Been worried that my stomach feels off.

[Sollace]

Hello everybody, I've honestly been having a pretty good time this year when it comes to my worries, but I've started off now, and I hope I don't go too far down this rabbit hole.

It started a week last Thursday, where I'd felt entirely fine up until that point. I needed the toilet, and was horrified when my stool appeared soft and black. Immediately afterwards, my stomach complaints started, and I've felt awful.

Apart from the next day, passing very dry nuggets that were very dark, I haven't had another black stool- instead being dark brown. This was followed by several bouts of Diarrhoea on Tuesday, where afterwards my stools have been light brown.

I realise that the day before, I'd eaten black beans- and due to some strange circumstances in the days prior, had drank an exorbitant amount of Coca Cola and Pepsi Max (whilst normally I don't drink soft drinks at all), that could have lent themselves to it. However, following my bouts of diarrhoea I've consistently had soft stools, and my stomach has felt "wobbly", with occasional nausea (and some indigestion after drinking Pepsi). I also feel I am going to the toilet more often now- which further fuels my concerns.

I do feel I am handling this episode better than I have with many of my other concerns, however I fear I am falling into the trap of becoming a chronic "stool checker". Furthermore, is my stomach having felt consistently "off" for over a week now truly not indicative of any real problems? I've known I've always had a sensitive stomach for many years now, so maybe I should take all this with a pinch of familiarity- but following the "black" stool I had this has begun to get me quite worried. Any input from others would be greatly appreciated, as I'm beginning to feel Like I'm declining into the throes of anxiety again.

[ktdid2000]

You sound just like me....around a year ago my stools started acting really weird and I almost became one of those obsessive stool checkers (gross and totally unnecessary!!). I got really upset when things were not "perfect" and I got checked out by two GI docs who both just said I needed more fiber and to try the FODMAP diet.

Long story short, I tried some of their ideas for awhile, but just kind of gradually broke out of the anxiety cycle and things went back to normal. Took about 3 - 4 months though.

Lately I've been having this feeling like my stomach is bloated all the time. Not really painful, just sort of like you feel when you are nervous about something or you ate too much and are uncomfortable. I've been under a TON of stress so this totally makes sense, but I've chalked it up to something terminal (of course, AGAIN). I've given myself another week before I see the GI doc hoping that self-care and stress reduction fixes it.

I'd recommend trying gentle diets (like FODMAP), sort of like how you would treat yourself coming off a stomach bug, maybe something like Metamucil (psyllium husk), and try stress reduction techniques to see if you can help your stomach out. It's the most sensitive part of your body to stress. :(

[Sollace]

Thanks a lot-I've felt much better today, hope you feel better soon too.