Stool Concerns?!?!! - Help!!!!

[andram]

Hi everyone, I normally post strictly in the Health Anxiety board/section. I have some serious concerns about my stool as of recent. Recently, I posted a thread

http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=192099

about fears regarding taking higher doses of Percocet than recommended for a few days spaced out, ultimately leading to me taking 3 1/2 over the course of less than 4 hours in total and self-induced vomiting. I guess my main concerns were/are, serious damage to my esophagus and liver disease or failure. I saw my gastroenterologist and told him my concerns, basically, if I did serious esophageal damage I'd be bleeding out of have blood in my stool, which I didn't. Currently, I just have abdominal and chest pain/discomfort, generally right after I eat. I also find myself getting a lot more nauseous while eating.

Okay, sorry for going "off track" I felt like maybe some background information might be needed since the issues with my stool only occurred the day after what I'll call "the Percocet incident"



Basically the day after and onwards, my stool has generally been more (in appearance), like a #6 on the Bristol Stool Chart. When I wipe, it is VERY yellow and mucous-like, as well as "greasy" -- it also smells just LIKE grease or oil I guess, very foul. The toilet water also looks a tad bit oily. I described this to my gastroenterologist, although maybe not as well as this. I've also been a lot more gassy and have to pass a lot more frequent stools, although mostly small.

My gastroenterologist doubted liver damage, because I would be in a lot more pain? or something I guess??? He did however, agree to let me do blood work after begging, and I got a call back today saying my blood work came back fine. I'm not sure if that completely cancels out liver damage and am waiting until the numbers are on my patient portal so I can see them myself and be slightly more at ease.

When the nurse called I mentioned my stool again and my concerns and asked if maybe the doctor would need a stool sample and she said that there's "no need" and something about IBS and that seeing a psychiatrist should be my top priority.


The doctor himself never mentioned IBS to me, he said that what was going on with my stool and bowels could be related to an antibiotic I was on (Augmentin) which I think is also Amoxicillin, and that it should probably go away when I finish the antibiotics. He also mentioned a connection between the gut and the brain, and anxiety and stool as well. It's been almost 2 days without the antibiotic and my stool is still like this. How long does it generally take for an antibiotic to leave your system? I would assume about 2-3 days, if the case.

Could this stool change be IBS? I was very worried about overdosing and liver damage, so I could see how that increased my anxiety.

I'm also worried it could be C. Diff, because I've read about how the antibiotic I was on, is linked to it. My younger brother had C. Diff from the same antibiotic.

I just feel like I've been to my gastroenterologist so much he probably thinks everything I'm experiencing is just anxiety, health anxiety related and I worry that this is actually something serious and he maybe be just brushing it off. Like to say that antibiotics can just do that but the antibiotic could also cause C. Diff which is a lot more different than just a casual stool change.

I guess ultimately, my main question is can these stools be IBS related or anxiety? It's been 5 days going on 6.

[Kathryn313]

Yes they can.

[andram]

I had just woken up 1-2 hours ago, and had a bowel movement less than an hour ago. It still looks mostly the same. Same shape, same color, same texture. The toilet water still looks a little oily, but this time when I wiped it was still mostly yellow, but less "oily" or "mucus-y" and no longer smelled of grease or oil itself.

Will continue to monitor.

[PanickyGuy]

Hi Andram,

I just finished a 10 day course of Amoxicillin myself yesterday for sinusitis and a ear infection. I can't speak for you in your case, although you're descriptions about the effects of the stool are similar to mine, but in my case I know Amoxicillin always irritates my IBS and screws with the shape of my stool, more so then usual, every time I take the stuff.

Just this morning I had a bad IBS attack with oncoming anxiety over it (high blood pressure with some fast heart rate, you get the idea) then minutes later I went to the loo and I felt ten times better. Amazing! Before that, I thought I was about to die from a extreme bowel movement or something. Lol.

So I know for me the Amoxicillin always increases my acid reflux\bloating and IBS problems with similar symptoms as yours concerning the stool. But here's another thing, the foods you eat can cause the color change in your stool as well. I noticed if I eat a lot of chocolate I get exactly the same stool color in return and if I eat too much light colored foods like cheese...well you know where I'm going with this. As I matter of fact, I ate too much dark chocolate last night, because I was trying to get some more probiotics back into my system while I was taking the Amoxicillin, but guess what the color of my stool mostly was? Same color in return.

So there you go. You might want to keep that in mind about the shape and color of stools, but regardless, if you every do see blood or you think you may see blood in your stool, never hesitate to see a doctor about that for sure. It's always best to make sure and not take chances.