instruction: hi doctor I have been having abdominal discomfort for a while at first the discomfort was in the flank portion I went to a urologist he gave me muscle relaxers and a few tablets for clearing any small stones the discomfort went away after taking the medication but after some days may be due to sex or workout am not sure the discomfort returned back I went to the doctor again he suggested a it scan it scan results showed a lot of stools in the bowel he said to maintain a healthy diet and add more water and fiber and do some exercises if the problem persists he asked to check with the general practitioner I had an appointment with my family physician who said the discomfort can be due to lack of bowel movements in the colon he asked me to take a fiber supplement metamucil after taking it I had clean bowel movements and I felt I was relieved of late I stopped taking the fiber supplement for a couple of days I started having hard stools again I called up the doctor he said no harm in taking metamucil so I started it again and drinking at least three liters of water I am doing like he said to have clean bowel movements sometimes the discomfort switches sides left or right at times my backache as well I told the doctor and he said it can be chronic constipation can go for many days I sense my stomach or colon may getting inflamed as the day goes by after bath everything looks normal but as day goes by I feel like stiffness or inflammation in the stomach I am worried because this is been there for like starting january and not going away there is no real pain but it is the discomfort and inflammation that disrupts my day to day activities please advise should I book an appointment with gastroenterologist may be to dig further I read about ulcerative colitis or crohn disease but I could not conclude anything based on symptoms I do have an observation that if I masturbate or have sex after having ejaculation discomfort increases the following day
output: hello I can imagine your reason of concern for such ongoing on and off symptoms well first of all if it were ulcerative or crohn disease it should have shown something abnormal on it scan which I presume it did not however remember the it scan reporting is completely a subjective thing it depends highly on the expertise of radiologist who has reported that I would urge if you upload the report in reply to this response I would be glad to see that there will be no charges for that I will allow you one free follow up now the presence of too many stools is not an uncommon finding on it scan since it is basically the function of the colon to reserve stools transit them timely in anterograde direction and finally to be evacuated through the rectum and anal canal if the presence of stool with dilation of the lumen of colon or presence of stools within small bowel fecalization of small bowel and or dilation of the lumen of small bowel suggest an alarming finding normally our small bowel does not usually contain stools it rapidly empties matter to in to large bowel hence the presence of stool in small bowel suggests an abnormal finding I will tell you why this information on it scan is important for example you have a normal size of the lumen of bowel ideally less than am of small bowel and less than am of large bowel with the symptoms you mention it can be irritable bowel syndrome with constipation if the diameter of the lumen is above the normal it can be functional constipation of which two further types the one is chronic colonic constipation or colonic pseudo obstruction called as ogilvie syndrome the other where the small bowel is dilated called chronic small bowel pseudo obstruction I hope you now have an idea why it is important to correlate symptoms with the it scan findings now coming to your symptoms the pain or discomfort is often common when bowel loops are distended with gas or stools and your discomfort which readily resolves after you have good bowel movements suggest the possibility of the same and not otherwise due to a serious underlying cause the intensity of discomfort that changes with the bowel movement again suggests it might secondary to irritable bowel syndrome is metamucil is fiber laxative and really it does not have any harm if taken for years and years the fiber is nonabsorbale molecule it does not go into blood circulation so have no side effects however in some it can cause bloating or belching you can switch to other fibers such as fibrocol if metamucil does not suit you otherwise it is completely normal if you want to resume the same take plenty of water it makes stool bulk large and soft and easy to pass I myself have a habit of taking liters of water in a day and this really makes wonder you should continue that I would wait for your it scan report to see the findings then I will right you some investigations to rule out other possibilities I believe you would not have anyone but just to be on the safe side