Passing mucus with wind

[Tokai335]

Hi all, after an ok 3/4 months I'm back. Around 5 months ago I farted after waking up, however what followed was lots of mucus with wind. Ive had small amounts of jelly like mucous before but this was more watery and lots, I then passed more mucous before passing a formed stool. Because of that and other symptoms I had stool tests (inflammation, bacteria, infectin) done and a full blood work up. All came back ok. Doctor said given my history and previous normal results (stools, sigmoidoscopy), its IBS again. However the same thing happened last night at 4am while farting in bed! Ive been having lots of gas/wind issues recently, under a lot of stress in work and at home, but this has frightened me again! My diet hasnt been great past few days either, and I've been on/off constipated recently. Should I go back to the doctor, or label this as IBS once more? It’s really freaked me out again, and unfortunately upon googling, a lot of resources point mucus to IBD. Thanks all

[mal444]

Hi. Everything you say is what i am suffering. I hope i can shed some light on your scare. All this happened to me 2 half years ago out the blue. Passed wind and mucus came with it. Cleared up then a few days later same again and it last 24 hrs anc clears up till next episode. Its like 95% gas and then explosive mucus but it feels like diarrhea before it. I had bloods ultrasound FIT stool tests all came back normal. Docs said ibs but then i had blood on stool so yes i thought i was finished. They immediately put me on a 2 week referral for a colonoscopy. I was scared. Anyway that was totally normal and nothing found. Then i had a CT with contrast of abdominal area small bowel. Found a focal constriction but this was only after a few weeks after colonoscopy so the specialist said it was normal and nothing to worry about as it was common on ct scans and if anything serious the colonoscopy would have shown it. I am still passing mucus with very had gas into toilet paper. It is awful and really gets me down. I went gluten dairy wheat free and take one loperamide a day and this helped me for about 6 or more months but its back again. Like to know more about how if affects you also.

[Tokai335 in reply to mal444]

Hiya, thanks for replying. It's reassuring to know I'm not alone with this. To be honest, this doesn't happen that often. I've had mild episodes over the years, I remember passing mucus with wind/gas first around 10 years ago, but it was a small amount and I've had sporadic instances since. It happened after a night of drinking a year ago, but again not lots. But what happened 5 months ago and a few days ago was lots of clear runny mucous, and it's scared me. The only thing that I can correlate to both incidents is that I was more constipated than usual - I'm normally IBS-D. I'm due to start a new job in 4 weeks time, and I'm finding the impending change stressful and not been eating great. I've been binging on sugary foods and junk food as I cannot stomach complete meals. So maybe it's cause and effect. I've also been suffering from severe anxiety over the last year since losing my father suddenly. His brother (my uncle) also died 4 weeks prior to his death, and then this year my daughter fell very ill with a liver infection. So it's been a really stressful 12 months, and I don't know if that's a reason for all my worsening bowel issues.

[mal444 in reply to Tokai335]

Thanks for the reply. When i first went to see my gp in uk all they offered me was referral to incontinence clinic. I did not pursue it as i used toilet paper when i needed to pass gas wind. All gp are different but once they rule out cancer with a colonoscopy then your back to square one. I get bad depression with all this especially at the moment as its got worse again. No one can tell me when my colon seems to produce so much mucus that i have to release it. All strange to me.

Its not constipation on my part its diarrhea ibs i think but the mucus is a separate thing. My stool is flat like its been put through two rolling pins but colonoscopy showed nothing. Thank goodness for loperamide.

[xjrs]

Your intestines tend to produce extra mucus when you are constipated, to help ease out stools. Sometimes that mucus can work around your stool and exit the system, so you end up having an accident. You mention that your diet hasn't been great. You'll need to increase your fibre intake and get your diet back on track if not done so already. Ground flaxseed on breakfast can help.

[Tokai335 in reply to xjrs]

Hiya, thanks for the reply. I used to take flaxseed but found it irritated me, however I was using the 'flaked' variety. I don't eat breakfast usually, mainly lunch and supper then snacking inbetween.

[xjrs in reply to Tokai335]

It is more ideal to have breakfast to set you up for the day. This is a time when it's possible to get in a good amount of fibre e.g., from oats, oat bran, wheat bran, dried and fresh fruits, nuts and seeds. Furthermore, to that, I find that having a large breakfast is the one thing that triggers a bowel movement for me.

I've decided to avoid snacking to help my digestive system. There is something call the MMC (migrating motor complex) which runs only when you are fasting (not eating for 3-5 hours or more at a time). This process sweeps food from your small intestine to the large intestine, so that food doesn't hang around in your small intestine increasing the risk of bacterial overgrowth. I also find that eating more at mealtimes helps to shift things along the colon. Just some thoughts.

[Dolly38 in reply to xjrs]

Good morning 🌻 I have never heard of any of this good breakfast avoid snacking for 3 -4 hours. That food will just hang around the intestine. Most helpful post. Thank you.

[linedance]

Reading this conversation has been very useful for me as I am also suffering the same thing. I will stop worrying quite so much now.

[Tokai335 in reply to linedance]

Thanks for the reply, it's reassuring to hear others are also dealing with it. Do you get lots of mucus? How is your diet?

[linedance in reply to Tokai335]

Reading the comments from xjrs I think maybe I've been taking too much loperamide lately and made myself a bit constipated. But taking these gives me a feeling of safety when going out. As far as my diet is concerned I mainly follow a gluten free and lactose free diet and usually check food for fodmaps. I've had IBS for a good 35 years now but still find it difficult to deal with when it flares up.

[Superzob]

I think you might have answered your own question because, if your diet has changed and you're stressed, then almost anything can happen! If you're getting well-formed stool, then you might be getting your own version of IBS-D due to stress. Diarrhoea is a classic (and perfectly normal) response to stress, but if the excess fluid is not mixing with the stool, then it may come out initially as mucous before the stool; I tend to get this when I'm constipated, because the rectum will produce more mucous to shift the hard stool.

You might want to revisit this when your diet and stress levels are back to normal, otherwise you may be adding another level of complexity to an already complex process!

[Tokai335 in reply to Superzob]

Hiya, thanks for the reply. I am normally IBS-D, however recently, maybe due to my diet, I've been getting episodes of constipation. Like I could have diarrhea in the morning and very occasionally pebble stools in the night.

Not sure what you mean by saying revisit this when diet and stress levels are back to normal?? And yes, it can be a complex thing iBS anyway, and I don't want to create more issues!

[Superzob in reply to Tokai335]

When I changed my probiotic (which, in a sense, is a change in diet), I started to get stool pebbles and moved from IBS-D to IBS-A/M, which seemed to be preferable. That’s also when I started to get more mucous, particularly with wind, which is why I thought there might be a connection.

With regard to “revisiting”, I really meant that it might be unwise to try too many potential treatments when you know that you’re not your usual self, as the problem might be self-correcting. If not, then that might be a more appropriate point to explore other avenues.

Good luck!

[linedance in reply to Superzob]

What is IBS A/M please?

[Superzob in reply to linedance]

IBS-A is alternating IBS, and IBS-M is mixed - frankly, I don't understand what the difference is, so I put both as I assume that they both cover periods of constipation and diarrhoea in the same individual

[linedance in reply to Superzob]

Thank you. I definitely have that.