Digestive issues

Please bear with - this is long!

I'm 37 and a non smoker.

In Oct 2020 I began getting acid reflux. I'd never been unwell in my life before, but suddenly started with a lump in my throat, hoarse voice, throat pressure, burping etc.

I had lots of tests including endoscopy, chest X-ray, barium swallow, head and neck MRI and two naso-endoscopies. The only things found were helicobacter infection and a slightly lax oesophageal junction.

I was prescribed omeprazole and an antibiotic for the helicobacter, and it cleared up, but my reflux never went away. i continued to take omeprazole until June 2021 (began in February) and eventually the reflux became something i could live with.

In July 2021 i began to lose my hair. The onset was sudden and i was diagnosed with stress induced telogen effluvium. However, my iron level was 12 so I was prescribed ferrous sulfate for 3 months. After 3 months my hair loss had slowed, and my iron level was up at 50.

In September 2021 my reflux returned, so I took omeprazole a couple of times a week to help. This was alongside the ferrous sulfate for my hair.

At the end of October 2021 I reduced my iron intake and began to get yellow/orange stools. By November I also had an urge to go to the toilet almost constantly (but often nothing came out). I stopped taking omeprazole immediately.

Also my stomach started to rumble every time i ate, and it was LOUD. The noise could be heard across the room.

I also wake up in the morning with a lot of gas and the urge to have a bowel movement -when i get the urge i have to jump out of bed and run to the loo!

However the gas does not smell, and neither do my poops, strangely! I only go once a day, whereas before i was ill i would go twice or more.

The volume of my stool also increased - although i only go once a day, my stool is large. Theres often undigested food that i wouldnt normally see, like onion and peas.

I was referred for an abdominal CT that showed nothing. I also had a virtual colonoscopy, which showed nothing. I did a fecal occult blood test which was negative.

My consultant prescribed Rifaximin for two weeks, as he thought i may have SIBO. This stopped the urge to go to the toilet all the time, but the morning urge to poo on waking continued, as did the rumbling tummy.

I tried taking actimel on my GP's advice, and this seems to have reduced the rumbling but not stopped it (although its much quieter!).

So now i am left with large volume poops, once a day, and the poop is often yellowy light brown, with the odd dark brown patch. Some of my poops are horrifyingly big, for me! They also sometimes float, but not always.

I also think i can see a sheen on the water, like fat, but it is transparent. If i break up my poop by poking it with tissue, it seems to secrete an almost clear substance (its not mucus) which floats but sits an inch or two below the water.

Alongside this I've had some mild upper right quadrant discomfort, but it is intermittent and not that painful - just an occasional stab, but sometimes in my right back and shoulder too. However i only get this every couple days.

Obviously ive thought of pancreas issues, but my poo doesn't smell bad. Ive got an ultrasound booked for next week, bur after two CTs I am guessing my pancreas would have been checked - my consultant says it has been.

If you got this far well done - I am at the end of my tether and worried i have something sinister, but i recognise the reflux etc may be separate from the poo issue.

Has anyone experienced larger volume poops that werent sinister, or that came from

something explainable? Im going out of my mind with worry.

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