bowel movements.....

i have been having diarrhea for a couple weeks now off and on. sometimes its really bad (like very runny) and sometimes (rarely) its like a regular bowel movement. and sometimes i feel like i cant even hold it in which is really disgusting. i would say this happens almost every other day now...
should i be worried? what could it possibly be??

Significant changes in bowel habits that persist more than a week or so should be brought to the attention of your doctor. There are many things that could cause this, including infections (food poisoning, etc.), autoimmune disease, Celiac Disease, food sensitivity/Allergy, IBS, colon cancer, medication side-effects, etc., so it would be up to your doctor to figure out what's going on for you.

Take care, and don't worry too much - it is most likely something easily treatable.

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-Razzle

misscali, I agree that you should go see your doc. It could be any number of things and lupus can attack your GI tract. I think there are a lot of us here who have had bowel and stomach problems. I went through a 3 week time period that was almost exactly what you described. I saw my doc who did a few tests and said to wait it out a little while longer. Even though things are better I have to go to the bathroom a lot and usually have really loose stools.

I would call your doc to be on the safe side and like Ginny said, it's really important to stay hydrated during this. Take care

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i totally forgot about the dehydration aspect of diarrhea...i will definitely start drinking more water.
i have already told my doctor about the loose stools and she wrote out a lab prescription for a stool sample but to be honest the idea of going poop in the lab and then having someone look at it and take a sample is so gross to me and i just thought the problem would go away. but i guess everyone is right, especially with lupus it could be a number of different problems...

I am not taking any new vitamins or medications but recently i ran out of a prescription for a medication and have been slow to get the script refilled. could the absence of a medication cause the irregular bowel movements as well? although i have been having diarrhea since before i ran out of this vitamin....

Yes, missing a medication could have an effect on bowel movement. It all depends on the medication, what it was for, what it interacts with, etc, etc.

Have you had any big changes in your life? Lots of extra stress? Change in eating habits? Drinking/eating more caffeine? ...the list of possible causes seems endless...but my brain is racing w/insomnia, so I'm probably off in outer space.

I'd probably try taking my missing med, eating more fiber and cutting back acidic foods (like coffee/coke) and if that doesn't help in 3-4 days, then doing the lab test. I'm sure they deal with them every day & it's nothing to be embarrassed about.

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Lynnwood, Co-Moderator: Lupus Forum
SLE(’00), Sjogren's Syndrome, SAD, Depression, Herpes Simplex 1
Piroxicam, Plaquenil, Cellcept, Prednisone, Trazodone, Fosamax, Wellbrutrin SR, Valtrex
Links: DIAGNOSING LUPUS(4of11), LUPUS INFORMATION, LUPUS RESOURCES, Donate to HealingWell, Drug Interactions

Hi Misscali,

Hi Misscali--
Everyone above has said about everything I can think of. I have liver disease and sometimes when I have an extreme allergic reaction to a food or medicine, I have the problem you describe. Also, irritable bowel, hormonal changes, stress, aging all play apart. I knew one old guy who said he'd give up his whole pension if he could just take a normal crap again. I would definitely go to the doc and do the sample, there are things you can get from restaurant food or canned food and other stuff like that and infections that cause that kind of problem. I feel so much for you and it is so awful. I mostly just want to say I sympathize and will keep you in my thoughts and prayers.

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Love, Marji