Despite my attempts to get to the bottom of things, I haven’t quite succeeded. I’ve yet to truly suss out the cause (or causes) of the problem I’d been having that I shared last summer in a post I aptly called What A Load Of Crap.
Ya, remember THAT one. The one where I wrote about the challenges I’d had finding a toilet, sometimes quite urgently. It wasn’t the easier (a term I use loosely) of the two systems that was the source of my consternation. Diagnoses and remedies for issues like leak control or a UTI are kind of straightforward which I’m familiar with as I’ve faced both of them in the past. No, my pressing issue was on the backend, if you know what I mean? You may want to read that previous post (see the link in the intro paragraph) to get the full lowdown.
At the time I wrote that post, I’d already seen my PCP who ran a number of lab tests as an initial step in trying to figure out what was up. The results from blood samples were all good; no apparent infections or enzymes out of whack that would indicate issues with my pancreas and/or liver. Nothing unusual showed up in the stool samples that I submitted either. Still, my symptoms persisted (and there was yet another incident of not finding an open public toilet quickly enough) and my PCP put in a referral for me to see a GI specialist.
My PCP also had me do a cardiac stress test and my results on that were normal (yay). I had a fear that the GI specialist would likely dismiss my symptoms as related to aging since the tests already performed had ruled out a lot of the common causes for the unpredictability of my bowels. To my surprise, he didn’t and actually ordered a second set of some as well as a few others that hadn’t been done previously. Included in this new round of testing was one for celiac which came back negative.
In fact, all of the tests came back with negative results. At the time I saw him, my lower symptoms had abated for the most part. I even made a comment to the doctor about the coincidence of feeling better once you get to your long-awaiting appointment with said doctor. He acknowledged that it does seem to happen. He spent a decent amount of time talking to me and that he would follow up once all of the test results were in.
Over the course of time with my “discomforts”, I’d tried doing some of my own research into potential dietary causes. A smart move might have been to consult with a nutritionist or functional medicine clinician but I didn’t. I was never in debilitating pain or unable to participate in my normal daily activities so it didn’t feel like I had an urgent need to take that next step.
Every so often, an article or social media post on gut-related issues would grab my attention and I toodled around on Google to find more information. Thinking that my symptoms sounded a lot like IBS, I read up on which foods were high in FODMAP that I might want to avoid. Since my GERD symptoms had also been flaring a bit now and then, I had pretty much cut out tomatoes, citrus, and even green tea from my diet which seem helped a little with the other problem.
Among the several fitness accounts I follow on social media, I heard about pelvic floor dysfunction which led to another round of googling for more information on that. While PFD per se doesn’t appear to be my issue, I do think that there is some connection between pressure/relaxation/positioning of my pelvic floor and the urgency that occurs while I’m shopping. I’ve been trying to be more mindful of engaging my core while walking about and that seems to have helped.
Another of the changes I’ve tried to make based on the tips that I’ve come across is reducing my time on the toilet. I can’t tell you the number of hours that I’ve wasted (daily/weekly/monthly) sitting unproductively while scrolling through emails or social media. Apparently, we’re setting our bowels up for failure by doing so. Now that I’ve changed my ways, The Husband will sometimes question my success when I’ve popped out of the bathroom in less than 5 minutes.
While I haven’t really gotten to the bottom of things with whatever is going on down there, things are better. I’ve cleaned up my diet a bit and mostly avoid triggers that seem to cause an episode. When I’m out and about, I typically have a thought-out game plan when it comes to knowing where I can find a public restroom.
And like I said in the original post that I wrote last summer, I imagine that you might be muttering to yourself “what a load of crap” and are wondering why I would even write a blog post on this topic. Which is exactly my point. I think that it’s important to be authentic and honest when it comes to life experiences. The happy and the troubled, the pretty and the messy, the good and the bad. Do you share my sentiments? What new challenges are you facing?
Stay well and let’s keep in touch! Subscribe, Tweet, follow, friend, pin … all options are available. I look forward to hearing from you soon.
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Photos: MMPerez
9 Comments
I don’t want to scare you, but if neuroendocrine cancer hasn’t been ruled out as a cause, I would suggest that you ask your doctor about that possibility. Diarrhea and other IBS type symptoms are common with this little known cancer. Because it isn’t well known and many doctors aren’t familiar with it, neuroendocrine cancer (NETS) often goes undiagnosed or misdiagnosed for long periods of time. The best indicator would be a 24 hour urine test for something called 5HIAA. The good news is that, unlike many cancers, NETS is often very slow growing and while there is no cure, it is usually treatable. I’ve been living with it since 2013.
I do hope you get some answers soon. I could have written both this post and last year’s for my husband. He has been on numerous medications, had a colonoscopy, an endoscopy, a myriad of other tests because they all would find some other little thing not related to the bowel issues. Life has definitely changed for both of us as he’s not comfortable doing anything before noon. As much as I hate the saying, it is what it is.
https://marshainthemiddle.com/
From reading your posts and comments from others there seems to be a lot of crap going around! As I commented on your original post my hubby has had the same issues. Citracel has helped, so for the most part he can now get to a bathroom before he messes himself, but diet does seem to have something to do with it. I have had ongoing respiratory problems since I was vaccinated for Covid, which makes me wonder how many other ongoing issues we are beginning to see have to do with those original vaccines or the disease itself. I’m not a conspiracy theorist, but it just makes sense if there are long term issues/side effects we should be studying those and trying to come up with solutions. Thanks for keeping it real, Rena!
It’s important to talk about these things. My mum has a stoma so talking about poop is often part of the conversation. There was a series on TV here in the UK called “Know Your Sh!t” – all about gut health. They had a team of experts at “Poo HQ” helping people struggling with various bowel issues. It was really interesting, especially the connection between gut health and mental health. I wonder if you’d be able to find it on YouTube.
Emma xxx
http://www.style-splash.com
Rena – I happened to come across your blog this morning from a link from another blog. Go online and read about a condition called microcolitis. It can be diagnosed only with a colonoscopy where the gastroenterologist takes small samples of the colon as the inflammation is not visible to the eye even with a colonscopy. I had this a few years ago. The doc prescribed an oral steriod that tends to stay in the gut and I had no side effects. It took a few months to go away but the meds made me feel better very quickly. I only knew I still had it when trying to taper off the medication, so it was a slow taper off. But once it was gone, it did not come back.
Fortunately, this is one problem I don’t – and thank the Fates for that because I have enough. But I know a number of people who do, and so I appreciate to discuss this topic. We should be sharing experiences, comparing notes, sharing strategies. This embarrassment our society has about normal bodily functions needs to die. Great post, Rena!
Michelle
https://funkyfashionstyle.com
And the Internet ate my first response. I apologies for the typos in my rewrite.
I hope you get some definite answers and treatment options from your doctor(s). Best wishes for conquering the problems and putting all these discomforts “behind” you. Thank you for sharing this post in the Talent-Sharing Tuesdays Link-Up 56.
Carol
http://www.scribblingboomer.com
I hope you find the answers soon and can get things under control.