapidly from the stomach to the small intestine. I never found any references for this kind of pattern regarding BMs.
thanks again for your responses,
Carol
“.... people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” Maya Angelou
Oops, Sondra, I forgot to answer your question about gas.... I generally don't find gas to be a problem, even on days like these. There's some but not what I would consider an abnormal amount.
thanks,
Carol
thanks,
Carol
“.... people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” Maya Angelou