Could this be IBS?

hi kellyinSC,

i've had diarrhea everyday since mid-March.  i was perfectly normal until then.  since that day, i have had diarrhea everyday.  lost my appetite because i was "going" all of the time...not fun at all!  i've had all of the tests...colonoscopy, egs, stool cultures, blood tests, upper gi, small bowel series, ultrasounds, cat scans, hida scans...you name it, i've had it.

i would suggest gatting a stool culture, if you haven't already, to rule out parasites, bacterias, etc.  it could cause diarrhea like that. 

since you have diarrhea after a meal, it sounds like IBS...but getting a colonoscopy sure wouldn't hurt anything!  you don't remember a thing about the colonoscopy.  i won't lie, i was VERY nervous and my blood pressure was high and my pulse was too before they took me in for the colonoscopy...but i'm only 26 and i had NEVER had something like that done before...not even had an IV in my arm.  i was BOUND to be real nervous.  

end result, they didn't find anything wrong in my colon and i have peace of mind knowing that.  i would go ahead and get the colonoscopy because it won't hurt anything and you will know if anything is going on in there.

please postme if you ever want to talk!

i understand what you are feeling like.

take care.   

Hi Kelly, welcome to HealingWell...

It's a good idea you're getting a colonoscopy for two reasons: 1) You're slightly anemic, and although this could be caused by diet, it could also be caused by gastrointestinal bleeding (which you may or may not be able to see); and 2) You have a family history of colon cancer.  Simple blood and stool tests could not detect gross abnormalities in your colon, so it's a good precaution.

Then again, there are a million other things it could be besides IBS (or colon cancer, which, depending on your age, is a very unlikely possibility).  I could start a list, but it would take a very long time.

The colonoscopy is no prob.  I've had three in the past five years.  One time they just decided to go in while I was having an upper endoscopy, so I hadn't prepped and the scope was useless (don't even ask me how that happened - but I was under the care of my parents then); the second time I drank the Fleet Phosphosoda, which was disgusting, but I only had to chug down two ounces of the stuff; and the last time I had to drink the gallon of GoLytely, which was the worst.  You just have to go in there realizing that the prep is going to be no fun, so you have to make it fun for yourself by spoiling yourself silly with things like trashy magazines and heating pads on your bum and lots of ginger ale and mindless movies and having your friends over to make fun of your poopiness.

The actual scopes - all three of them - were a breeze for me; didn't feel a thing, no after-effects whatsoever.  Rest assured that you are doing it for a good reason and take it in stride as much as you can!