Help - unsure what to do
A little background. I’m 38, with three little kids and recently got back from Bali. I had a stool test in October 2024 as I kept having runny stool and the calprotectin level was 53, which they said was borderline high and I should retest. But to be honest life got busy and I just put it on the back burner completely.
Fast forward to July and I went to Bali and it was getting worse in terms of frequency. Fast forward again to now and for 7 days I have been going to the toilet 20 plus times, usually a lot more. It wakes me in the middle of the night every half hour or hour and when I say urgent, I literally have seconds. I’m exhausted. My belly is painful and I get sporadic strong cramping but I’m still hungry as in I don’t feel I have a typical bug or anything. So anyway I contacted the doctors and they presumed something in Bali had affected me and ordered a stool culture test, testing for around 5 things such as salmonella, giardia and E. coli. All was negative so they offered me a nurse appointment.
Tonight I have gone to the toilet and there’s some pink blood on the tissue. Sometimes my stool is grey and water like also. I’m sorry for the graphic information but I’m at a loss of what to do. I’m wondering if this sounds like an IBD but I don’t know whether to go to a hospital or how bad you wait for it to get. I have taken loperamide and it’s not doing anything anymore tbh.
Sending love to anyone who is uncomfortable and feeling lost in the system
Hi
. Your concern and frustration are certainly understandable. I want to share with you this article from our editorial team on IBD symptoms: https://inflammatoryboweldisease.net/symptoms. Have you seen a gastroenterologist? I ask because they have additional years of training in conditions of the digestive system. Given your symptoms and previous test results, seeing a specialist would certainly seem in order. Seeing some blood in the stool is disconcerting and I want to share with you this article from Elizabeth on how she knows when it is time to go to the ER: https://inflammatoryboweldisease.net/living/emergency-room-decision. Of course, each person has to decide for themself when this is called for. Hope this information is helpful and please feel free to keep us posted on how things are going and to ask further questions. Best, Richard (Team Member)
