Poopy talk! (Obviously this will be a TMI post)

glassyo · January 2022

Disclaimer: I've been to urgent care and my oral surgeon (who has opinions whenever I'm not feeling well) and I know there aren't many doctors around here (but we have nurses!) and I don't mind internet randos giving advice because how else are you going to find others in the same predicament you're in? And I have ulcerative colitis which may or may not play into this.

Ok, so, I've had abdominal pain. I live for walking outside but the concrete makes it 200% worse. Urgent care, after a CT scan, said it's constipation except Dr Google says the only symptom I actually have is the abdominal pain. I have regular bowel movements and they're not hard. They're a little softer than probably should be. I don't strain and I'm pretty sure the softness is another reason I don't feel empty. 😀

The doctor told me to take miralax. I took it for 2 days and was fine the next day so didn't take it a third and did my usual outside walking. Came home pretty much doubling over in pain.

Enter the oral surgeon. I had this post extraction/bone graft thingy done in which I was given antibiotics. I've learned not to take antibiotics without taking probiotics because, when I didn't, I got c-diff.

Miralax softens stools. Mine are already soft and, even tho the CT scan showed something, I haven't had any kind of hard stools or real problems going to the bathroom. The antibiotics can give you diarrhea but the probiotics are there to stop that.

Soooooooo, I guess, do we agree with constipation? Do we stop the miralax? I obviously can't stop the antibiotics. Do we not take the probiotics, letting the antibiotics do the work of the miralax? Do we potentially end up with c-diff again?

I also ordered a hot water bottle for the pain but a heating pad didn't really work.....

Thanks for actually reading!😀

lmgoff232 · January 2022

Continuing on with the TMI... So, what I have learned from my kids getting constipated, is that sometimes if you are really constipated, stool can leak around the blockage. So the fact that you are having looser stools than normal can actually point to constipation. So I would keep on with what the Dr said and continue the miralax. As well as the antibiotics and probiotics of course 😉 Good luck! Hope you feel better soon

ythannah · January 2022

Sorry, no helpful advice, just an internet rando chiming in to say I'm in a similar predicament symptom-wise, although my issue developed after abdominal surgery and is most likely the result of adhesions. Same deal, soft/very soft stool but motility was seriously impaired. I eventually got fed up with my doctor's unhelpfulness (she had me do Miralax too and that was a disaster) and started taking stimulant laxatives, which solved the problem. Now I'm at the point where I'm trying to shift to non-laxative remedies that achieve the same result. But... I've finally been referred for a CT scan so may end up needing further surgery.

Beautyofdreams · January 2022

Which quadrant is the abdominal pain in? Upper right, lower right, upper left, lower left?
How soon does it occur after eating? Does activity cause it? Does any particular food trigger it or worsen the pain?

Have you spoken to a gastroenterologist yet? I would advise that especially if symptoms persist.

AnnPT77 · January 2022

Here's a weird, really low probability thing, in the form of irritated personal anecdote.

Over 25 years ago, I had lower left abdominal pain, varying in intensity, never disabling, but sometimes unpleasant, and of course worrisome to me. Physical exam revealed what my doctor said was constipation. OK, started taking fiber supplement he suggested (totally the wrong idea, I needed water, not fiber, but OK). As that got sorted, there was still pain/discomfort. My doctor ordered scans, ovaries OK, various gastro work-ups, etc. They saw a little colon spasm stuff, and given that, and in part as a diagnosis of exclusion, decided I had IBS.

So, life goes on, discomfort happens off and on, I get used to it. Seems less frequent/severe when I get good nutrition, get that fiber/water/fats balance right, etc. Just living with it, managing (fairly minor) symptoms.

Eventually, recently, I started having some urinary issues (not the usual symptoms amongst li'l ol' ladies, and the details really don't matter). Among other things, the urologist referred me for pelvic floor PT.

