Hard stool mixed in soft stool

[user007]

A few months ago I started having bowel movements that started as stuck together dark, hard pellets that transitioned into soft, normal stool after a couple inches. This was followed up with bleeding but the doctor found a fissure and two small internal hemorrhoids. I assume these are the causes but the doctor never specified. He basically listened to me for a minute, checked my back side and said he needed to do a colonoscopy to rule out a tumor because of my mixed stool as he pushed me out the door. He only mentioned IBS as a possibility after I told him I had health anxiety and wanted to know if I should be worried. He said not if I get a colonoscopy and that the odds were in my favor it was IBS.

Since the visit I've tried increasing my fiber which has slightly softened the hard pellets but now they are more mixed into the whole stool rather than just the first part. I cannot make them go away.

I'm trying to reason through this since the doctor was no help and the test is still weeks away. If it was a tumor blocking passage, wouldn't that probably lead to some full on constipation or pain from a backup? I still go the same number of times as usual, still pass the same amount, have no pain, no weight loss. Just the hard stools. But if it is IBS, why would only a few pellets be hard while everything else is soft?

[Fishmanpa]

Poop floats and it sinks
It's different colors and it stinks.
It can be hard or soft like mush
Do your business and just flush!

FMP

[Cnote92]

I know this post is from awhile ago, but I’m just curious if you ever found out the cause or reason to this? I have the SAME exact problem, where everything is still regular and normal EXCEPT the fact, I keep getting the first quarter- third of the stool is hard pebble like pieces stuck together and then the rest of the stool is normal. and am too worried about a blockage, tumor ect interrupting the flow of normal motility.
Iv tried ALL the typical extra fiber, excercise, drink more water ect tips nothing seems to work or change this.
Did you ever figure out what this was?? Or why it happens