I'm 65 and Ive been having loose stools for the past 9 months. Had abdominal CT, CEA, CA19,ers and schebo tumor marker,cbc all turned normal

[aliaabaza]

I also have bloating, gas. I don't get pain, only discomfort from bloating and gas. My dr Said it's ibs. Should I be concerned?

[Hidden]

No, I don't think you should be overly concerned, at least your GP has bothered to have tests done so anything sinister is ruled out, many don't even bother to do that. IBS is just a label you get stuck with when medics can't find any other cause for digestive/bowel symptoms. It takes a while to learn how to deal with it in the best way for you as we're all different and what works for one person won't work for another.

As you're diarrhoea-predominant (IBS-D), I suggest you ask for a SeHCAT test to see whether you have bile acid malabsorption (BAM) instead as its symptoms are exactly the same and it can easily be treated with medication. Not all GPs are aware of this condition, but it's worth pushing for the test.

SIBO (small intestine bacterial overgrowth) could also be a cause and you should ask for that test too, most general hospitals do it.

In the meantime, you could try the FODMAPs diet, a food elimination regime which may help you pinpoint any foods that make your symptoms worse. I can give you more info on that if you like.

Roz

[aliaabaza in reply to Hidden]

Thank you roz for you reply. Do you know if sibo is related to h-pylori coz I've done h-pylori stool test and it turned out negative. And BAM cause loose stools mine aren't watery!

[Hidden in reply to aliaabaza]

No, SIBO has no connection to H. Pylori infection.

BAM doesn't necessarily make for watery stools, just loose and frequent ones. Part of my IBS-D is down to BAM (for which I take cholestyramine) and my stools aren't watery either.

Roz

[aliaabaza in reply to Hidden]

Ur right maybe I should test for BAM. I get loose stools daily mostly once a day and max two times daily.

[Hidden in reply to aliaabaza]

Yes, get every test done that you can before you launch into food elimination as that's a tough route to go down and it may not be necessary if another cause can be pinpointed.

Wish you well with this.

[aliaabaza in reply to Hidden]

Also do u get pains with diahrrea coz I don't. Only discomfort sosometimes

[Hidden in reply to aliaabaza]

No, I don't get pain due to diarrhoea just an urgent need to 'go'! However, I have pain from gas/trapped wind/bloating/indigestion etc.

If you read through some of the posts on here, you'll see that everybody has different (although related) symptoms and levels of discomfort. Some people have just some of the symptoms whilst others get the lot.

Also, be aware that IBS symptoms change over time.

[aliaabaza in reply to Hidden]

Roz I've one more question my loose stools are usually once a day but daily. Do u get loose stools sometimes once daily or it has to be frequent?

[Hidden in reply to aliaabaza]

When I started with IBS, I just had one loose stool daily, sometimes two, but this changed over time and increased to several.

I don't mind how many questions you ask me.

[aliaabaza in reply to Hidden]

Hi roz, hope ur well. Just wanted to ask u do u sometimes get thin stools when they r loose? Is loose stools usually semiformed?

[Hidden]

I found that dairy products cause my diarrhorea symptoms and therefore am on a strict dairy free diet.

It's worth noting that if you are intolerant of lactose or dairy that a lot of tablet medication contains lactose, ibuprofen and loperamide for instance, so taking these affected me. I now take ibuprofen as a liquid gel capsule.

[aliaabaza in reply to Hidden]

Hi, thank you for your reply. I usually get loose stools after breakfast (I usually have cheese for breakfast) but sometimes I get loose stool first thing when I wake up before breakfast. Do you think it could be the effect of the day before? Does it happen to you

[Hidden in reply to aliaabaza]

If I eat or drink the wrong thing it affects me within about 4/6 hours and the Diarrhorea is severe and can last for at least a couple of hours depending on how much of the wrong thing I've ingested.

I would have been happy to only have one loose stool a day - before I eliminated dairy ANC lactose from my diet I could hardly go 1 hour without going to the toilet

[Hidden in reply to aliaabaza]

Yes, it could well be the effect of food, not only that which you've eaten the previous day, but, as food can take up to 48 hours to transit the digestive system, it could equally well be what you ate the day before that! And yes, it does happen to me too.

As I said in my first post, a good way of discovering whether food is the trigger for your diarrhoea is to do the FODMAP diet.

[aliaabaza in reply to Hidden]

Thank you for your help. Pls give me FODMAP diet.

[Hidden in reply to aliaabaza]

The best sources of information for FODMAPs are as follows:

a) the smartphone app available for download from Monash University - the diet was created there and the evaluation of different foods is ongoing.

b) Patsy Catsos's book 'IBS-Free At Last!' - best to buy the actual book rather than the download the Kindle version as it's easier to read charts etc.

c) Sue Shepherd and Peter Gibson's book 'The Complete Low-FODMAP Diet: A Revolutionary Plan For Managing IBS And Other Digestive Disorders'. Sue Shepherd developed the diet at Monash so you can't really go wrong.

The NHS has now got behind this diet, and you should be able to get a referral from your GP to see a dietitian although I didn't find its guidelines either as strict or as good as Monash's.

I started the diet over 18 months ago using just the Monash app and Patsy's book (the Sue Shepherd one has only recently been published) and found that all other information on the web was misleading, outdated and frequently wrong, so I strongly advise you just to stick with the above.

[Jackdaw90]

I have been reading this and I have been told that you do not get IBS later in life. I have the gas and pain - bowels seem to be behaving - have had two scans, 2 CA125 tests and colonoscopy. Apart from a 1 cm cyst on my ovary which they say is not suspicious everything else is clear. I am fine at the moment and have been for the last couple of months. I am being sent to the dietician to see about the Fodmap diet. Can anyone tell me if the had diagnosis later in life as I am 70.

[ss_14 in reply to Jackdaw90]

sounds like me - 2 ultrasounds, 2 mri, a 5cm cyst, frequent diarrhea, fodmap doesn't help or work, and still undiagnosed, just get fobbed off all the time. Its possible to be diagnosed with anything later as sometimes you don't notice till it gets bad, but if you reflect you fiure symptoms have been around a long time.

[lynnie55 in reply to Jackdaw90]

I'm 61 suffered like this for6 years had colonoscopy last year and ct scan also sick when I get diahorrea sometimes so sick of it it's horrible isn't it

[Jackdaw90]

Hi as-14

I only got the symptoms of pain and bloating in October and went straight to the doctors and she sent me for a scan within a couple of weeks. Had a bad time over Xmas and new year with gas but this has disappeared now. At the moment I am symptom free but because I was not happy with the hospital she again immediately said did I want a second opinion at another hospital and of course I said yes. Just waiting on an appointment. Must say my doctors have been on the ball from the very beginning and knew all about Fodmat diet.