My problem is similar to that of "Booya" (March 18, 2004), although I'd describe my symptoms slightly differently: There is moisture around the anus, near the exterior of the anal opening, not inside the anus. Sometimes it's just moist, and on other occasions there is a brownish film. I know it doesn't make anatomical sense, but it seems like this brownish moisture is secreted directly from the skin around the anus – it's not a substance that's passing through the rectal opening itself. The wetness is a horrible disgusting sensation, and driving me crazy!
I'm a 49-yr old male. My usual routine is to defecate in the morning, and then take a shower. These symptoms seem to be at their worst 3-to-9 hours after defecation. Stools are normal and there are no other symptoms. In summer 2002, I was on topamax for headaches, and during that period I had exactly the same symptom, and the symptom ceased abruptly when I stopped topamax. In August-September 2003, I was on tetracycline for rosacea.
This latest bout of symptoms began in mid-March 2004. At that time, there were two big changes in my diet: My workplace cafeteria started serving sushi, and I had been eating a lot of it. A second change was that Coke introduced Lime Diet Coke (delicious!), and I started drinking about 2 liters a day of it. For the past few weeks, I have been dealing with this by not consuming sushi, citrus, and certainly not Lime Diet Coke, but the symptom continues. For the past several days I've been using an antifungal ointment down there and eating yogurt, just in case it's a fungal problem (but I have no other symptoms of fungal infections). There has been no pain, no bleeding, no itching, and no other irregularities. The sense of wetness down there creeps me out. What could be causing this? Is the connection with topamax significant? Many thanks, doctor!