If you poo too often, how long would it take to see any benefit from cutting back on culprit foods?

[toomuchpoo]

I have to say first I am not the poo troll (otherwise this would be in chat) but I have name changed for this!

Say you always have soft poos (sorry tmi, not diarhea (sp??) but soft), and you have to go to the toilet on waking, another one or two visits during the day, one at bedtime and another in the night - but no wind or stomach aches.

I am guessing this could be a mild food intolerance, so how long do you think you would have to cut a food out for to see whether it was the cause? In other words, how long would it take to stop pooing so much if you made a good guess and cut out the correct food?

And with this much poo but no other gastric symptoms, do you suppose if it was a dietary problem, you would have to cut the ood out 10% entirely and be very strict, or could a drastic cutback do the job?

Am thinking of trying the obvious, gluten and then dairy to see i it makes a difference.

Thanks

[Lonecatwithkitten]

Exclusion diets should be used for 12 weeks followed by a challenge to see if this really was the cause. This was the only method available before blood tests for antibodies to food types were developed.

[toomuchpoo]

Thank you. Has anyone had any real life experience of this? I was hoping to go without for a lot less than 12 weeks!

[Lonecatwithkitten]

I went gluten free as diagnosed coeliac in mid August I would say it really took till mid- December to feel totally improved by it.

[toomuchpoo]

ok thanks, what a pain!

[tallulah]

Has this always been your pattern or has it got like this over time? Have you seen your GP?

I had bowel cancer 2 years ago, and my only symptom was having to go more and more often. My 'normal' was twice a day and by the time I was referred it was 10 times a day plus at least once at night. But no pain, no wind, no bloating.

If you haven't already been checked out you need to do that first, before starting exclusion diets. (and FWIW my blood tests showed nothing wrong either).

[hiddenhome]

I second getting checked out. Assuming all is okay, try drinking two Actimel a day and see if that settles things down.

[toomuchpoo]

Well, its actually my preteen. Hes always had frequent poos, maybe 3 times a day, even when he was young. He tires too easily, is often grumpy and needs about 14 hours sleep a night otherwise he will actually feel unwell in the morning.

I only really considered that the pooing might be relevant when i realised that he shoots out of bed to go first thing, which prevents him getting his 12-14 hours sleep. So now he sets his alarm for 2am every night so he can have his poo and then sleep on undisturbed.

I know this isnt a "normal" requirement, but it really made me wonder about mild food intolerances, especially with the mental and physical tiredness.

To confuse things a little more he does have a sp learning difficulty which could explain the symptom of tiredness.

[toomuchpoo]

maybe I will report on a children's board?

[smearedinfood]

I had irritable bowel as a pre teen and early teen. I poo often now as I've trained myself to. I went to a herbalist once who gave me some herbal concoction to 'fix this' it reinstalled my belief it wasn't broken...

I think if he is waking at 2am then it's time to go to a dr

[HavingALittleFaithBaby]

I would get him to a doctor and get him tested for chronic health problems (such as coeliac) before going down the exclusion diet route. Otherwise if they do the tests you can end up with a false negative.

I had all the testing down and then did an exclusion diet. I felt really ill for a few days (I got withdrawal symptoms essentially! Bad head, more upset stomach, fatigue). When I then reintroduced my culprit (wheat for me), I got an upset stomach within a few hours. I now eat a gluten free diet and I am well - bowel movements are far more regular, less frequent and my stools are better formed. I can tell if I've accidentally eaten wheat within a few hours now.

But seriously, get him reviewed by a GP before you do anything. Tis the best way.