Let's Talk About Poop For A Minute.

[Rachel--24]

Occasionally I'm having very long and narrow curly s-shaped stools. I guess they look like the shape of the intestines?? Not really sure but they freak me out. They are unusually long. Its not happening frequently but I have seen these a few times. Is this something to be concerned about? I'm a little scared about it.

[Bette]

Occasionally I'm having very long and narrow curly s-shaped stools. I guess they look like the shape of the intestines?? Not really sure but they freak me out. They are unusually long.

Rachel,

I would not be too concerned, that actually sounds like a normal bm. At least according to my daughters GI. She was treated for 3 years (prior to findind out about celiac) for severe constipation and impactions. We had to meet with the nurse monthly for literally toilet retraining. She was put on daily doses of Mirlax (rx drug for chronic constipation)and increased fiber (well guess where a lot of that extra fiber came from-whole wheat bread, bran, wheat germ) and they also had her on a routine where she would sit on the toilet the same time every day. The goals for her bms were to be long, thin and snake like, hah, always totally opposite of her huge round bombs.

Bette

[Rachel--24]

Thanks Bette

That makes me feel sooo much better. Maybe I'm just finally having some healthy bm's which I'm not used to. They look foreign to me. Hopefully I'm on the raod to recovery.

[CaliGirl]

I have a strict "no bathroom activities in front of my husband" policy, and here I am, posting about poop....

I've been gluten free long enough to make a huge difference in my health, but not everything is back to normal. (But then again, I probably wouldn't know normal if it slapped me!) But, here is some completely strange advice:

I was watching some daytime TV show once, and this woman was talking about the benifits of baby massage, especially for colicky babies. I just put it in the "That's Weird" mental file, and forgot about it. Well, sometime later, when I was going through constipation and all that unpleasantness, I remembered it and tried it on myself. It works! It's so much better than just sitting on the toilet and straining, which isn't supposed to be good for you.

Here's a link that describes what I do:

http://www.babycentre.co.uk/general/3835.html

It... consolidates... my trips to the bathroom, so I spend less time in there. It's funny--sometimes I get squishing or gurgling sounds when I rub my belly. I did it to my husband once, and he ended up using the bathroom 15 minutes later, so I took that as proof the sucess of my theory.

Anyway, I hope it works for everyone! We gluten-free people sure are an odd bunch......

[mustang]

Thanks Bette 

That makes me feel sooo much better. Maybe I'm just finally having some healthy bm's which I'm not used to. They look foreign to me. Hopefully I'm on the raod to recovery. 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I haven't been diagnosed yet. Will see a gastro in early Nov. But have been gluten free since the middle of August. I have cheated twice ( 1/3 of a veggie calzone and a kid's Happy Meal)- of course at different times. Really set me back both times for at least 4 days each time. Pretty bad to be on vacation and can't really enjoy all the food you used to eat. Oh, well, life goes on. When I don't cheat, the bathroom habits are a LOT better. Same looks that yours are...snakelike, small diameter. Was foreign to me, too, but I sure do feel better now. The weird thing...both times I cheated, I had mouthfuls of cold sores and fever blisters. Didn't realize that gluten will do that to you. Have you ever experienced that?

[julie5914]

That doesn't happen to me, but I have definitely heard of a cold sore/gluten connection. It's one of the symptoms. I think I am gluten free, but I am seeing my food in my poop still :&. It's gross. Like a whole potato peel yesterday.

[mustang]

That doesn't happen to me, but I have definitely heard of a cold sore/gluten connection. It's one of the symptoms. I think I am gluten free, but I am seeing my food in my poop still :&. It's gross. Like a whole potato peel yesterday.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

From what I've read on this site and a book I bought, it takes a while to recover even if you are gluten free. Supposedly, your intestines aren't healed for a while (time varies by person). How long have you been gluten free?

