Strange stools - is this normal?

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I was hopsitalised a year ago with a fever and lower abdo pain - they were never able to find out why but since not long after that I have had ongoing left abdo pain and what I think are strange stools.

The front end often looks like prunes, saltanas or pebbles and is very hard and dark. They are often mucousy and can have what looks like pus stuck in the crevices. Meanwhile the other end of the same stool can vary anywhere for normal to mushy but always tends to have some traces of undigested food.

My stools look the same almost every time I go - No matter weather i go once every two days to twice in the same day. There is always some variation of this same pattern in the stool. Im quite regular and tend to go either once or twice a day. No straining or pushing and no blood.imageimage imageimage

I'm under various investigations still for the pain but still to get to the bottom of things - am not sure if my stools are normal or if this is something I should bring up?

0 likes, 4 replies

4 Replies

  • Posted

    Have u asked a doctor about it?

    • Posted

      I brought it up with my GP in passing when I had my last consultation and they didn't comment too much as I am under gastro already. The GP did tell me to chase up gastro for a CT scan which I was referred out for before covid. Missed an unscheduled callback from the gastro consultant yesterday and she left a message to say she would refer me for the scan so should be sorted the next few weeks hopefully! I mainly wanted to know weather the stools are normal or not or if i should even bother to mention it to the consultant too in the next appointment as I'm at the point now that im beginning to doubt myself. i keep having tests done when im okay and they come back mostly normal but when i have a "flare up" i cant get tests done. It's frustrating that i get the strange stools and the mucus, and the pain as well as struggle with fatigue on a day to day basis but they cant tell me why and its been going on for a whole year.

      i guess When you dont know whats going on, and you cant see anything physically thats causing the pain as well as having normal results most of the time its easy to start to doubt yourself, you know? Am just mainly after an objective opinion as to weather that my stools are what would be considered normal or not to see if i should push with it in a consult.

    • Posted

      I would say bring it up with your GI consultant and hopefully this will help u find out what is going on and how to get better.

  • Posted

    update - ct scan was normal: gp offered me amatryptaline in response to the normal CT scan which i declined as pain when having small flares is managable with otc pain killers and heat (which id mentioned multiple times before) I was more wanting to know what the cause was so i could better manage small flares but decided as I've not had a big flare of abdo pain with fever & blood in stools etc in 6 months i said i would leave it as is unless i become symptomatic again. the stools are still strange but become less so when i have less pain so defs related but im not going to push it anymore. am very frustrated though. it feels as if the last year of my life has been spent trying to get answers to why i ended up in hosp and why ive had this pain etc but im no closer then if i hadn't bothered in the first place. thanks all for your input here anyhow.

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