Anal mucus discharge - could it be from my diet?

Since I had my child 3 yrs ago (and a 4th degree tear), Ive had intermittent rectal discharge that has a strong odor and is sometimes clear, somtimes has a caramel color to it, or sometimes has brown running through it. Sometimes I feel it is brought on by my diet - not sure if its a coincidence, but Ive noticed it when I eat Oreo cookies or cake. But it also appears when I cant tie it to anything. It seems to be a little more frequent now than it was a year or two ago. And sometimes it lasts for days and sometimes it is just one day. But I can feel it oozing out, or bubbling out and on days that I have it, I can push it out with a bm. I also had a bm the other day that looked like it was coated with a lot of mucus on one end. I have no pain, no diarrhea, no blood, no constipation, no gas, no bloating - my stools are all over the map. Sometimes normal, sometimes soft, sometimes little pebbles, sometimes thin, sometimes thick. But since I had my first child I have a bm at least once a day (I used to have a bm every other day).

I dont know if my anal muscles have been weakened by childbirth (I also had a second baby - no trauma with that birth tho), or if this could be due to a change in diet (I eat differently being at home with my kids - more milk products, sandwiches and pasta as opposed to the fast food I ate when I used to work) or if it is just something going on in my body. I had a checkup with a GI doctor but she couldnt determine what it could be and had me schedule a colonoscopy. That seems very extreme for my one symptom. Plus it isnt for 3 months. I cant find much on the internet about this. Just would like to have an idea as to what it could be.

I am thinking that this could be something in my diet. Any thoughts would be great. Thanks!

Hi there! Colonoscopy may not be such a bad idea since rectal discharge could be indicating problems like Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, IBS, anal polyps or some kind of anal infection.

It could also be a rectal fistula but since you had a physical exam, this should be ruled out as the doc would probably notice it.

The mucus could be coming from abnormal food absorption or fecal inconsistence, which could easily be the case since you have smelly discharge as well but that should be diagnosed during physical exam too.

Since any of these possible causes haven’t been found during a physical exam, the only reasonable next step would be sigmoidoscopy or colonoscopy.

I hope things will work out for U well. Good luck!