Pebble poops

[Future PA with HA]

Does anyone experience broken up stools when they are anxious? I’ve had an extremely stressful couple of days and my poop has been a bunch of hard to soft pebbles. I’m not constipated because it’s a decent amount and I go every day in the morning soon after I wake up and get going. Another day, the front of the stool was a clump of pebbles joined together followed by soft (but flat!!! ) stool. Admittedly, my diet has been crappy and I’ve been going though major lifestyle changes (vacation with a bad diet followed by moving to a new city- a very stressful experience). I’m just concerned because I seem to get the pebbles often and not sure if this is a concerning change in bowel habits that my body is so sensitive to stress.

I keep imagining that my stool is passing through an obstruction caused by colon cancer and forming pebbles at the other end. It’s a horrible thought and plagues me with crazy anxiety. I’ve also had left sided pain that is the worst in the morning before a bowel movement which I’m also scared is caused by an obstructive tumor. I suffer from loose mushy stools along with the pain on other days usually accompanied by mucus discharge without bowel movements. I have a few good days with semi normal stools.

 

[vinbaker]

Hi, so now it's you with the colon cancer scare ! Well, i'm in the middle of it, trying to get out.

I've had some better days because my stool got better, more formed. But this morning, again, i had the mushy stool i fear of... i don't know, something i ate yestarday (maybe some quinoa cookies with chocolate). The reality is right now my diet is affecting my stool a lot, when i eat something out of the normal, it always gets mushy. But as i told you, it got better. I think what helped me was greek yogurt, i'm eating one every day, you should try it.

You have plenty of reasons like you said, to have your poop looking "different" (diet, stress). I wouldn't worry. Imagine how many healthy people there must be out there, pooping like us (lol), but they don't even pay attention and they just don't end up in this viscious circle we are in. If you look on the net, there are HUNDREDS of people asking why they have loose stools, sticky stools, it's something really common. Maybe you are intollerant to some food you will never discover, some substance.

The good news is, from what i understand, being regular, having your usual bowel movement without changing your habits, is something good. Just some different poop doesn't seem to point to colon cancer, the people who had it had different symptoms (going more to the bathroom, blood, losing weight etc etc). Sure, there is also people that have colon cancer without having major symptoms, but then, we all could be having every kind of cancer in this exact moment (there is people who have a little headache and then discover they have brain cancer; but 99,9% of people with headache don't have brain cancer).

I hope you understand what i mean. And don't worry, i understand your fear. I'm just in a moment of clarity, probably in a few hours i'll feel worst than you since my stool was creamy today, LOL

 

[MamaLove]

Yes. When I was dealing with my colon cancer scare, it seemed like literally everything about my bathroom habits changed. I was going way more frequently, and it seemed like it was either very loose or small hard pieces. After the colonoscopy when the doctor said everything was normal, I've pretty much returned to my regular self. I think anxiety can just be a nightmare for your digestive system.

 

[Future PA with HA]

@vinbaker it really is a tough predicament! I envy the people who don’t worry about their poop. Like I don’t even know what’s normal anymore this consistency could have always been my normal. What triggered me so badly is I read a forum where someone told the poster that the broken pebbles could be from a narrowing of the colon which to me means tumor automatically. I feel better now but it was a tough relapse. I stared probiotic gummies and am being more regular with my Citrucel (which I recommend as a fiber supplement!!) but I don’t want to always have to rely on this stuff. Especially if I don’t even have a problem because my bathroom habits don’t bother me or cause me pain I just over analyze. I’m glad we can go through this together at least!

@MamaLove I definitely think it’s stress! And I won’t have clarity on that because I have no health insurance and by no means can afford a colonoscopy so I just need to learn to relax. I’m living off student loans so I can’t justifty getting one as a 24 year old with no family history or traditional alarm symptoms and putting myself into even more debt. I’m glad it all came out clear for you though