your advice please

[message]

31/female.In 4/07 I had abdominal pain with diarreha then I began experiencing joint pain and swelling.the pain would shift,from a swollen ankle, 2 a sore shoulder,then a finger.I had a lot of gas with muccus.the odor was awful.No solid bowel movements mostly just passing muccus.in May 07,went to Dr,took a stool sample and blood work.stool came back normal,blood showed elevated rhuematoid levels.Dr. said levels were not high enough diagnostically 2 b concerned.symptoms continued.went to another dr.who took more blood.blood work came back normal,scheduled me for a colonoscopy.colonoscopy was done in 08/07,but my symptoms had all resolved,The colonosc came back normal.Dr believed it could have been colitis with reacitive arthritis.3 weeks ago symptoms restarted.When they began I was passing gas and muccus alot.could not pass gas w/o muccus.no joint pain like before,just rare slight twinges,not extreme,no swelling.did have a lot of cramping,naseua and fatigue,lasting 1 day.back was also sore one night.Do have some blood being passed when I wipe or mixed with the muccus,not heavy. I do have a hemmaroid from pregnancy.never have had regular bm's and continue not too. During an episode bm's r loose,solid with loose,solid,other times don't go at all just pass gas with the muccus.symptoms are lessening.not exactly sure what 2 do.I never got a firm diagnosis.do I go back to the Dr and request another scope?if it was ulcerative colitis would that have shown up on my colonoscopy w/o symptoms present?from what I have read about UC it says people pass a lot of blood,wouldn't that have been picked up in the stool sample I gave in May?I also looked up IBS,but could not find joint pain.what  should I be asking my dr. and what I should be expecting the Dr to do? what would you expect?I have begun taking a probiotic called Flora Q and Glucosamine .Any help you can give me in regards to what you think I may have and how I should handle this is very appreciated.

[Ratnakar Kini]

Hi message,
A lot of mucus in stools indicate inflammation of the colon and it can occur in IBS infection and IBD.

IBD can cause increased mucus along with blood and joint pains.

Blood in stools rules out IBS. But in your case it could be from hemorrhoids also. Hence IBS is still a possibility in your case.

IBS is a diagnosis of exclusion. It is diagnosed only after ruling out similar symptoms causing diseases.

Colonoscopy with biospy will help in the exclude IBD.
================================================================
The information provided is for patients’ education only and is not a medical advice. Always consult your personal physician for complete evaluation of your health problem.

- Ratnakar Kini M.D.

[beelady]

Mucus in the stool is a sign of irritation or inflammation of the intestine...so something's going on in there...  Have they tested you for celiac disease?  They should run a blood test for certain antibodies associated with celiac disease.  
A colonoscopy should have been able to detect an inflammatory bowel disease.  
Have you been tested for lactose intolerance or food allergies?

[message]

Dr- I went back to my gen pract. who informed me that at this point there was nothing else for them to do and they would not refer me back to a GI doc. According to them, all the tests to rule out something serious have been done and therefore all I can do now is deal with my symptoms. She took blood to have an ESR test performed and told me she would call if this was abnormanl.She told me to keep a food diary and go to the ER if I have severe bleeding and cramps. Does this sound reasonable to you?