Terrible bowel movements. Soft hard to pass. Numbness

[kazanz]

Hello,

I have been experiencing difficult to pass bowel movements for the last month.  They are always very thin and very soft, but don't come out very easily .  Today was extremely bad.  I hadn't had a movement in 2 days, and this morning I woke up with a urge to go (I also am always very gassy).  I got to the bathroom and it was extremely difficult to go.  The stool was very soft and came out with no shap, in a pile.  There was a ton of it.  It took forever and lots of grunting, and effort to get it all out.  My lower arms and legs went numb (I think from the straining).  By the end of it, I felt like I still have some inside me, I want it out but it just would take too much effort to get it out.  So now I'm waiting

This has been happening on and off regularly since last summer.  When it was really bad last summer I went to the doctor and they had no answers for me.  

My diet consist of:

Short grain brown rice,
beans,
oatmeal,
wheat bread,
peanut butter,
jelly,
frozen veggies,
greek non fat yogurt,
mighty mango naked juice,
& red potatoes.

I am adding eggs and tuna soon.

I have thought it to be either lactose intolerance or IBS, but I cut out my dairy to no avail, and I am not stressed.  I havn't had a regular easy thick, and firm bowel movement in a month.  

I think I'll try cutting rice out of my diet? IDK if that will help though.  

When I was having regular bowel movements was when I was eating the worst.  Pizza, Thick burgers, fast food burgers and sandwiches,  beer, soda, chips, and sunflower seeds, cereal.

I don't understand.  <aybe I need more meat in my diet.  This started when I was in denmark for the summer (I live in NYC) where all the food is very fatty.  I was also a vegetarian at the time.  I have since quit the vegetarianism but still had issues on and off.  When I moved to my new place in the city and my diet changed to the above.  Everything got bad again, the stool was hard to pass and very thin/stringy, soft and light colored.

I am in good shape although have not been as active as of late.  I am 6' 3" 185 (little to no fat) 22 y/o and an ex college basketball player.

Please Help

[PineTreeLady]

Sounds like some sort of food intolerance to me.  From your list, the wheat stands out to me as the culprit; however, you won't know for sure unless you get it checked.  I would suggest seeing a naturopathic doctor because MDs don't know much about nutrition and food intolerances.  They can test you for food allergies but that's a very different thing from food intolerances.  I'm also a long time believer in enemas and cleansing.  We are all exposed to so many toxins in today's environment and cleansing the body helps it rid itself of many of these toxins.  Helps to keep you healthy.

[lolikova]

Also garlic enema

[lolikova]

Baking Soda enema works great.

[cnoevl21]

Both of you should go check to see if you have a gluten allergy or celiac disease. Or possibly IBS or something along those lines. Could also be too much or too little fiber. The digestive system is nuts, so many things could be the problem. Definitely go see a Gastro.

[bowelsufferer]

I have been experiencing the same issues for quite some time now..  I am a 29 year old male and I eat fairly healthy, I also take digestive enzymes and probiotics.  It seems like I am doing all the right things, but my bowel movements are very difficult to pass, as you mentioned above it just comes out in a thick soft pile and smells terrible.  I am also gassy and bloated like 90% of the time.... I don't understand what is causing the issue

[patient915]

How much a gastroenterologist costs will completely depend on the doctor and facility.  I would highly recommend seeing a gastroenterologist about this.  I think you need testing to figure out what is wrong.

[kazanz]

Thank you.  I look forward to participating here.

Yes I went to see my PCP when this first started happening.  He said that things would just balance out again.  He really didn't help me much at all.  Does anyone have any ideas?  Also should I see a gastroenterologist, how much does that cost?  I am a college student on a school insurance plan.

[patient915]

Welcome to the gastoenterology community!  Have you seen a doctor about this?  If not, I would highly recommend that you see your PCP and most likely also your gastroenterologist about this to try and figure out what is going on.