Menopause Matters Forum
Menopause Discussion => All things menopause => Topic started by: Dandelion on April 03, 2014, 10:41:30 AM
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I've had morning runs ever since i started peri about four years ago.
They stopped for about a week when i first went on to the higher dose femoston but they have come back and I want rid of them.
I only go once or twice when I first get up but it's getting me down.
Can anyone help with a solution please?
I'm eating healthily so that isn't the problem.
I never get constipation, only really runny stools.
I get it every day.
I got a stool test at the doctors but it came back negative.
It went away for a week and i don't know why it has come back and I did not alter my diet in the week it went away.
Can anyone tell me why it has come back please?
Thanks
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Is it possible you have developed a food intolerance? I did to dairy. I used to have yogurt every morning for breakfast & every day had same problem. Took me a while to put 2&2 together. Had tests, scans & xrays done, but all was negative.
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Do you wake, have a while then go to the loo? or does your bowel wake you? As a child I went every morning before school, usually due to anxiety: which can still get me going :-\ ……. if you are eating more fruit (per your other thread) then your bowels will be looser ;-). Is there pain, blood, is the pooh a normal colour for you ……..
Hormones can cause bowel alteration, certainly prior to my period starting: even if I wasn't due: I would have to dash to the loo about 10 mins. before the bleed began!
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Do you wake, have a while then go to the loo? or does your bowel wake you? As a child I went every morning before school, usually due to anxiety: which can still get me going :-\ ……. if you are eating more fruit (per your other thread) then your bowels will be looser ;-). Is there pain, blood, is the pooh a normal colour for you ……..
Hormones can cause bowel alteration, certainly prior to my period starting: even if I wasn't due: I would have to dash to the loo about 10 mins. before the bleed began!
Hi CKLD
Thanks for getting back to me.
I wake up with gas with a bad odour.
I go to the loo. Sometimes after a cuppa I need it again.
After that, I never need to go to the loo again until the next morning when the same thing happens.
I have had this problem since around the same time the flushes started. Again, with the flushes, I just put it down to symptoms of withdrawal from the diazepam that I was weaning off at the time, but, the valium is gone now and so are the withdrawal symptoms.
I know it's not my magnesium, because I have had it before I started taking it and I also take magnesium in the daytime with no need to go to the loo or no smelly gas.
The stool is the right colour but the wrong consistency.
There is blood in the stools.
The doctor tested for blood and it came back negative.
The femoston 2/10 took it away to start with, but it's come back. Just like the flushes, like a bad penny.
Happy to give any more info
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Any blood in the stool should be investigated. It could be due to small vessels breaking in the back passage but still :-\
Sounds like 'within normal limits' ….. for you. My dog was the same. She would do a proper pooh in the garden, then half an hour later in the field she would have a bright yellow one ::) ……..
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How late before you sleep do you eat/drink?
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Magnesium does act as a laxative- that's for sure.
How long has this been happening?
You may be intolerant to wheat or dairy- or it may be simply 'normal' for you with what you are eating.
It's easy enough to cut out wheat for a week and see if there is any difference- eat oats like in porridge or oat cakes, or one of the gluten free breads- Genius is nice.
If there is no change then do the same with dairy for a week.
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It does sound more like a food intolerance related issue rather than menopause. My husband has a similar thing (and he's definitely not going through the menopause ;)) and his seems to be related to eggs and certain oils. You can request a food intolerance test from your GP and perhaps start keeping a food diary to see if certain foods make it worse. Dairy, eggs, yeast, nuts are the most common culprits. Hope it calms down soon - I know it's not pleasant.
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Maybe IBS.
A lot of meno ladies develop this kind of thing. If you had a stool test for blood and it was clear then perhaps you have a fissure or piles.
Just gets better and better at this time of life.
Honeyb
x
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With IBS, just waking up can stimulate the bowels for some people. If you are still getting blood in your stools, do go back to your GP.
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It is typical of IBS Dandelion - it is called the "early morning rush". "Some people have urgency, which means you have to get to the toilet quickly. A morning rush is common. That is, you feel an urgent need to go to the toilet several times shortly after getting up. This is often during and after breakfast"
It is very inconvenient at times especially if you are staying with friends or family and there is only one loo!! Food intolerance can play a part so it is worth keeping a food diary for a month or so and recording bowel movements.
Taz x
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Any blood in the stool should be investigated. It could be due to small vessels breaking in the back passage but still :-\
Sounds like 'within normal limits' ….. for you. My dog was the same. She would do a proper pooh in the garden, then half an hour later in the field she would have a bright yellow one ::) ……..
IBS seems like the most likely candidate (described further below)
Could IBS be the reason I do not appear to be absorbing my hrt pills?
Sorry ladies, I made a typing error above, there is not blood in my stools.
I have some more questions dotted around this post, hope thats ok.
I sometimes eat something light late at night but I've been like this for years and never used to get the runs first thing.
It started the same time I got the sweats and flushes in 2010.
I did nothing about it back then as I thought I was too young for menopausal changes and put it down to withdrawal symptoms from the pills I was weaning off.
