Loose stools

@messygirl Your symptoms sound pretty much identical to mine, and my problem turned out to be lactose intolerance. I'm not saying you have that, but it does sound like something you eat regularly is causing this. Your best bet would be to try an elimination diet and see if that helps.

I also had little pain or discomfort, just the loose stools and very bad smelling gas. Since eliminating dairy I rarely have a problem. I had a minor one today and I think something I ate must have some lactose hidden in it. The only thing I can think of is coleslaw but I never thought that had any dairy in it. I do get a bit of help if I take Imodium. It's not perfect but it's better than anything else I have tried. Lactaid is of no help.
JK

I’m so confused on all of the different paths to try to stop the chronic ribs to the bathroom. Test after test and finally one is positive. Fructose malabsorption. Very high intolerance. My elimination diet 10 days now isn’t changing much of anything. Lists of can have can’t have is so hard and low FODMAP Foods Vs High FODMAP Nothing says eliminate dairy which I don’t do except 1/2 and 1/2 very little in am. Can hv some sugars etc. yet still in bathroom 1 to 2 x a day. I’m hardly eating now afraid of reaction with nausea gas upper stomach pain. Etc I’m not celiac no Crohns no bowel disease so why is wheat needed to be stopped on fructose elimination I love salads too and they just cause so much discomfort. I just want things to turn around. No meds. No probiotics no enzymes by doctor Just diet. I eat totally plain and not much different just yet Thanks for letting me vent
Donna

Did you try eliminating dairy by yourself or consulted a doctor?
And i dont really eat any dairy except for yoghurt since i started having loose stools but i didnt even look up for some other food which might be causing the problem as i ate regular meals. I dont know if lactose intolerance can happen all of a sudden though just after moving to a different place. I never had severe stomach pains or so and I ignored it. But now i think about it all the time and make myself go more stressed. I dont want something like IBD to happen but then i also think that it causes severe abdominal pains and diarrhea which is not in my case. Am just clueless now 🙁

@jeoangel32 Hello Donna,

In reading your post, it looks like you have just been on this new eating plan for 10 days. Is that correct?

Most of us on Connect are not trained to answer the questions you have posted. You might want to consult with a dietician to have an explanation for all of your questions. Appointments with dieticians are not always covered by insurance, however, it might be worth the expenditure of money for one appointment. If that is not an option you might see if your GI doctor has an RN or a PA who might be willing to talk with you about the reasons for the restrictions of the food plan you mentioned. Then again, you might just need to try this food plan and accept the fact that while it may not make you happy (eliminating foods you really enjoy), it might be worth a try to see if your symptoms improve.

Also, please remember that you can always seek a second opinion if you feel that you are not getting the results that you need.

I hope that you are successful in making this adjustment and in getting answers to your questions.

@messygirl

I found in traveling just around our state that water could cause me to have diarrhea. Now we have a water filter under our sink.. they put more chlorine in our city water now... and when traveling bring gallon jugs of water from home. If a long trip we buy filtered water. We do well with refilling our jugs at Public's supermarkets.

I take a probiotic... I tried many of them and Align is only one that works for me. I did not have the problem before having my gallbladder out and Nissen Fundoplication surgery. I could not handle raw foods such a salads before the surgery... diarrhea every time I tried. Ever once in a while I will have a day, but usually because I ate something with a lot of sugar or greasy food.

My best suggestions are keep a food diary and note which foods make your symptoms worse. Drink and cook with filtered water. Take a probiotic to balance the bacteria in your stomach.

Thank you for your response. I am under a nutritionist/dietician who works with my GI doctor. She gave me all the literature on this restricted diet etc. I hv worked in food /hospitality 30+ years and very label conscious
Only 3 fruits allowed and only with meals. Never by itself. Only raw sugar in my coffee. Never candy Only eating string beans now. Plain potatoes with butter and protein with GF breadcrumbs Oatmeal/ eggs abs sourdough toast. Roasted chx to snack on Simple simple. Still feel bloated and burping but not losing weight. Blood work is perfect. Just want to feel good. Would love to go to yoga or walk but afraid I will need a bathroom quick Go to dietician July 18. She’s very good and takes calls very easily for questions.

@jeoangel32 It sounds as if you do have an answer, that's such a huge part of the battle. I would hate to eliminate salads, they are my lunch virtually every day, and often my side dish with dinner.
I was not only having half and half but also yogurt for breakfast and often some cheeses -- particularly goat cheese crumbles in my lunch salad. I miss the goat cheese a lot but I have found lactose free real dairy yogurt in Whole Foods, and also lactose free half and half.
The NP I saw at the gastro office insisted on testing me for celiac, which I knew for sure I did not have, and of course, that test came back negative. I think she lost a lot of my confidence with that move. As @hopeful33250 commented, if you do not feel you are getting sufficient help from the doctor you have been to then it's time to try another.

@messygirl I eliminated dairy myself. I was beginning to wonder and then one night we went out to dinner to an Italian restaurant and I had a Caprese salad (fresh mozzarella) and an appetizer of eggplant rolled around ricotta (I often just have salad and an appetizer when we dine out). Boy, did I pay for that. On our way home I said to my husband that my dinner was so good I would definitely order it again if we went there. A few hours later I knew I would not be eating that again. They generally say that lactose intolerance occurs between 30 minutes and two hours after having lactose. My reaction generally takes much longer. My PCP said that is not unusual.
I really do not have stomach distress, just the loose stools. Loose stools are considered to be diarrhea if they are really loose and unformed. Diarrhea does not have to be watery.
I too thought maybe it was IBS or IBD (they are not the same) which is why I went to a gastro. It seemed as if I was having a problem even when I did not have dairy. I have come to realize that often there is dairy in things that we don't think of, so that can cause it too. I have to admit, I was getting desperate also. It made leaving the house difficult some days, and I generally go to water aerobics three times a week but there were many days I had to skip. Do you also have very smelly gas? I definitely did. As @Zaroga

I agree with @fourof5zs too, water can definitely have an effect. One of my friends has a son who could only drink certain waters, she always bought him bottled water long before people were drinking bottled water frequently. She had to when they traveled.
Also, a food diary is very helpful, basically essential to determine what the problem is.
JK

@jeoangel32 That is good that you can see a dietician at your doctor's office.

@contentandwell had a great idea about keeping a food diary. Write down everything that you eat and then you can track your symptoms and see if there is any correlation between any type of foods and symptoms.

I too have problems with dairy. Some of it I can handle, like yogurt and some types of cottage cheese (in small amounts) but I would never think about drinking a glass of milk.

It is a difficult matter to try and get a handle on, but it will be worth it as you begin to feel better.

Atleast you got an idea to control your loose stools. Yes i do get gases not smelly always and feel bloated too. I feel i get more burps now than before. And as everyone have been talking about water i think the drinking water had some fault too when i first moved and then i switched to a better filtered water.I never got any severe stomach pains. I had been losing a lot of hair too after i moved and the doctor told me i had protein deficiency. I took medicines and it got under control a bit now but not completely. So all this together gives me anxiety about my health now and i absolutely regret moving.

@messygirl try to not be anxious and upset about moving, that only tends to exacerbate problems.

Ask your doctor if you can take biotin for hair loss, I have found that it does help.
JK