A thousand mile journey starts with the first step
Join Date: Oct 2009
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Safe - Stomach cramps and diarrhoea
I apologise in advance as this may get a bit nasty.
In the past couple of months I've been getting frequent stomach cramps which come and go, and then sometimes diarrhoea. My stool is usually soft because I try and drink at least a litre of water a day, but I can tell when I have diarrhoea because it smells bad as well. I don't really have any other symptoms with it, sometimes I feel a bit gungy but I never physically vomit with it.
In the past when I've had a combination of this it's been due to stress/anxiety, but I've had other usual stress/anxiety symptoms like a bit of a racing heart and I know I've been stressed or anxious about something.
Is it possible that psychologically I might be under stress or anxiety that's causing my stomach problems but I might not be aware of it? Or could something else be going on?
I went to the doctors in late April/early May about it after I read it was a side effect of the pill (Yazmin) I had been taking, but surely my body would have got used to it after 3/4 months?
I haven't been out of the country, I haven't eaten any unusual foods and I'm not on any new medication.
Getting a bit confused/worried now.
Again, sorry for the detail, just thought it might be helpful. And thankyou in advance for your replies.
It sounds like you have IBS - irritable bowel syndrome. I have it so I know and have experienced the symptons of it, unfortunately!
Do you get periods of constipation as well as that is another symptom of IBS?
As you mentioned, stress can affect your bowels and give you diarrhoea as well so it may be an idea to note your bouts of diarrhoea and see if they occur during particulary stressful times. Also you are correct when you suggest that your heart racing is a sign of stress and anxiety.
I would go back to your GP and explain your symptons to him/her. If it is IBS the great thing is that it can be treated and managed (but not cured I'm afraid). You would be give an anti-spasmodic to help with the cramps which can help the diaorrhoea too. You will be asked to monitor what you eat so you can work out which are your 'trigger foods'. For instance I know that too much fruit and veg will have me rolling on my bed in agony. Plus rich foods set me off too.
If it is stress you could keep a diary and see what the triggers are in your life that make you especially stressed therefore triggering cramps and bowel problems. Then try and work out which triggers you can avoid and which you can't yet the triggers you can't escape from, how can you lessen the stress in those situations.
Take care x
ps, detail does not matter. We all pee, have a poop, excessive wind etc! Its just in this country (the UK) we are far too uptight and embarrassed about natural bodily functions!
GRANT ME THE SERENITY TO ACCEPT THE THINGS I CANNOT CHANGE
THE COURAGE TO CHANGE THE THINGS I CAN
AND THE WISDOM TO KNOW THE DIFFERENCE
A thousand mile journey starts with the first step
Join Date: Oct 2009
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To be honest that's what I was thinking. I'm going to rule out other possibilities so I'm gonna go for an STI test and get a pregnancy test as well. Don't really want to be taking any chances.
If I don't drink a lot then I can become constipated and I won't go for days at a time. I've always had bowel problems, stress has always affected it.
Well yesterday when it happened I was going to a friend's party and I was the only one that was underage so I could have been stressed about that. But I will keep a diary, what I've eaten and the events that have gone on and such.
Hope the STI tests come back clear and the pregnancy test..well, what you want it to be.
Not drinking makes you constipated too as there isn't enough fluid in your system for your body to ''create'' soft, passable stools. Instead the stools kind of dry up like pebbles and become hard and difficult (also sometimes painful) to pass. Plus excess straining can give you piles!
No probs for the advice xx
GRANT ME THE SERENITY TO ACCEPT THE THINGS I CANNOT CHANGE
THE COURAGE TO CHANGE THE THINGS I CAN
AND THE WISDOM TO KNOW THE DIFFERENCE
As well as IBS, it could be a food intolerance either way food diary is a good idea, just be aware that foods can have an effect on your bodily functions up to 2-3 days after you have eaten it so it can be difficult to spot the causes.