I got my morning runs long before I started taking magnesium.
As for gluten intolerance I do have some of the symptoms on the checklist.
IBS sounds like a more likely candidate though.
The "morning rush" sounds exactly like what I am experiencing. It makes sense that meno changes can cause IBS. I read more on "morning rush" as I'd never heard about it, but it sounds identical to what I've been going through this last four months.
I would like to know, however, why the diarrhoea has returned, after going away for a couple of weeks, when I went onto the higher strength Femoston?
I don't think my depression is emotional or psychological, as there is a distinct difference. One site says IBS can cause depression.
I read immodium daily is prescribed for IBS, no thanks! that stuff is addictive, it's related to opiate/opiod type drugs.
Maybe i will look for a natural IBS cure.
I'm too scared to try the hrt patches if my bowel is refusing to absorb enough hrt pill.
I'm scared I will be one of those women who cannot tolerate norethisterone, hence my previous conversations about micronised progesterone, and frustration with my doctor for not knowing about it.
I hope you don't mind the extra questions, thanks for bearing with me, I really appreciate your help.
EDIT - I just realised gluten intolerance and lactose intlerance can cause ibs.
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Dandelion
The way to control IBS for most people is by a change of diet. Gluten , dairy, coffee and alcohol are the main culprits. Your best way forward is to try an exclusion diet with one of these at a time, and see what happens. Leave out gluten for a week or two and record what happens. make sure you read all labels because gluten can be in lots of things- sauces, anything processed such as rusk in sausages - and only exclude 1 food at a time.
Also- emotions ( especially anxiety) play a huge part in IBS. There is a big connection between mind and body, emotions and health. Any anxiety can give anyone over active bowels, even if they don't have IBS already. Having surges of adrenaline in your body by being anxious can trigger all kinds of allergies and over-activity. If this anxiety is there all the time then it can affect a lot of how the body works. The same thing applies to sweats and flushes - the first advice for women with menopausal symptoms is 'reduce stress in your life' whenever possible. That stress needn't come from outside- demanding jobs, teenagers, elderly family, etc ( not easy to change!) - but it can be the way we stress ourselves by being anxious and worrying.
It's possible that when you started taking a higher dose of HRT you relaxed and thought you had the right treatment - so your IBS settled down for a couple of weeks.
Can you find things to do you enjoy to help you relax - maybe try joining a yoga class, or a yoga DVD you can do at home, or find a walking buddy ( have you a friend who can walk with you?) or pick up on your art that you said you might do - and try some easy changes to your diet for a few weeks. I know it's not easy but being constantly anxious is not doing any of your symptoms any good and may even be the cause.
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Dandelion
The way to control IBS for most people is by a change of diet. Gluten , dairy, coffee and alcohol are the main culprits. Your best way forward is to try an exclusion diet with one of these at a time, and see what happens. Leave out gluten for a week or two and record what happens. make sure you read all labels because gluten can be in lots of things- sauces, anything processed such as rusk in sausages - and only exclude 1 food at a time.
Also- emotions ( especially anxiety) play a huge part in IBS. There is a big connection between mind and body, emotions and health. Any anxiety can give anyone over active bowels, even if they don't have IBS already. Having surges of adrenaline in your body by being anxious can trigger all kinds of allergies and over-activity. If this anxiety is there all the time then it can affect a lot of how the body works. The same thing applies to sweats and flushes - the first advice for women with menopausal symptoms is 'reduce stress in your life' whenever possible. That stress needn't come from outside- demanding jobs, teenagers, elderly family, etc ( not easy to change!) - but it can be the way we stress ourselves by being anxious and worrying.
It's possible that when you started taking a higher dose of HRT you relaxed and thought you had the right treatment - so your IBS settled down for a couple of weeks.
Can you find things to do you enjoy to help you relax - maybe try joining a yoga class, or a yoga DVD you can do at home, or find a walking buddy ( have you a friend who can walk with you?) or pick up on your art that you said you might do - and try some easy changes to your diet for a few weeks. I know it's not easy but being constantly anxious is not doing any of your symptoms any good and may even be the cause.
Hi Sarah
I did some extensive reading yesterday and I think I have got to the bottom of my problem.
It's not the HRT at fault, and it is not my anxiety that is at fault.
I used to get worse anxiety before and I never got diarrhoea or IBS.
Also, many days I am not anxious yet I still get the "morning rush" as Taz mentioned.
I believe that hormonal changes have made me more intolerant to some aspect of my diet.
I read on the UK coeliac site that there is no test for gluten intolerance, and that you should not do a gluten free diet until your doctor has tested you for coeliac first, because a gluten free diet will give you a false reading.
I don't think I have coeliac myself, my stools are not fatty, but I do think I am gluten intolerant, what with the rash I have got which matches gluten intolerant rash to a tee and also the IBS.
I read symptoms of gluten intolerance and kerratosis pilaris is one symtpom (pimply skin) or chicken skin.
I looked at an image of "chicken skin" and it is identical to a rash I have had most of my life which I cannot explain.