[Striss]

Wow...I just signed up on this website a few days ago shortly after being diagnosed with celiac disease, and already I'm starting to feel so much better just from reading these kinds of posts. It's exactly stuff I've been wanting to talk about but just feel too weird saying anything to people I know.

Anyways, to add my own poop-story, I was having some very bad times before I started going gluten-free just a week ago. It started about 2 years ago, I would have nasty diarrhea at least 3 times even before lunch, and then a few more times later in the day. It's been like that ever since, but this last week of eating gluten-free food, I've been getting better every day, somtimes only having one non-threatening bowel movement per day...I'm almost starting to feel like one of those normal people!

[Guest Viola]

Welcome to the forum Striss, feeling almost normal is why most of us are here We can talk to others who understand what we've been going through. I'm sure you will continue to find the forum helpful, and no question is too weird here

[artmeg55]

Wow, I guess we are all gluten-free normal!!! THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IS DON'T ANY OF YOU HAVE BABY WIPES????!!!??? At my house, we never stopped buying them even after the children were old enough to deal with the bathroom alone. Believe me, they are a lifesaver even for adults. My doctor recommends using them during a colonoscopy prep. When I tell friends this before their procedure, they are grateful afterwards. Baby wipes make you feel sssssooooo much cleaner with less effort or rubbing with the nasty, rough stuff. They also carry well in little zip-lock baggies.

[Rusla]

Jenvan,

You would be amazed how well it works (Prep H).

When I have really bad bags under my eyes, I put the Preparation H Cooling Gel on my eyes the night before and "Presto"!!!, next morning, they have gone down considerably........  I kid you not!  It is a well kept secret in the modelling world - almost all models use that trick......

Karen

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Karen,

They say Prep H is good for all facial wrinkles too.

Now, on the other subject for all of my adult life I have had the problems of when you gotta go, be there now, or when I eat, especially glutenous things I have ten min to find the bathroom. Tired of the pains and jumping up in the middle of the night or 5 times a day, like today. Worrying about driving down the highway and there is no gas station. Some doctor tried to tell me it was a parasite that lived in women's bodies, funny some of the male members of my family have this too, but not as bad as mine.

I know now, from all of you, that we may feel alone but we are all probably in the bathroom together.

[Guest Viola]

"I know now, from all of you, that we may feel alone but we are all probably in the bathroom together. "

Rusla ... maybe we could all have a party in there

[Rusla]

   

"I know now, from all of you, that we may feel alone but we are all probably in the bathroom together. "

Rusla ... maybe we could all have a party in there   

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Then we will need a pretty big bathroom.

Forgot. When I was having serious surgery and was in the hospital three months the nurses would come in to drain things etc. I would crack jokes even in extreme pain. The nurse said to me I never lost my sense of humour in spite of the horrible pain. I told her I had a choice; I could cry 24 hours a day or I could make jokes which also made me feel better. I chose the latter. I figure if we can't laugh about it we will all be in tears

[tofu8grrrl]

I'd just like to ask in a "poll" sort of format, about how long did it take on the gluten-free diet for you to start having what you would consider "normal" poop?

I've only been on the diet for 3 days & the first two days were great/normal & then today it's back to diarreah, so I felt really upset until I read through a lot of these posts & saw that people had troubles for even a month or two afterwards.

I'm still not officially diagnosed. I had biopsies taken a week ago so I'm just waiting for the results. My DR. said if the gluten-free diet makes me feel better to start it now instead of waiting for the results so that's what I'm doing.

[Felidae]

I gradually had improved bm's in about three to four months of being gluten-free.

[jerseyangel]

For me it was a good 3 months before I had more or less normal BM's. Before that, I'd have good and bad days. I gradually improved and around month 4, pretty much was good every day (except for accidental glutening, which at that point was not happening as much).

[Matilda]

...

[Felidae]

Matilda, I had the exact pattern of stools that you are describing. It was kind of strange actually. I had that transition in the first two months.

[aikiducky]

I had D before going gluten free, and yes, all kinds of strange things started to happen in the bathroom after that.