I have a histamine intolerance which usually causes pseudo-allergic reactions but just recently has started to give me more classical intolerance symptoms so can relate to your pain. Hope you figure it out soon, it can be quite distressing not to know what it is that is causing you pain and discomfort. x
I had one last year but had to go out to a different pct, not that they were overly helpful to me. The allergy test came back negative suggesting histamine intolerance (it can cause the same symptoms) told me to avoid foods with histamine in but not what they were sigh. I've had to kind of figure out what I can manage through trial and error.
A thousand mile journey starts with the first step
Join Date: Oct 2009
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Ah I see.
Well I went to the doctors today, told her that I was suffering with this again, she's presrcibed me Buscopan for the stomach cramps and (when I have diarrhoea again) I have to take two stool samples - she's testing for inflammation and to see if I have a stomach virus or something.
A thousand mile journey starts with the first step
Join Date: Oct 2009
I am currently:
Ahhh that's good to hear. On the box it says take one four times daily but it's not every day that I have stomach cramps, so I'm only going to take them when I have a stomach cramp.
well the thing is that if you take them regularly you will hopefully cramp little or not at all. Taking them WHEN you are cramping is futile. They are designed to be a preventative medicine and by that I mean something you take on a regular basis even when symptom free to keep you symptom free. Not wait for the pain and then take them. They are not like painkillers and don't work like them. Follow your label instructions lass, that is your best bet. They don't print them off for fun! lol!
GRANT ME THE SERENITY TO ACCEPT THE THINGS I CANNOT CHANGE
THE COURAGE TO CHANGE THE THINGS I CAN
AND THE WISDOM TO KNOW THE DIFFERENCE
No problems, I've had IBS for 7 years maybe. Doctors know better than mum (no offence or being rude to your mum!) so follow what they say on the label.
I do breakfast time, lunch time, tea time then bed time. I find it spaces the drug out the most evenly.
I hope that you feel better soon - give the Buscopan a few days to work into your system and kick in.
GRANT ME THE SERENITY TO ACCEPT THE THINGS I CANNOT CHANGE
THE COURAGE TO CHANGE THE THINGS I CAN
AND THE WISDOM TO KNOW THE DIFFERENCE
It needs to be taken with food and regularly to work consistently. Good luck, Buscopan is usually what GP's start people on for IBS symptoms.
Buscopan was my second choice. I tried a third then went back to Buscopan. I don't find taking them with food helps more but I have noticed that if I fast, when I next eat I cramp real bad so I have to eat baby sized mush.
GRANT ME THE SERENITY TO ACCEPT THE THINGS I CANNOT CHANGE
THE COURAGE TO CHANGE THE THINGS I CAN
AND THE WISDOM TO KNOW THE DIFFERENCE
A thousand mile journey starts with the first step
Join Date: Oct 2009
I am currently:
Ahh okay. Yeah I took one this morning with my breakfast.
I've been looking up causes of IBS and just doing some general background research about treatments and that - I know it says that most people start showing symptoms between 20 and 30 and I'm only 17 but I can relate to most of these symptoms my whole life. I used to have terrible stomach cramps as a kid which would then follow with constipation; my GP back then prescribed me lactulose. But now because I'm drinking a lot more water than I was back then I don't really get constipation, just really bad diarrgoea.
Going to make some dietary changes as well to see if it all helps.
Right, firstly, IBS is NOT something that people should be giving out on here as that is a 'diagnosis'. It is also a diagnosis given by doctors when they can't find another reason (or should be) and as the user is having other tests such as stool samples then they are still looking for other causes and bacteria/ viruses/ other bugs can cause things like that and can have an effect.
Also, drinking 1l of water a day isn't really that much and drinking more doesn't tend to cause diarrhoea. Yes, drinking water does help to keep your stools softer but it won't (in a healthy bowel where it can absorb fluids well) cause diarrhoea so I wouldn't look at that as a cause.
I would strongly recommend using a food diary as well as putting your emotions etc into there every day. Put EVERYTHING you eat in there, maybe even down to the brand, definitely the sort such as the toppings on a pizza rather than just putting pizza as theres a lot of different things there that you could react to. By doing this it may come up with a pattern that say a day after you've eaten something with x in it it leads to this occurring which suggests your body may be intolerant to that. You should also put down everything you drink too and any meds you take and what form they come in as for some the gelatin sed in a lot of capsules can be the problem or the coating on a tablet.
