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Why do IBS-Ders pass so much mucus?

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Irritable Bowel Syndrome
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shelly1979
Regular Member
Joined : May 2006
Posts : 164
Posted 7/5/2006 8:40 AM (GMT -8)
Okay, I know this is grose, but it has me baffled...

 

Why do IBS-D people have so much mucus in their stools???  I thought mucus meant that the colon was inflammed...but there is no inflammation with IBS-D.  Sometimes, I pass nothing but mucus, sometimes it is mixed with the stool. (Grose I know. sorry.)

Why does excess mucus pass in stools of IBS-D people? confused

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dbab
Veteran Member
Joined : Jan 2004
Posts : 4151
Posted 7/5/2006 8:57 AM (GMT -8)
Mucus is common in IBS. Everyone has mucus in their colons and its there to protect the lining of your colon. It normally sheds to help pass stool through your colon. Most people don't notice it because its shed at a normal rate. In IBS due to the colon contractions causes the mucus to shed more rapidly which is why you can have excess. Mucus can also mean infection or obstruction too but not necessarily.
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shelly1979
Regular Member
Joined : May 2006
Posts : 164
Posted 7/5/2006 9:10 AM (GMT -8)

Wow...I didn't realize that. It makes sense though.

I have had a colonoscopy and the whole works so I know I don't have an obstruction.  I've had many blood tests, stool cultures, etc. (no fever) and I don't think I have an infection either. 

Must be the contractions of the colon.  I don't have a lot f "contraction" pain.  I jsut get the sudden urge to "go".

Gee, does this IBS-D ever end??!!  I don't know how much more I can take of this.

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pb4
Elite Member
Joined : Feb 2004
Posts : 20577
Posted 7/5/2006 9:59 AM (GMT -8)
You hit the nail on the head dbab, this is also why IBDers suffer with alot of mucus as well.


:)
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Keriamon
Veteran Member
Joined : Jun 2005
Posts : 2976
Posted 7/5/2006 10:21 AM (GMT -8)
It's kind of like being allergic to something and having your nose run. There's always mucus in the nose to keep it moist, but when you breathe something in that your nose doesn't like, your sinuses start producing more mucus in order to keep this irritant away from the delicate (and very porous) lining of the nasal cavity. Your intestines regisiter that certain foods (or all of them) are irritants and it does the same thing as your nose, I think. The trick is how to tell your guts not to have a reaction. Maybe one day they'll have the gut version of Claratin.
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shelly1979
Regular Member
Joined : May 2006
Posts : 164
Posted 7/5/2006 10:30 AM (GMT -8)
Keriamon,

 

I totally understand what you are saying.  I have thought to myself before...If the excess mucus can be controlled with IBS-D people, maybe we'd be able to have normal BMs. 

 

I look at it this way, and I could be totally wrong...

Excess mucus may cause colon motolity to speed up and the excess mucus has to come out sometime, hense, we get diarrhea with a lot of mucus.  Also, the excess mucus may be why the extra water in stool is not being absorbed by the large intestine. The mucus could be why our lagre intesting isn't soaking up the extra water in the stool. (It's like mucus acting like a barrier...not letting the extra water to be absorbed by the colon.)

 

 Sometimes, I think that the mucus is what's causing my severe IBS-D.  Too bad that theer isn't a pill to control the mucus production by the body!  If the mucus production could be controled, maybe the "D" could also be controled.

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pb4
Elite Member
Joined : Feb 2004
Posts : 20577
Posted 7/5/2006 10:35 AM (GMT -8)
I don't know about that, but I do know that some IBSers with C have mucus as well.

:)
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LondonGirl22
Veteran Member
Joined : Jan 2006
Posts : 1629
Posted 7/5/2006 11:02 AM (GMT -8)

I have IBS and get mucus when Im constipated as well as when I have diaharrea (cant spell!). 

