Expert: Robert Borucki Date: 7/19/2008 Subject: Abnormal bowel movements
Question
Hello doctor, here is some information and symptoms that I am currently having:
-27 year old male with no other past medical problems
-constipation, along with thin brown stools, about 1/2 inch width been going on for 3 or 4 days now. I have been straining for a couple of weeks.
-occasional stool that is really green, I eat a lot of prunes and drink prune juice the night before don't know if that is the cause.
-One time I had some blood in my stool and little on the toilet paper
-Painful and frequent urination
-Incomplete emptying of bowel movement, feel like I have to go again 10 minutes later but I can't.
-Abdominal pain/bloating/cramping/tenderness mainly on the left side of the stomach, been going on for a few weeks now.
-I drink lots of water and intake plenty of fiber, I eat a lot of bran cereal and fiber bars with no resolution as far as having a more comfortable bowel movement.
Don't know what else to do, I'm making an appt with my family doctor next week sometime.
Could this be typical sign of IBS that I'm suffering from?
What scares me is cancer of the colon produces these types of symptom as well and my grandmother had colon cancer.
Any information or suggestions would be greatly appreciated
Thank you
Answer this could be IBS, it could also be inflammatory bowel disease (crohn's or ulcerative colitis) or could be diverticulitis. It is unlikely at your age that you have colon cancer. It could simply be an intestinal infection that would improve in a few days.
work on the constipation with something fairly light like Miralax or milk of magnesia... if the constipation resolves, so should all the symptoms. If there is fever, or worsening, you have to get it looked at. hope this helps
