Chronic Stomach Problems - Loose stool in morning only

Greezy,

I realize it's been a while since you were active on this discussion, but I was wondering if you ever got the answer to what was bothering you. I am a 29 year-old male with identical symptoms to yours. Same story with the parasite (I had giardia a couple of months ago, is that what you had?), but subsequent tests have come back negative for that. I wake up every morning with an urgency to go, and the stool is always to a greater or lesser extent loose. Sometimes I go again a few hours later (but still in the morning) and it is also loose, and it often feels as if everything in my bowels is being evacuated. Afterwards, I have a sick, almost infected feeling in my guts for a couple of hours, but that typically lessens as the day progresses. If I happen to have a bowel movement later in the day it is more formed. Also, whenever I lay down, my bowels seem to go into gassy, gurgly overdrive, although there isn't necessarily much gas that I can expel.

I will say this though: I think this might be in some way an unrecognized bacterial infection. Because twice have I been on antibiotics for infections unrelated to my gastrointestinal system, and while I'm on the antibiotics (and for a few days after I finish them) my bowels movements go back to normal--they are well formed, and the color, frequency, timing, and amount is just like I remember it being before I suffered through the parasite.


Please give an update as to what's been going on with you since your last post and any suggestions.

Greetings all,

I know all too well what you all are going through. Its going on two years since these symptoms started for me. It took about 4-5 months to get over this when it first happened. In those six months symptoms waxed and waned slowly getting better on their own. The doctors had very little to say although one stool test came back as being equivocally positive for C- Diff. I was a bit bewildered by this as the C- Diff sufferers I had spoken with had FAAAAR worse symptoms. Not to mention the symptoms went away on their own... which doesnt happen with C- Diff. AS time passed things became much better and normal for quite a while.

A year and a half later, BAM, July 4th had Diarrhea for about three hours 10 BMs maybe and slowly got better and now its like almost exactly what happened two years ago. Symptoms wax and wane on and off in about two week increments. I usually lose about 10 lbs when this happens and gain the weight back slowly over the weeks.

I think its rather true about the stress reaction. I had panic attacks all throughout high school and we all seem to be of a similar age 20-30 years old. I remember when I had bad panic attacks rarely did they have any obvious correlation to what was happening in my life. Ive learned that the GI has an intelligence of its own. Electrical currents that aren't controlled by our brains. Or something like that. I wonder if we all became very committed to meditation and calming exercises how that would work for everyone. In fact Im going to start that tonight and see how I feel two weeks later.

I hope everyone the BEST of wishes and try to find times to enjoy the day. If you are ever feeling really down try your best to find something that makes you laugh (movie, tv show, youtube clip, music) it really helps.

Tony :-D :-D :-D

I had some similar problems in my late 20s where I would get nauseated after eating, severe stomach cramping and diareaha. After many trips to the doctor, they diagnosed me with IBS. That's what they tell you when they don't know what you have.
It turns out that I'm lactose intollerant. Lactose intollerance is very common in adults and can develop as your body stops producing Lactase enzymes. Mine got so bad that I was afraid to make a 60 min car ride anywhere.

Just cutting dairy products out of your diet (BTW, dairy is in lots of things you wouldn't expect) won't always make you feel better. I had had problems for so long that my stomach was just shot. Anything I ate was making me sick.

Luckily, there are Lactase supplement pills that you can take to replace the enzymes your body no longer produces. I found some that I can take just once a day and I no longer have to worry about what I eat. I got my life back!

I have to tell you though, it took a good 6-12 months for my stomach to fully recover and feel like it used to. But I did see significant results in the first few weeks.

I know this won't help everyone, but a lot of people who develop stomach problems and get diagnosed with IBS are really just lactose intollerant.

I had similar issues for about a year until a specialist and a biochemist were finally honest with me and gave me a proper answer. The problem is the antibiotics which are commonly used affect people in different ways. Some users of the drugs have little to no problems while others get long term gastro issues with just one use of an antibiotic tablet. The main trigger of this is a flora change in the intestinal tract that can lead to weakness, nausea, fatigue along with bowel issues.

