Worried, bowel/bum issues

[bobbyboo43]

NC for this but MN can confirm I'm not a poo troll etc.

Will start by saying I'm not asking for a diagnosis and I have got a doctor appointment booked but it's not for another week so in the meantime I wondered if anyone has any advice or similar experience.

I've had issues with my bowels for years. Part anxiety induced and part IBS. The two make each other worse because my anxiety often manifests in bowel issues (urgently needing the loo, unsettled stomach etc). Often need to use the loo several times before I go anywhere and almost force myself to go so that I don't get an attack while out. It's been going on for years.

However in the last few weeks my bowel habits have got even more erratic. Flare ups of intense diarrhoea often brought on by coffee which is new. Then followed by days of not going at all. When I do go my stools are either thin and narrow or just mushy (sorry TMI). Also had bleeding from my bum but I do have external piles which have been made worse by this change in bowel habit.

Obviously all of these things together are raising major red flags and I'm terrified it could be something sinister. I'm also worried that the doctor will fob me off and tell me it's the piles causing it all. I've had two clear colonoscopies in the last 10 years for similar issues (last one was about 3 years ago) and I'm worried they will think I'm neurotic.

Has anyone else experienced a similar combination of symptoms and what did it turn out to be? How do I get the doctor to take me seriously when my 'normal' bowel habits have never really been that normal and I have a load of mental and emotional factors linking up to my tummy issues too? I no longer know what's normal for me and blame myself in a way for letting my anxiety effect me in such physical ways.

Coffee is known for making you poo, so that shouldn’t be a surprise, plus you can become allergic to things at any time.
I think you need to concentrate on what’s new to you, it’s about the changes to your normal.

I think it's just the level of reaction I've had to coffee that's a change for me. I've had the odd morning urgency after my morning coffee before but never such intense diarrhoea brought on by it. So that is new for me but I guess allergies and intolerances can crop up anytime like you said.

The piles have worsened as a result of these issues (diarrhoea then days with nothing which leads to constipation) so there has been new and more intense bleeding and pain.

I just feel so out of touch with my own body and frustrated with myself that my anxiety is making these physical issues worse. I always knew the brain/gut link was strong but in my case it's taking over my life and making me seriously concerned for my health.

Diarrhoea makes my piles worse, as does the warm , so I sympathise.
Do you use the suppositories for piles as well as the cream ?

• warm weather

Just cream and it's only over the counter stuff so it doesn't do much. I'm hoping the GP will suggest something. I just hope it's nothing more serious.

I’ve just popped on here to reply as I know you’ve just kindly replied to my post and I just wanted to know you are not alone with this.
I have all of your symptoms. Had so many tests, my colonoscopy was in 2019.
I have ended up cutting out so many different foods over the last few years because things which I was previously ok with (like you with coffee) they just suddenly end up giving me such a bad tummy.
I have no idea what is triggering such bad responses these days. I am following the low fodmap diet and have such a boringly simple diet but nothing helps.
As with my thread, my anxiety is making things so much worse but that’s a vicious cycle as I stress about what the symptoms could be but also the fear of being ‘caught short’ whilst out and about. So simple, every day activities like going to the shops become a hugely difficult thing to do.
I also have haemorrhoids which have now caused me to become so sensitive in that area that I constantly feel the need to go, even with gas pressing on that area (never trust a fart hey!)
Its bloody draining and not helped by the likes of my gastroenterologist saying things like ‘You know, you are just going to have to live with this condition’. I don’t know what he thinks I’ve been trying to do all these years!
Hopefully, your gp may come up with some suggestions, if they do, please pass them my way as I’m desperate to ease this thing.

Forgot to add, have you tried gut directed hypnotherapy?

I have IBS, and manage it by taking psyllium husk or powder most days. It makes an amazing difference. Also kep food diary early on so stopped having morning coffee ( but OK later on), milk first thing too was a no go.

Oh my god I could have written this myself - mine has also gone awfully worse in the last couple of months.

I've been sampling with cutting things out and one thing that I've sadly discovered to make a huge difference is caffeine.
So I've given up my beloved Coke Zero, swapped to decaf coffee and cut out chocolate as that was making things worse.

Other foods which are triggers for me but that I've known for a while are wheat based ones like shreddies/weetabix, seeds, broccoli, cauliflower, dried fruit, applied basically I can't handle anything with that level of fibre in.

It's horrible op you have my absolute sympathy

I literally had all your symptoms around 6 months ago ( lasted about 3 months) poo either thin or mushy, constant urge to go, bloating, gurgling tummy, pain, gas, uclears in mouth,hot flushef face. I had inflammation test,fit test, ultrasound, blood test, coeliac test, ovarian cancer test,all normal. All has gone away, now i have bad anxiety and acid reflux. I think mine is linked to perimenopause as at the same time my periods are coming closer together like 24 days instead of 28-30 days and they last only 2 days.

Get some of the suppositories for piles then, they do make a difference.

Thank you for the replies, it helps to know I'm not alone with this as it's obviously quite a taboo topic to talk about in real life. I think it's so important to raise awareness of bowel cancer and things like that but it does rather make you jump to the worst case scenario when your symptoms match up. Just playing on my mind a lot lately and making day to day life anxious and miserable.

Hi @bobbyboo43 just wondered how your symptoms have been?

Fellow health anxiety sufferer here and understand that the brain affects the gut but it really doesn't help knowing this. I had a dramatic change in bowel habits a couple of weeks ago. I was trying to put it down to a tummy bug but it felt differently. It was accompanied by severe bloating and lots of discomfort. The GP prescribed Mebeverine (with the diagnosis of probably IBS) and requested bloods and stool samples.

Bloods are all normal. Awaiting stool sample results. My poop has returned to normal colour (as it was bright yellow!) And is much more firm. But it's really quite narrow (more than it used to be). I'm sorry for the TMI but, I'm so anxious about my body. And sometimes struggle to know what is anxiety and what are real symptoms.

@bobbyboo43 hi pls share update soft and thin too lol x

@NervousBohemian I had Giardiasis: What It Is, Symptoms, Treatments & Medications and it was v similar to what you described.