Guess what the PT figures out? I have a left levator muscle where I've been storing stress for a quarter of a century or more, apparently. Various PT interventions (over a few weeks), and the lower left abdominal discomfort is almost entirely gone, and if it twinges, I now have a toolkit of exercises that usually help relieve it quickly. (It's pretty much a coincidence that it was on the left, as I understand it. The right equivalent was a little tensed, too, but not nearly as severely. (No, the PT didn't solve the urinary issue, which were apparently not about muscle strength, because mine are fine. Urologist is still working on what it may be. It's not a huge deal, just annoying. Why do I have to be a puzzle? 🙄)

Twenty five years or more, wrong diagnosis. Not gastro, pelvic floor muscle tension - kind of like a "knot" you might get in your back or something, I guess. Jeesh.

hist_doc · January 2022

I'm going to follow up with what @lmgoff232 said (not disputing others' comments here, of course).
I also have a form of colitis (not ulcerative but lymphocytic), but with that, I do suffer from severe constipation at times. One of the last times I had a "flare up," my gastroenterologist took an x-ray which revealed a pretty substantial blockage (sorry, tmi). She suggested that I do a half colonoscopy prep to clear it out, followed by taking miralax daily. Yes, this is unconventional but my system was pretty impacted.
It did end up working.
I want to add that when I have this type of constipation, I also experience the following:
--diarrhea/soft stools (sounds counterintuitive but from what my doc told me it forms this way to get around the impaction)
--extreme bloating (as in my flat stomach will suddenly appear as though I am six months pregnant if I eat the smallest amount of food)
--this is caused by significant amounts of trapped gas (I am physically unable to pass gas. It is horribly painful and might be causing the double-over pain you are experiencing. It can come out of nowhere it something "shifts," especially during/after exercise. I'm a marathoner and while running helps, it can also aggravate my issues. It is so painful to the degree that I have to bend over to walk. That, coupled with the extreme bloating that follows.
--You mentioned a heating pad/hot water bottle. I have found that stomach massage really helps. It not only helps with easing any blockage but also helps with the pain. There are videos on how to do this. It works better if someone else can do this for you.
--I have found (through years of tracking) that symptoms are more likely to arise during mid-cycle/leading up to my menstrual cycle. Doctor explains that this is due to shift in hormones. Some months I have no change; others are bad.

I have found that taking two stool softeners daily (under the instruction of my gastroenterologist) does help. When things get bad, I switch to Miralax and a semi-liquid diet of hearty, protein-based smoothies (almond milk, sweet potatoes, oatmeal, and protein powder) as well as other items that don't aggravate my system. Within a few days, the issue usually clears up. I'm actually experiencing a pretty awful episode right now. I would avoid c-diff at all costs! I had this a few years ago--on vacation--and I thought I was going to die. I only share this because our symptoms sound quite similar but of course, the most important thing is that you consult with your doctor.

glassyo · January 2022

Quick drive by....I'd written this whole long reply post (not to you, @hist_doc. You hadn't replied yet!) on Saturday but went into another app for a second and lost the reply. Then basically said I don't have it in me to reconstruct it right now, realized I'm way behind on getting payroll to clients (and you KNOW it's hard to get what you need to get done while actually at work 😀) and said I'll redo it later.

No pain on Saturday but I'd spent the whole day doing any exercise inside on the carpet. I went a little stir crazy so decided to take a 10 min test walk. That turned into 2 hours. I was a teeny bit sore but only when bending over.

I was a little bolder on Sunday and went out for about an hour and a half during the day and then 2 at night. Was in a bit more pain after that.

No miralax. (Tablet! Stop changing that to Miramax! 😀) Just the antibiotic and probiotic.

@Beautyofdreams That was actually a good question about food timing. At first I was nah, no affect but then I realized I didn't eat much on Fri because of the oral surgery but ate normally on Saturday. Also, lower left quadrant.

And what everybody else says makes sense and I really appreciate everyone sharing their pain and suggestions! 😀

I think I'll go back to the miralax after my antibiotics are done if the pain doesn't stay away. Same with asking my gastro to take a look at the ct scan and test results. My insides are unremarkable, btw. A little fluid here and there but that was it.

Poopy talk! (Obviously this will be a TMI post)

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