Restoring the normal flora in the gut is the main thing that got me back to normal. Taking probiotics helped but yogurt eaten every 2hrs for 3months is what really did it for me.

Read this, it will open your eyes beyond anything you could've imagined!!
http://www.gutsense.org/gutsense/flora.html

hi there, just found this thread and wanted to comment. I also had loose fluffy stools every morning and only in the mornings. After some stressful situations in my life, I noticed it started right away. I began to change my lifestyle, meditate and yoga and my nervous system calmed down but still loose stools. I started taking strong PROBIOTICS with good bacterial strains and noticed a difference after 2 days. Now I stay away from alergens like sugar and gluten and still take probiotics every day. It gives my gut the good bacteria it needs to digest properly and has solved the problem completely. Especially if you have taken medications or antibiotics as these kill the good bacteria in your gut - you should look into taking a good probiotic. These are the ones I used although I know other brands may work also, I just like that these don't have to be refrigerated so it makes it easier to take ***edited by moderator*** web addresses not allowed
good luck I hope this helps some one else.

I suggest anyone having these sorts of problems ask to have their thyroid checked. :-)

Hey, I'm a 24 year old female and this sounds similar to what I have. I have had this problem for as long as I can remember, but have never been to the doctor with it as I have put it down to being "just the way I am". I think a lot of it is linked to everyday stress on the body and also sensitivity to food in general. I have a couple of mild food intolerances, but nothing serious. The dietrition did a "prick" test and I even reacted to the salt solution - this apparently shows sensitivity to food and means digestion for me is a little more uncomfortable than it is for most people.

What I genuinly find works for me though is, firstly, to make sure I'm getting a good night's sleep. The problem of loose stool and feeling sick on a morning is greatly reduced if I get 9-10 hours sleep. I don't like eating breakfast, but it's one of those things that has to be done. I only ever eat brown toast and drink a cup of tea. I take my time eating this: about 20 mins. Generally the key is not to rush around on a morning, which really is easier said than done! - I have an hour and a half for my morning routine before cycling / walking to university.

I'm sure there is a link to stress here, but perhaps not in an obvious way. I think rushing around (and even waking up and getting moving) on a morning causes me more bodily stress than it does for most people. Although I have exams right now, it has only a slight exacerbation on what is an everyday occurance for me.

For everyday well being though I try to avoid all takeaways and ready meals. If I do have one, it'll be a very small curry. I don't really drink alcohol (but if I do, it makes little-no difference to bowel movement anyway). I spread fruit and veg evenly throughout my day, rather than having a few portions at once in the evening. I eat dinner 3-4 hours before I go to sleep. I drink plently of fluids (rooibos tea is good as it calms nerves and is yummy). I exercise regularly and walk everywhere (this is good for digestion).

I can understand how people can feel anxious from this, and maybe I'm being ignorant, but I'd put it down to being "one of those things". Our bodies change all the time, and we can develop random physical things from simply a change of environment or a particularly high pollen season for example. However, it is always a good thing to have minimal stress in your life. Just don't rely on the idea that cutting out "stress" will mean that your body will suddenly feel spectacular on a morning.


I hope this has been a help. I don't want to discourage people from getting medical advice, all I was trying to say is if everything is coming back uncertain / negative, that it probably nothing to worry about :)

There is no use fighting with intestinal bacteria. In every fight the bacteria emerge stronger.