I believe that if I get the test and find out if i am gluten intolerant, or if my doc wont do the test for whatever reason, and I do an exclusion diet myself, my IBS may go and I will start absorbing my HRT.
I even read that gluten intolerance can cause meno symptoms as it upsets hormonal balance.
Who knows I may not be perimeno, again, it may be the gluten intolerance causing it.
Who knows, I may even need to go back down to Femston 1/10 once my bowel is behaving itself.
I knew my depression was not psycholoigical.
I always listen to my body.
It all fits perfectly.
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You said that you only went to the loo a couple of times in the morning. In that case compared to myself and lots of other ladies that post here if it is IBS then fortunately it is very very mild. I have bloating and pain and when I have a flare every time food hits my stomach I have to rush to the loo. My GP won't do food intolerance tests as he says they are worthless so I did an exclusion diet. I have trigger foods such as nuts and sweet corn but no gluten intolerance.
I really think that for HRT not to be absorbed properly there must be something else going on.
I can be in the loo up to ten times in a day and I rapidly loose weight.
It maybe worth while having some investigations done as a diagnosis of IBS is only given when other things have been ruled out. You might need a referral to a gastroenterologist who would probably want to do a colonoscopy to make sure nothing else is wrong.
Honeyb
x
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I have never heard of food intolerance tests being done by a GP. Blood tests for intolerances are highly unreliable but some dermatologists will do them for skin conditions - they measure the antibodies in the blood.
I was once seen by a consultant immunologist ( and one of my children was too) who told me that the only way to test for intolerances is by elimination diets. You can read his book Food Allergy and Intolerance by Prof J Brostoff. It was written almost 30 years ago and is a bit of a 'bible' with diets you can follow to test yourself.
It's easy enough to test for gluten intolerance- loads of gluten free products in the shops now.
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I should have said that my GP surgery do not do food intolerance tests rather than won't do. He also advised me not to pay privately to have one done.
I have had allergy tests done in the past but privately by a dermatologist. It was the dots on the back skin test. That was for dermatitis/skin problems.
There are loads of gluten free stuff now but they are very expensive generally. I am not a big bread,cake or biscuit etc eater so it was relatively easy to cut it out of my diet.
Most IBS sufferers have trigger foods that they can't tolerate. The difficult thing is finding them. For me sometimes I can eat certain things and other times I am running for the loo.
Also what is normal for one person bowel habit wise is another person's bowel problem.
If I only went twice a day that would be great for me but not for Dandelion.
Honeyb
x
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I was recommended "Food Allergy and Intolerance" by Professor J Brostoff" as I have HIT but couldn't get it in on Amazon as not available at the moment, but they do have "The Complete Guide to Food Allergy and Intolerance" by Jonathan Brostoff and Linda Gamble, which is probably updated, you can get it for pennies.
Histamine Intolerance and IBS maybe linked in some way, but I have never had IBS, some foods make me feel bloated ( I think that is normal for lots of people) but have never had the symptoms that OH has with IBS. I have said to him many times that he should try and find out what triggers his symptoms, but he is stubborn and often says that IBS is an "umbrella" statement for when the Medics don't know what is wrong, so I give up there ::) he does have chronic constipation and then days when he is "going" all the time, he also has an awful lot of pain with the condition.
http://www.allergyuk.org/common-food-intolerances/histamine-intolerance
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"The stool is the right colour but the wrong consistency.
"There is blood in the stools.
"The doctor tested for blood and it came back negative. …….. " :-\
"I don't think my depression is emotional or psychological, as there is a distinct difference. One site says IBS can cause depression. ……. "
I have suffered with depression for many years: clinical (emotional) depression is recognised by health professionals and is usually due to situations where people are unable to alter their life-style/problems etc.. Psychological is the same, in that life-style etc. impacts on how we feel. I suffer from organic depression in that my brain needs support. I also have clinical depression at times and there is, for me, a difference ….. are you depressed? low mood is totally different.
Immodium and other types of such drugs are NEVER prescribed for daily use for IBS or other conditions. I am a recovering anorexic and eventually my bowel almost stopped working. The spasm which pushes food through the system forgot to work. :-\ I became bloated: I could put on a skirt first thing but by mid-afternoon the belt was undone and by T-time I couldn't take grub/fluids on board because my body tried to vomit them back. I became suicidal and went to the GP who after many questions and gentle probing, diagnosed irritable bowel syndrome. He gave me several medications and after 3 weeks I began to feel well for the 1st time in over 30 years.
Reading the internet will confirm any disease/condition that we believe we have. However, many of the sites we have access to are 'wrong' and at best, unreliable :-X …….. as we age we can develop allergies and the GP who said we can't become allergic to oil seed rape should be dismissed :cuss: …….. I never had allergies: apart from to onions: until I was in my mid-20s and then I became sensitive to odds and sods. Oil seed rape is a 'new' crop and I noticed in 1999 when it was first grown in large amounts that my chest became wheezy …….
You will have read my report about how hormones caused sudden diarrhoea …….. and our bodies are never 'perfect' for too long, there are always variants in how we feel depending on 1000s of reasons …...