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Anonymous #1
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 mucus in stool - how much is too much?
#8382647 - 05/09/08 06:07 PM (6 months, 23 days ago) |
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ok, i apologize for this ridiculously long and downright ridiculous and somewhat disgusting post but hopefully it will be at least a little bit of an entertaining read for some of you. i am hoping someone is willing to read it and try to help me.
i've read it's normal for your shit to contain small amounts of mucus but after noticing a large amount one time a couple of weeks ago which got me really worried, i now keep checking my shit for mucus and i always find some around the edges. or at least what i think is mucus, it clings around the edges like algea almost. i also have some mild stomach pain and discomfort.
now i need to give some background info. a couple of years ago i got gastritis from smoking too much marijuana. marijuana made the lining inside my stomach become raw and inflamed and overall extremely sensitive. it also caused me lots of other mental and physical problems before i was finally able to give it up (it was a MAJOR addiction for me).
anyway, i had so many problems from marijuana that i stupidly decided not to see a doctor because i knew i'd never be able to afford all the medical tests to see what was wrong with me so i decided to wait and see what would heal on its own and what wouldn't (for example i was originally more worried about my lungs than my stomach but my lungs have seemed to have actually healed more).
anyway back to the point, i was left with horrible anxiety, depression and mental problems from my years of being stoned 24/7 so a year after stopping, i started drinking alcohol which i'd never really liked before marijuana. however, after marijuana i realized alcohol worked wonders for my marijuana induced anxiety so pretty soon i was drinking it as often as i felt my stomach could handle (which was about one out of every 3 days).
after a few months of this, my gastritis came back and i eventually got an incredibly expensive test called an endoscopy which showed gastritis and got put on omeprazole 40 mg per day. however, mentally i wasn't ready to quit alcohol yet so i continued to drink but i cut down to only on the weekends. but my stomach problems seemed to continue to get worse. my stomach wouldn't hurt while i was drinking or even the next couple days after but instead it would hurt in the middle of the week. anyway, a little over a month ago i decided i needed to quit alcohol completely to at least give my stomach a chance to heal.
so i quit drinking and the first few weeks my bowel movements were normal but then about 2 weeks ago i noticed this mucus like substance and i've been freaking out about it ever since. it's present every time i take a shit, just in smaller quantities than when i originally noticed it. the thing is, i can only see it now if i poke my shit around with a q-tip. so basically it could have been there all my life and i just never would have noticed it because i wasn't looking for it until after that one day where there was a large amount of it.
so i guess my questions are:
1) has anyone had similar experiences from drinking alcohol with stomach problems?
2) can you guys poke your shit around with q-tips or something and search for mucus and tell me if you can find any so i know whether a small amount is normal to see? (medical websites differ on what they say about this).
3) do i need to seek urgent medical attention or can this wait until my next doctor's appointment in july? i'd really like to wait and see if it goes away on its own. also, i want to have another endoscopy and more tests done but i REALLY want to delay those tests until july in order to give my stomach more time to heal from potential damage alcohol did to it so i know whether or not its healing in the absense of alcohol. these tests are so expensive, even with health insurance, that i just can't afford to have them done over and over again.
4) do you know of any good forums for gastriointestinal health questions?
and please don't just tell me to see a doctor because i am definitely going to do so, i am just not sure exactly when yet.
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 WordlessNature
kšatrīya
 
Registered: 02/04/06
Posts: 312
Loc: SoCal
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Re: mucus in stool - how much is too much? [Re: Anonymous #1]
#8383572 - 05/09/08 10:39 PM (6 months, 23 days ago) |
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As far as I know there is no link between marijuana use and gastritis.
Please have more thorough examination conducted in order to get to the bottom of this. If you are concerned that is reason enough for immediate follow-up...
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porcupine
Stranger
Registered: 01/09/05
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Last seen: 9 days, 6 hours
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Re: mucus in stool - how much is too much? [Re: WordlessNature]
#8383695 - 05/09/08 11:10 PM (6 months, 23 days ago) |
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as far as i know there is no link either but my stomach was perfectly healthy before i got addicted to marijuana and my symptoms coincided completely with my marijuana use, marijuana initually making my stomach feel better and then after years of abusing it, it began to do the opposite. i 've read on other forums about lots of other people who have had stomach problems related to marijuana. remember marijuana exerts numerous effects throughout the gi tract due to binding to cannabinoid receptors that lie there. furthermore, constant munchies is hardly a healthy diet, plus all the smoke inreases the production of acid in the stomach if im not mistaken. al this leads me to believe marijuana was the culprit.
anyway, regardless of whether marijuana was the cause, its kind of irrelavent now because i have gastritis now and have to deal with it no matter what caused it to begin with.
as far as a thourough examination, that is what i plan on. i just need to wait a couple more months because i drank alcohol for a while when i had gastritis and i need to give my stomach a chance to heal so i know whether or not its going to heal if i abstain from alcohol or whether the problem will continue. if i get examined now, alcohol use will be a major comfounding factor and i will need to pay for another examination in a few months to assess healing. i can't afford to spend that much.
