Excessive Mucus in Bowel Movements

Question

I'm a 52 year old woman in excellent health except for this problem that began Aug. 2004 after vacation in Mexico.  It started with an ache in my left side below rib cage & change in bowel movements.  I am frequently constipated, crampy in lower abdomen, sore in upper abdomen & every bm has a lot of mucus.  In the last 3 months, the condition worsened & now I have excessive gas, bloating & 3-6 bm's per day, usually within 15-30 minutes after eating.  They range from just gas, clumps of mucus or hard, light color stool mixed with mucus & weird texture, like ribbed or braided, & everything seems to move around like there's something alive in there.  Also lots of undigested food.  I initially thought (& still do) I had a parasite, I saw dr. last Oct. & had stool tested for ova/parasites which came back negative.  I went to another dr. 3 weeks ago & he said I have Irritable Bowel Syndrome, did some bloodwork & barium enema & said everything came back normal.   I did some research & my symptoms suggest h pylori.  I haven't found very specific symptoms for h pylori, but since it lives in stomach mucosa, would it create all this mucus I have with bm?  I also read that it inhibits blood clotting & I had an unusual episode with a small cut on my foot I wasn't aware of until I noticed my shoe was completely covered in blood with 2 big globs of mucus.  So I called the dr. office to ask if h pylori test was done (it was not) so I scheduled another appt.  Prior to the appt I had severe discomfort & several bm's, the last I expeled a large clot of blood.  I went to urgent care & tested positive for h pylori & they gave me stool sample pak for parasites which I dropped off yesterday.  Tests for liver, pancreas, gallbladder & kidney were all good. Is h pylori bacterium visible by magnifying glass or home microscope with up to 80X magnification?  Because I've looked at images on internet & it sure looks similar to what I've seen in this mucus & blood.  Also, I've been coughing up large amounts of mucus & have had a lot in nose & throat, & looks the same as mucus with bm, usually clear with yellow/brown areas.  I saw dr. yesterday & he said h pylori is not causing my symptoms & scheduled sigmoidoscopy, gave me 6 wk samples of protonix & scrip for levsin.  Wouldn't upper GI to check for ulcers & triple antibiotic regime be more appropriate?  I thought I was on my way to recovery but a big ego seems to be getting in the way.  I'd appreciate your input regarding my symptoms, particularly the mucus.

tsheffi · Answer

Hi-I had suffered with this problem for about 8 months, along with severe pain on the right, excessive gas and bloating etc.  The pain also presented on the left lower abdomen, which left several physicians scratching their heads.  I was prescribed several different meds and a couple of rounds of antib's none of which took care of the problem.  The mucus would come and go, but testing of movements showed nothing.  An ultrasound showed several ovarian cysts so I was referred to my ob.  After exploratory surgery coming up empty, I was sent away with the pain.  A few months ago, my appendix became inflamed and almost burst.  The pain continued after surgery.  It was then determined after testing that my gall bladder does not function properly (at 17%) and removal was indicated.  I opted for major dietary changes, eliminating nearly all fats and refined sugars from my diet.  I now have no pain, and no mucus in the bm's.  I changed to a mediterranean type diet and have had marked improvement.

up · Answer

I found this thread because I have undigested food and eliminated 3 times nothing but mucus and was freaked out. For 2.5 months we have been on a hunt to find something that at first caused severe nausea and gas and changes in bowel. Eventually the nausea went away after I started megadosing with Vitamin C - isn't that bizarre? I was desperate, tests turned up nothing except a very tiny ovarian cyst and I was still miserable so it was that and a prayer to St. Jude!

While the nausea calmed down the ovarian cyst grew so THAT specialist (OBgyn) decided the nausea had been due all along to the cyst which was now 4 in. by 3 in. Even more bizarre. 

Now the kicker here is that this all started end of August. We were getting end-of-hurricane storms, mom's electricity went out. She was out of town. I flew in from Europe (that raised eyebrows but I lived there for years without incident) and had to clean out the refrigerator that had sat in 100 degree heat for 5 days. Just DOing that made me nauseaus and then it never went away.

I have suspected all along a parasite but the traditional parasite test done by the gastrenterologist was negative. He thinks it's my IBS but my IBS has never acted like THIS!

The urologist thinks it's my bladder which was suddenly inflamed, too. And no one seems to know why the cyst in my ovary blew up so fast.

I think they're all related. I was very run down cleaning out that refrigerator... 22-hour flight, 5 hours of sleep... prime candidate to have a bad reaction to something inhaled. But not one doctor will subsribe to that theory. Certainly if our bacteria are becoming resistant to antibiotics etc our parasites could change and our tests might not test for everything they need to now. Any comments?

yoshi · Answer

if they prescribe PREVPAK which is prevacid with 2 antibiotics taken every 4 hours for 2 weeks,you will experience diarhea.
Which part of Mexico did you visit and what did you eat and drink?
If you can find a local pharmacy in the town where you had visited,they may give you some insight what is wrong with you,start with the hotel or tour operator and ask them to point you to the right doctor or pharmacist.
There is such thing called Montezuma revenge in some part of Mexico.

0bsurf · Answer

We camp at san juanico (baha sur) every summer (past 4 yrs) & I don't even brush my teeth with the water after a bout with diarhea 2 yrs. ago.  I live on the beach in san diego & surf every day, yesterday they posted contaminated water signs where I usually surf (usually happens in winter after rain) so I surfed in a different spot & this morning had diarhea which has not been a usual symptom, quite the opposite-I have very hard stools with fibers like undigested food, thread & hair.  I mentioned mexico because my symptoms began a week after our trip last summer.  Something I forgot to mention is an unusual odor which is also present in my urine, it varies from musky to sweet & also ammonia.  
Thank you for your input.

yoshi · Answer

all i can say is that you have more than hector pylori bacteria.

Kevin Pho MD · Answer

If the H Pylori test was positive, then it would make sense for appropriate antibiotic treatment to be considered.  

I am not aware of diarrhea and mucous of the stools being symptoms of H Pylori, so it is reasonable to consider a lower endoscopy.  Colitis, inflammatory bowel disease, or malabsorption syndrome can all lead to the symptoms you describe.  The sigmoidoscopy (or colonoscopy) can help in the evaluation. 

You probably won't be able to see H Pylori with a magnifying glass or home microscope.  

Further tests to consider would be a CT scan to evaluate for chronic pancreatitis, or stool tests to evaluate for fat malabsoprtion - each which can cause mucous in the stool.

These options can be discussed with your personal physician.

Followup with your personal physician is essential.

This answer is not intended as and does not substitute for medical advice - the information presented is for patient education only. Please see your personal physician for further evaluation of your individual case.

Kevin, M.D.
http://www.straightfromthedoc.com

Excessive Mucus in Bowel Movements

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