Telekon asks:
I have experienced long-term constipation and hemorrhoid issues since high school. I was a frequent drinker and an infrequent smoker, and I admit to a sedentary lifestyle, although I always got more exercise than the average American. Probably ate too much dairy and drank too much coffee and green tea.
Early this summer, I began experiencing dampness in my underwear that I attributed to sweat. Somewhat concurrently I also experienced my first external hemorrhoid. This June, I woke up one morning absolutely soaked with this moisture -- no smell, no fecal matter, no blood or anything -- and then proceeded to have explosive diarrhea for days. My anus, frankly, was absolutely torn up. I was on the toilet for the better part of the day for a week. I tested positive on a virus test and my GP sent me to a gastro specialist.
With the gastro doctor I did a barium test (for Crohn's), numerous feces tests for bacteria or viruses and what not, and a flexscope/biopsy for colitis or bowel cancer... nothing. I did week- and two-week long regiments of different antibiotics.
Since then, for over three months now, I have experienced incredibly frequent bowel movements -- often ten a day even when taking Imodium. My activity schedule is kinda off from having worked second shift jobs, but it's usually diarrhea all morning/afternoon until it calms down a bit later on. Sometimes the mystery wetness comes by itself and will soak through my underwear, but it also always accompanies a bowel movement. Sometimes it seems to be sweat, sometimes it's obviously not -- I can tell due to the spread pattern. I have tried anti-fungal sprays hoping that the sweat was from a skin infection. No luck.
I have no medical insurance, and my GI doctor has discharged me, blaming the wetness on hemorrhoids and, frankly, not even listening to me. I think he was just getting rid of a chronically sick patient without insurance.
Since then I went to another GP, and he thinks I am lactose intolerant. He ran a pretty thorough blood test for thyroid problems and what not, but everything has come back clean. A week into this no-dairy diet I feel just as bad -- not to mention that there's no history of lactose intolerance in my family. We're about as northern European as you can get.
So, still: nonstop watery diarrhea and mucus and the weird moisture problem. Sometimes I defecate nothing but mucus, often bloody. If my anus was leaking mucus, wouldn't it even occasionally leak fecal matter, blood, or the yellow mucus I see in the toilet? Also, very rarely do I experience any internal discomfort -- if I'm in pain, it's usually from the frequent bowel movements doing a number on me. I have lost about forty pounds since this started. During particularly bad periods I completely lose my appetite.
Any ideas? I am literally running out of willpower to keep going here. :(
Dear Telekon,
I recently heard a news report featuring a doctor who was discussing a new "syndrome" that he has pinpointed in chronic sufferers of diarrhea. The man responsible for this discovery is Dr. Saad F. Habba of Summit, NJ.
People with previously unexplained diarrhea were found by Dr. Habba to have abnormal gallbladder function. Apparently the people afflicted with what is now called Habba Syndrome have gallbladders that pump out way more bile than is necessary for normal digestion.
Because this syndrome is so newly discovered, most doctors are unaware of it and can overlook running tests on gallbladder function if not prompted to do so by other common gallbladder symptoms.
It appears that the patients were "cured" of their afflictions simply by taking a drug usually prescribed for lowering cholesterol levels. The medicine is called Cholestyramine. I think you should mention this to your doctor.
Thanks for asking Motherload!
Motherload is a Certified Nurse Assistant as well as an IBS sufferer, which means she knows a lot about poop. Got a question for her? Ask it here.
