stool test- gross TMI warning
#319660 - 11/28/07 11:00 AM
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I got a stool test kit yesterday and started it today. It was really gross to do it. If you think it is like cleaning the litter box you are wrong! Anyway I caught the end bit of my morning BM and it was awful, very sticky, very loose and lots of undigested food!!! I hadn't known it was that bad until I looked at it. I had huge chunks of carrot and some fiberous bits of something. I definitely have a problem. If anyone is aware of the show "You are what you eat" on BBC with Dr Gillian McKeith, I can imagine what she would say about my 'poo'. It is as bad as anyone with an unhealthy diet on her show and I don't eat like they do. It will be 3 weeks til I get the results and I can't imagine what they will be.
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IBS-A for 20 years with terrible bloating and gas. On the diet since April 2004. Remember this from Heather's information pages:
"You absolutely must eat insoluble fiber foods, and as much as safely possible, but within the IBS dietary guidelines. Treat insoluble fiber foods with suitable caution, and you'll be able to enjoy a wide variety of them, in very healthy quantities, without problem." Please eat IF foods!
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I've done a stool test before, not fun! Bleh!
I had it done and it showed no parasites, bacteria or yeast or anything like that. (Is that the same test you're getting, or is this different?) I too had a ton of undigested food showing up. If the test does show something, then great! You've got something to work with in that case.
One reason for the undigested food (according to my experience) is that you aren't chewing thoroughly enough. With a perfect digestive system maybe it would be able to break things up better but with IBS you can't count on that. If noticeable pieces of food are showing up, then your digestive system has not been able to get much nutrients out of those pieces. It would be beneficial to really chew things up into a paste so you can absorb all the nutrients from it, which may help your digestive system work better. This is especially true for veggies which are nutritious but tend to be stringier than something like fruit (think of the difference in texture of a banana vs raw carrot)
I have gone through periods of undigested food showing up and some times it all seems digested. Probiotics, over-chewing (I call it over-chewing because it really feels like I shouldn't have to chew that much!) and drinking less with meals all seem to help me digest more thoroughly.
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Kat
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I had a stool test done before. It was ok; not one of my favorite things to do, of course. Result-normal.
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IBS-C since 2006. No signs of IBS now, it's been 4 yrs. Only dairy allergy now.
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Sounds marvelous!! Probably going to have to do one next week when I see my new GI. Looking forward to it 
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Whats interesting is that 1 year ago i had an EXPLOSIVE diarhea attack and noticed all the undigested salad from lunch(and this was 8 hours later)......intense cramping, etc.......the next day i was fine and had no stomach issues and continued eating salads until 12 months later(ie 6 weeks ago) it happened again except this time i have daily IBS symptoms.....was last year a precursor of what was to come? OR did i create this state this time by anxiety about it happening again 12 months after initial episode? the mind or the body? I dont really have undigested food in my stools - just 1 year ago and 6 weeks ago....do most with IBS have undigested particles in stool?
I had stool test - GROSS>......
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I end up with bits of undigested veggies in my stool quite often. I haven't had it tested for anything yet though. Maybe I should ask my GI doctor if I can have it tested when I go in next week. I do take probiotics, but I eat quickly, so I may not be chewing enough.
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Lisa
IBS-A, Interstitial Cystitis, Migraines
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I am really working at eating smaller bites and chewing a lot longer. It will take a while to change but I am trying. I tend to get gaggy if I don't swallow right away but with smaller bites I do much better.
Probiotics are doing nothing for me. 
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IBS-A for 20 years with terrible bloating and gas. On the diet since April 2004. Remember this from Heather's information pages:
"You absolutely must eat insoluble fiber foods, and as much as safely possible, but within the IBS dietary guidelines. Treat insoluble fiber foods with suitable caution, and you'll be able to enjoy a wide variety of them, in very healthy quantities, without problem." Please eat IF foods!
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I had to do one of those tests at the begining of this year. It was a little awkward since I had 3 roommates...."Hey guys, don't look in the little white bag in the fridge". Nice right. No undigested food for me but it had like a white sticky film around it. No blood either... I don't even think the dr. did anything with the results from that test. Dang...I need a new Dr. Know any good ones in the Midwest?
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Leah-----
IBS-C predominant, gas, cramps, bloating, uncomfortable... oh and some colitis to top it all off
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I thought I might chime in if you don't mind. I know when I had undigested food I up my SFS and SF. I now take 24 grams of SFS a day and rarely have an attack (Maybe once a month for a couple of hours). My food is no longer undigested and I feel almost perfect. I think a number of C'ers are under the impression that SFS and SF stops you up. I thought this and thought when I used to be C that I was not getting enough IF. I now never get C and have no undigested food. My theory is that if you have undigested food you are not getting enough SF or SFS. On the back of the Acacia label it says that people that are C often require a much larger dosage of SFS, often up to 30 grams. I notice many people on the board seem to take a much lower dosage, like 10-15 grams. I know when I take this amount I get attacks and have undigested food present in my stool. Try it out, I know its scary but so is the prospect of not making progress. Good luck and hope you feel better.
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Andrew,
Thats great your feeling better!! So acadia is really working for you!! 
A few questions: how did you increase to this high dose? Did you take 1/2 tsp every week? Also, how do you break it down during the day? Or do you take in the am and before you go to bed?
Thanks in advance..
Deb
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IBS-C gas, bloating and acid reflux
Babies is the plan for 2008!!Hope this IBS cooperates.
