Poo problems TMI and collecting a sample

[SmellyNelly2018]

Where do I start I have NC for this.
For sometime now years I have been concerned about my poo. For many years I was constipated but for a goodly while I have been the opposite. It stinks awful, comes away quickly (when I need to go I need to go urgently) and it comes away as a massive mass 90% of the time rather than being formed, other times it’s lots of little bits, sometimes it’s sloshy/slimey other times it feels very grainy. Colour varies at the moment it is a bit paler than usual. Sometimes their is a greasy film with it and it floats (is difficult to flush) and sticks to the sides. I am embarrassed to stay at anyone’s house. I am 52 I also have what looks like a massive pile which I have been using Annusol on and sometimes my bum bleeds and it is very itchy on a night when I am in bed. At the minute I am going between once to three times a day.
I asked my GP about this about a year ago and he brushed it off saying they don’t operate on piles as it’s classed as cosmetic surgery (it’s massive) and hurts like hell which I explained (but was dismissed).
Anyway today I saw a hospital doctor about something else and I plucked up the courage to mention this. I explained things and he took it seriously and asked the nurse to look me out a tiny narrow pot for this (no instructions and no spatula) unlike online.
Any tips on how to collect a poo sample easily please? Also I usually use Annusol as my bum is so sore. I used some this morning. If I shower my bum tonight and don’t use Annusol will it be ok to still do a sample when I go tomorrow usually around 7amish and take it to the GP at 9am and should I put it in a bag inside a bag inside a cool box? As no instructions or shall I call at GP’s and ask for a proper pot on way home from work.
I have had repeated kidney infections this year (4) and I guess you know what I am worrying about here.
Thanks for reading if you have made it this far.

Do you have a disposable plastic spoon?

Poo into and old clean margarine tub and either pour into the container or use and old clean spoon to spoon some poo into the sample bottle. Bin Tupperware and spoon or if you are so inclined disenfect and then use again.

Ooh a thread perfectly suited to my recent poo issues! I used a disposable tinfoil container to poo in then rinsed it and binned. And poured it (it was too slimey to scoop) into the sample pot.

Good luck with that and with getting a diagnosis that you can work with.

My husband was given a cardboard sick tray thing to poo in and then collect the sample from that with the little spatula thing.
You can get those tinfoil trays from B&Ms. Use one of them too poo into and then chuck it away.

Thanks I think i’ll have to get one of those tin foil trays big enough for a turkey at Christmas judging by the amount of 💩 I am doing at the minute. To minimise mess and tie a scarf round my mouth so I don’t gag.
What about the Annusol I used today (this morning) will that contaminate the sample? Actually, it was Annusol cream from downstairs loo then i also used cheap moisturising cream from the upstairs bathroom (as my bum felt too raw and sore and I have no Annusol up there).

Also has anyone else on here experienced anything like I describe? Sometimes my liver blood results are high.

Annusol won't cause a problem! Also you don't need to take it in a cool bag. Just sample in the pot, in a sandwich bag and hand it over. They'll be very used to it! Put the pot in a nappy bag or dog poo bag if you don't want it in a clear bag!

My husband at the moment is undergoing tears for possible crohns or colitis. It's started the other week with crippling abdominal cramps, diarrhoea and bleeding from the back passage. He's given blood & stool samples and his stool sample showed a problem with his liver function. He's got to give more blood/poo in a few weeks and then possibly a colonoscopy to have a look and collect biopsies.

ILMDG - sorry your husband is going through this. I lost a friend to bowel cancer many years ago. So I have always worried about this and my liver function tests have been high for the last 5 years. I had an ultrasound some time ago. I know this as I have regular blood tests for something else.

You could be coeliac. The first line test is a blood test -- I don't think they can get it from poo. Simple introduction at www.nhs.uk/conditions/coeliac-disease/symptoms/

Collecting: the method they recommend for the bowel cancer screening, which worked for me, is to get a 2 litre plastic ice cream container, eat any remaining ice cream , wash it out and dry it, line it with toilet roll, and go into that. It's probably best to be in a room which has washing facilities and to have removed any clothes that may get in the way, just in case. Poo into the container, take the sample, and then empty the container into the loo the poo and the toilet paper should all go together. Wipe the container out before recycling for the sake of the binmen-- refuse operatives.

Thanks yes I have been tested for Coeliac with a blood test a few years ago but I rarely eat much bread and at the time I wasn’t eating anything with gluten in prior to the test so it likely wouldn’t show up correctly.

Hi. Just to say I’ve known someone with major gluten issues who care back negatively on the test but elimination cured major symptoms so if all else fails worth trying strict eradication of gluten. Good luck x

The deed has been completed thanks all. I looked up the test they are doing and they are checking my pancreas.
I have tried elimination in the past and I do feel less bloated and gassy but my pops are still big and messy.
I still don’t have milk at all and rarely eat bread. I only have rye bread very very occasionally.

I'm back at my Gp today as my diarrhoea isn't stopping. It's not as bad as it was but it feels like I'm going back to how it was when it all started. I hope it's not going to come in cycles. I'll never get back to work.

I'm going to mention coeliac disease today as I feel ill if I so much as take a bite of something cake or bread based. Which is very unlike me! I've never seen biscuits last so long in this house.

Hope you and others get sorted out soon IllHaveALargeGlassOfRed in my experience you really have to push to get the GP to take you seriously. Not easy if your feeling unwell.

I've now been prescribed Mebeverine to rule out simple IBS. I've to continue with Dioralyte and start again on Loperamide. I've to do a another poo sample using one of the standard 50+ screening kits. Doc says it's a bit too early to refer me for a scope etc and wants to see how things go for another few weeks.

If things were still as bad as they were even last week I'd insist on more immediate tests.

Anusol is pretty useless. The GP can and should prescribe a cream that actually works.

Thanks Toofle. My GP is actually useless he said piles are a cosmetic procedure and they dont do anything with them and to use over the counter treatments. My pile or whatever it is is massive almost like a little penis protruding from my bum. It’s over an inch long.

Have you tried pushing your pile back in OP? (sorry, I just can't call you Smelly!)

Mine was quite big, it felt big anyway, and I gently pushed it back in when i was in the shower. And I use flushable wipes - the Tesco ones with coconut oil - to finish wiping. My bottom feels much better for it!

Gosh yes glass of red many times it still pops out.

I think Xeroproct is the name of the magic one.

Is this available without prescription Toofle?
My GP asked what I was using and I said Anusol and he said just to continue with it. It’s so expensive as I go through a lot of creams and suppositories.

The test my doctor required was ‘Faecal Elastase’ does anyone medical or with experience of this test know how long it takes for the results to come back and whether they can detect any other abnormalities with it other than just problems with my pancreas? Thanks

No, it's prescription only. As I said , your GP can and should prescribe it.

Ok sorry thanks my GP isn’t interested says piles is a cosmetic procedure they don’t do any more regardless of size of pile bleeding or discomfort etc and to just use over the counter treatments.
How Long does it take to get poo sample results back anyone?

I had a poo sample sent off and tested for calprotectin (testing for inflammatory bowel disease). It took just under 2 weeks to come back.

Can you ring the surgery and ask if it's back yet?

I'd also switch GPs- piles are awful and need treating if they're troubling you this much