I'd also suggest against using the Buscopan only when needed. Unlike painkillers it doesn't need to be taken before the signs for it to work best; pain killers are different due to the mechanisms behind pain and buscopan reduces muscle spasms especially in the gut and therefore relieves the pain caused by them as it stops them. Pain killers are actually ones that you should aim to take at the start of pain, rather than these which are effective once spasming as begun, it's not futile, trust me. It's often used as a treatment once the cramping has begun and is VERY effective at that in an awful lot of cases.
Also, as the doctor has prescribed them for the cramps when you have diarrhoea again then they should ONLY be used then, not at other times as suggested here and it is actually against the rules of the forum for people to state otherwise.
It may also still be the pill that's causing this as sometimes they can cause long term side effects. However, as it is coming and going but yo're constantly on the pill I would not expect this to be the case at all.
A thousand mile journey starts with the first step
Join Date: Oct 2009
I am currently:
Oh no I'm not saying how much water I drink causes diarrhoea, I'm just saying it prevents the constipation.
I've also devised a timetable so I can take my Buscopan routinely.
I had cramps this morning and I think the peppers I had in this chicken fajita bake may have upset my stomach, so I'm going avoid them.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Animad
It may also still be the pill that's causing this as sometimes they can cause long term side effects. However, as it is coming and going but yo're constantly on the pill I would not expect this to be the case at all.
At first I thought it was this, but then like you said as I take the pill everyday surely I would have cramps and diarrhoea everyday if it was a side effect of the pill.
Is it possible that psychologically I might be under stress or anxiety that's causing my stomach problems but I might not be aware of it? Or could something else be going on?
Quote:
Originally Posted by fragile as glass
It sounds like you have IBS - irritable bowel syndrome.
As you mentioned, stress can affect your bowels and give you diarrhoea as well
I would go back to your GP and explain your symptons to him/her.
I did not diagnose here Animad and I suggested seeing a doctor
[quote=Kitkat :);2864920]To be honest that's what I was thinking. I'm going to rule out other possibilities so I'm gonna go for an STI test and get a pregnancy test as well. Don't really want to be taking any chances.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kitkat :)
Well I went to the doctors today, told her that I was suffering with this again, she's presrcibed me Buscopan for the stomach cramps
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kitkat :)
On the box it says take one four times daily but it's not every day that I have stomach cramps, so I'm only going to take them when I have a stomach cramp.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kitkat :)
Quote:
Originally Posted by Animad
[i]Right, firstly, IBS is NOT something that people [/I]should be giving out on here as that is a 'diagnosis'. It is also a diagnosis given by doctors when they can't find another reason (or should be) and as the user is having other tests such as stool samples then they are still looking for other causes and bacteria/ viruses/ other bugs can cause things like that and can have an effect.
I'd also suggest against using the Buscopan only when needed. Unlike painkillers it doesn't need to be taken before the signs for it to work best; pain killers are different due to the mechanisms behind pain and buscopan reduces muscle spasms especially in the gut and therefore relieves the pain caused by them as it stops them. Pain killers are actually ones that you should aim to take at the start of pain, rather than these which are effective once spasming as begun, it's not futile, trust me. It's often used as a treatment once the cramping has begun and is VERY effective at that in an awful lot of cases.
Also, as the doctor has prescribed them for the cramps when you have diarrhoea again then they should ONLY be used then, not at other times as suggested here and it is actually against the rules of the forum for people to state otherwise.
I interpretedly differently Animad what the label meant to you and me but shall shup up now for the OP's sake
Last edited by fragile as glass : 30-06-2011 at 10:29 AM.
GRANT ME THE SERENITY TO ACCEPT THE THINGS I CANNOT CHANGE
THE COURAGE TO CHANGE THE THINGS I CAN
AND THE WISDOM TO KNOW THE DIFFERENCE