It is easy to learn to live with them and use them to your advantage. Loose stools are essentially because of a faster movement of food through the intestines and generally solved by drinking a drop or two of melted butter floating over  half a cup of water.  ***this post is edited by moderator *** *** web addresses not allowed***

HI all I have some of the same problems I went to Afghanistan in 2006 and while I was there I ate some of the local foods and I was fine while I was there.  I came home and every morning like clock work I have loose bowel movements and sometimes diahrea.  Every morning it seems like my body just dumps so I went to the doctor and they have done everything (can't tell you how many times iv pooped in a cup) checked for parasites, colonoscopy, endoscopy and they took biopsies the jury is out on that but they said my gut is fine except for fissures and they said my stomach is inflamed. I believe the fissures are a result of my stools alternatating from loose to hard even though the stools are mostly loose.  I have heard that acid reflux can make bowls movements pretty much uncontrollable can acid reflux make bowl movements loose and sometimes with diahrea? and what other things could it be I'm really tired of this any other ideas that I can go back to the doctor with would be helpful

Just curious here as I have similar symptoms to many of you, and am 27 year old male.  Do you guys smoke marijuana regularly?  About a year ago, I thought I could tie my symptoms to my weed habit, but never verified it to be true or false.  The condition I'm talking about doesn't have a lot of research, and the loose stool bit doesn't seem to be mentioned, but it's called cannabinoid hyperemesis.  My doctor doesn't take me or my problems seriously either which has been a real problem for me getting relief.  I at first thought I may have a parasite, and was then convinced that my bad habits are causing my problems, and am now thinking there may be some credence in both stories.  Any thoughts?

Howdy

Hi everyone. Today is the fist few days in 5 months i've felt ok. I wanted to share my recovery methods since my symptoms were very similar to Greezy's.

background, 2 months foul gas and diarrhea. diarrhea went away, but then got bright red bleeding in stool (lots). Doc gave cipro which killed the bacteria and but also lots of good bacteria too. Got irritable bowl, and went once in the morning, and then diarrhea 15-30 mins later.

It is not c diff since it was normal color and did not smell bad.

These are things that seemed to have helped.
1. no sweet fruits.
2. no greasy rich foods.
3. carrots, lean meat, fish, rice, and broccoli
4. no manufactured probiotics.
5. no spicy foods.
6. kept a log of diet.
7. fermented foods (natural probiotics)
8. Prilosec (ppi)
9. hydorcortisone suppository.
10. no dairy products.
11. no exercise.

irritable bowl in the morning seems to be a multifacted problem. what i suspect is happening is that your small intestine is pumping undigested and acidic foods into the large intestine. The large intestine is already inflammed and cannot cope so it gets more inflamed and rejects contents via diarrhea which causes more prolems.

IMO, the steps to break this are, clean bland diet, removing physical exertion (exercise), decrease swelling in the large intestine, and last step, reintroduction of good bacteria.

I noted no manufactured probiotics since i've found correlation between these pills and more diarrhea for me. Since our bodies are all different, it is possible that my body will not tolerate certain strains of bateria. My doc also gave some hyrocortisone suppository. I've found them to be very helpful in breaking the cycle. I would take 1 after the second runs and very quickly (3-5 days), my colon started feeling much better and the runs started to go away. I also took doses of pepto bismol whenever i ate something that did not feel like it is sitting well. The idea here is to break to runs so that your body can heal.

I noted natural probiotics as the last step since i've found that my body would reject bacteria (even good ones) when my intestines were still irritated. for you, it might be different, it might helpful to introduce the bacteria right away. I took the ppi since i also got an ulcer problem, which i think, was instigated by the Cipro. it may or may not be a help to the ibs.

In the morning, before having to go the first time, i would try to distract myself and do stuff (go for a walk, do some chores, or a car ride somewhere new). I would confuse my body and the body's natural response is to hold on for a little while longer and decrease the urgency to go. i try to make the 2 restroom visits into 1 bigger visit.

eventually, the combination of bland diet, relaxation, hydrocortisone suppository, body confusion, and good bacteria seemed to have helped me get over this ordeal.

Hi guys.

I had stomach issues for a number of years, mainly cramps and / gas / loose stools always in the morning. Decided after much reading to try a better diet (not strict just cutting out the c**p) and also take a shot glass of aloe vera juice (with cranberry) every morning - first drink of the day. This helped to stabilize my gut acid and control my need to "go". I now lead a more normal life with little panic about getting to a loo asap. I suggest you give aloe vera juice a try, it's cheap and may work.

Use probiotics they will cure you all, look it up