Edited by porcupine (05/09/08 11:12 PM)
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grimR
hippiousmaximous
Registered: 03/29/06
Posts: 377
Loc: Canna-da
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Re: mucus in stool - how much is too much? [Re: Anonymous #1]
#8384064 - 05/10/08 01:02 AM (6 months, 23 days ago) |
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Quote:
2) can you guys poke your shit around with q-tips or something and search for mucus and tell me if you can find any so i know whether a small amount is normal to see? (medical websites differ on what they say about this).
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- grimR
"Those who give up essential liberties for temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."
- Benjamin Franklin
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OwMyHead
Village eediyot
Registered: 04/11/08
Posts: 174
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Re: mucus in stool - how much is too much? [Re: grimR]
#8384320 - 05/10/08 03:11 AM (6 months, 23 days ago) |
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Mucus in the stool is a sign of irritable bowel syndrome. I THINK it may also be a sign of Crohn's disease. However, if you're having a massive allergy attack to pollen/weed/seed/mold/whatever, your body may also overproduce mucus for that reason, too.
If you aren't bleeding, and you aren't in excruciating agony, you can probably futz around with your diet and see if any of that helps. However, if you are bleeding, I'd run (do not walk) to the nearest ER.
Also, if you have tarry stools (they look like tar, are black, or thick or whatever, beyond "normal"), go straight to the ER. GI bleeds can kill you.
As always, I am not a doctor.
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porcupine
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Re: mucus in stool - how much is too much? [Re: OwMyHead]
#8386778 - 05/10/08 07:50 PM (6 months, 22 days ago) |
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i did futz around with my diet by removing alcohol completely and trying to eat fresh, easily digestable foods. i also chew them longer than normal to so my stomach doesn't have to work as hard. thanks for the info but most of what you said i already knew from searching the net. i guess i just need to pay for expensive tests. it's the only way to find out what's really going on. i just want to know if you guys think i can wait a month or two.
as for bleeding, i know that is serious but how do i tell if my gi tract is bleeding? i know the obvious signs but i've read the bleeding can be occult (no obvious signs). if i have bleeding, it is definitely occult. i don't seem to be dropping dead, so maybe i can wait this out?
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OwMyHead
Village eediyot
Registered: 04/11/08
Posts: 174
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Re: mucus in stool - how much is too much? [Re: porcupine]
#8399646 - 05/14/08 03:13 AM (6 months, 19 days ago) |
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If your stools are bright red (i.e. look like blood) obviously, or if they're really dark black, that could be a sign of blood further up the GI tract.
Good luck.
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porcupine
Stranger
Registered: 01/09/05
Posts: 531
Last seen: 9 days, 6 hours
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Re: mucus in stool - how much is too much? [Re: OwMyHead]
#8399922 - 05/14/08 07:26 AM (6 months, 18 days ago) |
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yes thanks for trying to help but i already know that. they aren't bright red or dark black. they just have this sort of sticky substance on them.
if you really want to help, this is what i need you to do. next time you take a dump, take a stick or something and gently move it around in the toilet water and look closely to see if there is anything that moves in the opposite direction as to which you are moving it. like some bits of mucus or a mucus like substance around the edges. that's what i need to know. i already have read all the basic information on gi bleeding on the internet.
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OwMyHead
Village eediyot
Registered: 04/11/08
Posts: 174
Last seen: 1 month, 23 days
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Re: mucus in stool - how much is too much? [Re: porcupine]
#8400272 - 05/14/08 10:43 AM (6 months, 18 days ago) |
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I do not have any mucus in my stool, nor have I ever in my adult life. But how was I to know that you knew what the signs of blood in the stool were, when you asked? 
And even if I did it wouldn't help you because my symptoms may not indicate your condition.
Honestly, if cost is an issue, I'd try to persuade a GP to order a stool sample analysis before any of the more invasive (and frankly, uncomfortable) tests. Even if you don't have a primary care doctor, you can look some up, call and find out what the office visit costs, and then go in and explain the situation to the doctor.
Failing that you may sometimes be able to get reduced cost care at a student hospital, or even check for studies going on in your area.
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