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Yes Deb I increased about a gram a week. I have to say that I believe many people that are C eat too much IF and do not take enough SFS and SF. I take 24 grams of SFS a day and am very careful about incorporating IF. For about 6 months I was under this spell and was having frequent attacks. Now I follow Heather's diet to the T and I feel great. Good luck
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Oh deb I also mix it up in a huge water bottle in the morning and drink it before I eat anything throughout the day. Also I take a dose in the morning and before bed. Good luck
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Thanks Andrew, I am up for any help with my C at this point. So is a gram about a tsp or a half a week? So far I am still at 1/2 tsp every morning and night. When I tried to increase last time to 1 tsp a day it freaked out in there. So I am thinking of trying 3/4 tsp tonight and see how that works. I agree following the diet and acadia has helped alot. I do eat alot of SF but know the more SFS will help my gas and pains. Well atleast I am hoping
I am the one from Philly  How is your wife doing? When are you guys do?
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IBS-C gas, bloating and acid reflux
Babies is the plan for 2008!!Hope this IBS cooperates.
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Hey Andrew,
When you say you mix up a dose in a huge water bottle.....do you take this with you and throughout the day you just shake it up before drinking???? At this point, how much powder do you use in your water bottle (33 oz??). One more thing, your am and pm dose, do you mix with food or drink in water???
Thanks.
Sharon
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I have thought about upping my acacia. On "You Are What You Eat" (my favorite show BTW) she says sticky poop means you aren't getting enough fiber and poo is being left inside. I take 2T acacia per day. I believe that is 12g right? I added up what I assume I eat in fiber grams and it comes to another 20 grams or more. I should check that on a nutrition website. Anyway maybe I'll start with an additional teaspoon tonight.
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IBS-A for 20 years with terrible bloating and gas. On the diet since April 2004. Remember this from Heather's information pages:
"You absolutely must eat insoluble fiber foods, and as much as safely possible, but within the IBS dietary guidelines. Treat insoluble fiber foods with suitable caution, and you'll be able to enjoy a wide variety of them, in very healthy quantities, without problem." Please eat IF foods!
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Hey LM,
Was this your first time doing a stool sample then?
I feel like after all this time, I'm an old pro!   Although, I do agree... it is really gross to do. I had to do one recently and made BF stay away from the bathroom I was using all day, hee hee.
I am curious to see if they tell you what all the undigested food is about. I'll check back to see when you post the results, hope you get some answers!
Cheers,
Steph
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~~I'm not crazy, I'm just a little unwell-I know right now you can't tell~~Matchbox 20
IBS-D,pain.
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I did some checking online and guestimated my usual fiber for a day. It came to 38-48 grams (from conservative to liberal).
My daily average diet I figured like this; everyone please check for accuracy and what you think
1T acacia 6g
cereal with soy milk or good bowl oatmeal 4-5g
banana 2g
bar, either cereal with 2g or luna with 4g or nuts
1 fruit, either apple, pear,orange, grapefruit etc depending on time of year 2-3g
lunch I guessed 2-5 grams, varies a lot
banana 2g
pineapple large amount 3g
dinner I am saying about 7g with all the veggies, but could be lower at times
cereal or something in evening 4-5g
acacia 6g
I think 35g a day is very conservative estimate of what I eat and guess 45 is closer. There is a diet out there that is centered on eating 35 grams a day and how you'll lose weight from it. Hmm I dont believe it!
So tonight I had a heaping tablespoon acacia in hot choc soy milk and will have a heaping T for a week and see how that goes. I felt better today. I kind of don't want to be feeling good when i finally get my GI appt which will be sometime in December. Of course I want to improve, but I don't want to go to the appt and say "I am doing better, oh well whatever," I want to go and try to finally get some help! 
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IBS-A for 20 years with terrible bloating and gas. On the diet since April 2004. Remember this from Heather's information pages:
"You absolutely must eat insoluble fiber foods, and as much as safely possible, but within the IBS dietary guidelines. Treat insoluble fiber foods with suitable caution, and you'll be able to enjoy a wide variety of them, in very healthy quantities, without problem." Please eat IF foods!
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I looked at what you are eating and it is very similar to what I was eating 6 months ago when I was getting attacks at least every 2-3 days. Now I don't worry about the amount of SF I get as long as I get it. Like I said this is in addition to the 24 g of SFS I take. My IF I am very careful with and only eat sparingly throughout the day usually no more than 3 times a day. My fat content is also very low. Maybe try increasing the SFS, not worrying about eating too much SF because it cannot constipate you. Maybe this will provide the necessary cushion that you need,
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Hello sharon I have a dose of 4 grams when I roll out of bed mixed up in a cup. For work I take a 40 oz. water bottle with 16 grams mixed up. I drink 8 oz. every two hours before I eat. Then I take 4g mixed up in a cup before I go to bed. SFS throughout the day has been a miracle cure for me. Note it took me a few months to work up to this dose. Take care and good luck.
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I am not exactly sure what you mean. I don't worry about C. What sort of adaptations did you do to your diet? My main plan has always been a little SF, a little IF and a little fat everytime I eat.
And 24 grams means 4T a day? is that right? So do you mean it is more important for you to take acacia but not worry about what fiber you eat?
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IBS-A for 20 years with terrible bloating and gas. On the diet since April 2004. Remember this from Heather's information pages:
"You absolutely must eat insoluble fiber foods, and as much as safely possible, but within the IBS dietary guidelines. Treat insoluble fiber foods with suitable caution, and you'll be able to enjoy a wide variety of them, in very healthy quantities, without problem." Please eat IF foods!
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