It's been a little over a year, and in the last month or so I've started to have normal stools consistently.

Pauliina

[LLRD]

I have only officially been diagnosed with IBS. I figured out the gluten problem myself after having out gallbladder.

I have mostly had problems with constipation and I also get the mucus from time to time. I did have alot this weekend which I thought was odd b/c I haven't seem to have it much since going gluten-free (about 6 or 7 weeks now). Can gluten cause the mucus or is this more of an IBS problem?

Also after not going for a day I seem to have frequent stringy type stool as well. Then in the middle of exercise (running) I have to stop for usuall D or at least a large amount of soft stool. My C is never hard stool, just seems to be slow moving. Again is this more IBS or a gluten thing?

All I know is that my bloating is SIGNIFICANTLY less!

[Felidae]

LLRD I was diagnosed with IBS too. It took me about four months of being gluten-free before my bm's became normal. Give it some more time and you should have a better idea if glutn is the culprit.

[paw]

Something else is that the messy ones require a lot of TP and that in turns irritates the skind down there and it itches all day!!! Horrible! My doc said I dont have hemmorhoids but it sure hurts down there. I have found that using water to clean up helps.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

For the sore skin I have been keeping a bottle of lotion handy. After I cean up with toilet tissue I flush and get new toilet tissue and add a little lotion and wipe again. This cleans my skin and soothes it.

I also have a little sample bottle of lotion that I am carrying when I go out. Away from home cleaning with water is not usually an option.

I hope to have "normal" poop again someday . . .

[mustang]

BMorrow- I had blood tests last Monday for celiac disease. My new gastroenterologist has scheduled both an endoscopy and colonoscopy in January. Since I've been mostly gluten free since the middle of August, I asked the question about needing to incorporate gluten prior to the January biopsies- they advised me that they will let me know after receiving the results of my blood tests. Turns out that my previous gastro didn't biopsy or test all areas during my previous endoscope and colonoscopy. I plan to inquire of my new gastro before January which items she will be testing for during the scopes. Don't want to go thru these again without covering all bases. I do plan to ask about testing for colitis. Thanks for your response.

I am feeling much better...bloating gone, gassiness gone, have even lost 5 lbs. (which I thought would never happen). I have more energy, and people have told me that I look like better and act like I feel better. My previous gastro, who was a vegetarian, always pushed the fiber issue, and the exercise issue...never really tried to figure out what was the underlying cause. Glad I found an Internal medicine doctor who genuinely seems to care about people...then found a gastro who I believe is a very thorough doctor, also.

Yes, I can to relate to having the pills stashed everyplace. I found out the Gas-X contained gluten, after every doctor that I went to telling me to take those things.

Mustang-Has the doctor checked you for colitis? I passed alot of mucous before going on the gluten-free diet, but also had chronic diarreha that didn't go away. I found out that I had microscopic colitis that is much better now.

I still have the gas and bloating problem, sometimes it doesn't matter what I eat. Feel better soon!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

[jenvan]

LLRD--

The symptoms you mentioned can definitely be a celiac thing... but people without Celiac can have them as well. I had constipation and bowels similar to you before going gluten-free. It took me several months to get going, but I am much better now. Are you going to get tested or do more research to know if you have Celiac? I recommend everyone with an IBS diagnosis get cked out for other bowel disorders/diseases. I was misdiagnosed (like many!) with IBS for years before I got my Celiac diagnosis. Do you take or eat fiber to help regulate ever?

[Rachel--24]

I had blood tests last Monday for celiac disease.  My new gastroeterologist has scheduled both an endoscopy and colonoscopy in January.  Since I've been mostly gluten free since the middle of August, I asked the question about needing to incorporate gluten prior to the January biopsies- they advised me that they will let me know after receiving the results of my blood tests. 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

If you've been mostly gluten-free since August there's a pretty good chance your bloodtests will come back negative even if you have celiac disease. You need to be eating it everyday for about 3 months before taking the tests.