Victoria

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dbab
Veteran Member
Joined : Jan 2004
Posts : 4151
Posted 7/5/2006 11:09 AM (GMT -8)
You don't have to have irritants to have mucus. Mucus is normal whether you are sick or not. As far as mucus being the cause of D, I have not heard that before. Contractions don't always cause pain in your intestines, most of the time it will give you a crampy feeling but sometimes its not noticable. Abnormal contractions is found in IBS C and D and is part of the problem of IBS. Mucus is the effect.
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Keriamon
Veteran Member
Joined : Jun 2005
Posts : 2976
Posted 7/5/2006 12:28 PM (GMT -8)
Hmm... you'd think if you could pass mucus, you could pass a stool. Maybe it's like when my nose runs but I'm so stopped up higher up that I can't blow it. I hate that crap.

Lol, I'm on the bowels-to-nose connection today I guess because I stirred up something in my house this weekend that kept making my nose run like a faucet sporadically. I've got it on the brain.
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goodie2shoes
New Member
Joined : Jul 2006
Posts : 11
Posted 7/7/2006 12:50 PM (GMT -8)
WOW,,,dbab, you really seem to know your stuff, you already answered one of my questions, another would be can one get IBS overnight, in other words can you be feeling fine on Monday, then on Tuesday have IBS can it happen just like that, and does this ever go away, or is one looking at a medicine cabinet full of goodies and feeling kinda cruddy for the rest of your life, thank you,,,MJA
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dbab
Veteran Member
Joined : Jan 2004
Posts : 4151
Posted 7/7/2006 1:16 PM (GMT -8)
Symptoms in IBS are very common to wax and wane. You can also go through bad patches and good patches. Its so hard to know when your symptoms are going too hit sometimes which comes the anxiety because we worry we are going to be somewhere and unexpectantly have problems.

Thanks for the compliment. Actually there are certain things that I am more familiar with but there are lots of things that I am still yet to know about. I have had IBS for 16 years and just have read so much especially symptoms that affect me personally. This happens to be one of them. :)
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goodie2shoes
New Member
Joined : Jul 2006
Posts : 11
Posted 7/7/2006 5:43 PM (GMT -8)
Thanks 4 gettin back dbab,,,MJA

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pinklady
New Member
Joined : Sep 2005
Posts : 1
Posted 7/11/2006 11:59 AM (GMT -8)
Hi everyone,

I so understand you all and the incredible misery that is involved with IBS...
Just the anxiety that is involved, never knowing if you are in a public place and
your stomach starts cramping....

I wanted to write this to tell you all some things that has greatly helped me and I do know the difference when I go off of them..
The first natural supplement that I found in my health food store has helped me so much, if I take it daily, no flare ups!!! If I forget or get alittle smug and think that I dont need it, it isnt long and I am running to the nearest bathroom.]


I take 8-10 drops in a small glass of cold juice and down it very quickly.. Why?
It tastes nasty!! but if you take it daily, you get used to the taste.

Another thing that I have used on a daily basis is a fiber supplement...
For me it is Physillum Husks.....for some tho that may not be the right
one.. becuase if you are not use to extra fiber, you will get bloated quickly.
Take it slowly and build up... but use something daily and drink LOTS and LOTs
of water thru out the day. 64 ozs is good...or more.

Thirdly, I have changed my diet alot.. I found with my IBS that it didnt always
be a certain food that triggered me. One day I would eat XXX and be alright,
maybe a few days later eat XXX again and wind up in the bathroom!!
The Makers Diet by Jordan Rubin has helped to change many of the bad
experiences into nornal again.... Why his plan? He suffered horribly with Chrone's
disease and almost died, yet an herbal doctor gave him a plan that brought him back to full life and wellness.
He recommends eating lots of dark leafy green veggies....I dont know about you all but I am lazy about chewing all of that... So I take my Vita Mix machine and I make a strong Green drink about 32 oz to drink daily..... using Spinach, kale, Parsley, lemon, apples and Strawberries and a bit of orange juice. I do use other combinations as well..

This disease is horrible and it requires sometimes radical changes.. I trully understand pain and misery that is associated with diseases. As I have suffered with Fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatigue, IBS, OsteoArthritis and Migranes.... and I have realized that there is a root cause of illnesses.. Research Acid verses Alkaline and you will see what i mean.

Blessings to all, and I hope that this will help some one out there.
pinklady

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Post Edited By Moderator (dbab) : 7/11/2006 2:40:03 PM (GMT-6)

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