Is it IBS?

My daughter is almost 13. Noticed mucus in stool several times (7)last month. Twice when she passed gas it came out on her underpants. We Saw a GI dr. He ran what seemed to be A million tests-abdominal X-ray, bloodwork, stool samples, colonoscopy, upper endoscopy. Absolutely perfect. Still on occasion gets the mucus stool. This month it has happened five times. Dr says it's NOT ibs ( I still think it is)he says it is NOT lactose intolerance( even though the mucus biopsy indicated that she slightly intolerant/deficient in lactase ) and that maybe it is coming from her vaginal area. I am almost 100% sure it is NOT from her vaginal area. She also has been getting her period for almost three years now so it's not the beginning of menstruation for her . Both she and I just want answers. Aside from the mucus there are no complaints. I don't know if it's a coincidence or not but certain foods, like ice cream, seem to bring on the bm with mucus. Also, the mucus seems to cease completely at certain times of the month. I feel as if this GI was not at all accommodating- his exact words were ' from a GI perspective she is fine- being her to a gynocologist' I said ' what about ibs?' His response was 'I'm certain it's not lactose intolerance or ibs' any input from those if you who may have similar symptoms? Or just some words of advice?

Determining whether your daughter is lactose intolerant doesn't require a doctor visit. Simply ask her to drink an 8 oz glass of milk on an empty stomach. If she is lactose intolerant she will feel gassy and nauseated pretty quickly (15 minutes) and may have diarrhea.

Lactose intolerance is very common and is simple to manage.

Mucous in stool is not by itself abnormal. Your daughter got a heck of a work-up and you should be happy that the results are normal. It might be helpful to chart her menstrual cycle and compare that against when she sees the mucous. Reproductive hormones have a strong affect on bowel function, so it wouldn't be surprising if there is a connection between her menstrual cycle and this mucous.

IBS is "irritable bowel syndrome." It is not a disease (meaning there is no pathology found in the body). While some people are horribly affected by the constant diarrhea and other issues, occasional mucous like your daughter is experiencing is neither debilitating nor dangerous.

The normal cycle of reproductive hormones speeds up the digestive process and then slows it down. It isn't possible to know exactly what is going on with your daughter midcycle, but that is usually when estrogen peaks - cervical mucous becomes very watery. Perhaps there are mucous membranes in her lower digestive tract that are responding to the higher estrogen as well. Who knows? It doesn't seem to be a problem for your daughter, although if she is feeling pressure to defecate from this mucous I would go back to the GI and ask for another scope, this one just with a flexible sigmoidscope. And make sure you do it midcycle.

My daughter has mucous in her stool often (she is now 14.5). She also has rectal bleeding at the onset of her period. Her GI hasn't scoped her but wants to do that this summer. Rectal bleeding is pretty much the only reason I would choose to scope my daughter, and I'm even having trouble making that appointment! It's a very invasive procedure and since my girl isn't particularly bothered by this I am not feeling it is urgent. Your daughter has already been scoped and nothing was found. Take a deep breath mama!

Personally, even though I am here posting on a forum called "IBS," I hate the term "IBS." I was told for years that I had "IBS," even though what I really had was "IBD," Inflammatory Bowel Disease. IBD is a disease process due to chronic inflammation, which can raise your risk of developing colon cancer, it can cause problems with nutritional uptake, it can cause systemic issues like joint pain, inflammation in the eyes, skin, etc.

IBS causes none of these things. People on this forum are sometimes suffering from undiagnosed disease, and I try to help those I can find the right path to diagnosis. Other people on this forum are really suffering from something doctors have taken to calling IBS because they don't know what else to say. There doesn't seem to be a way to help these people, although there's been some progress with understanding dietary intolerances.

Your daughter would probably benefit from some analysis of her diet. Most teens don't know how to eat right and don't seem to care. If your daughter is interested in being less gassy and having more frequent bms, she could visit with a dietician and learn more about eating right. who knows, your whole family might benefit from this. Most people on this forum and the IBD forums here at Healingwell have learned how to avoid the processed food aisles at the grocery store and how to cook healthy meals at home.

Most women notice changes in their bowel habits linked to their menstrual cycle. This isn't "IBS," it's normal female biology. Sometimes these changes are annoying, like having diarrhea right before your period starts, or getting constipated in the 2nd half of your cycle. You can manage a lot of this by changing what you eat during those times of the month, but overall you just have to learn to roll with the punches so to speak. Bloody stool is not normal and is not to be "lived with," although look at me, I'm not rushing my daughter in for a scope. Ugh. Responding to your posts makes me realize I really do need to do this.

I have had mucus in vaginal secretions off and on for years - quite normal. But, I have also had it in stool - quite not-normal. The biggest culprits for bowel to secret mucus to protect itself from something it is intolerant to are lactose and gluten. We all react differently to something that irritates us. Some it's diarrhea, others hives, others swelling and gas. I myself had an upper gi and colonoscopy at 26 years of age and came up clean though I had been suffering discomfort for years. The biome of the gut is both incredibly complex and incredibly misunderstood. I believe the best way to diagnose when the doctors give up is to do strict elimination diets. Start with one item for 30 days - lactose, gluten, nightshades (tomatoes, potatoes, peppers). These are common irritants. Some say it is because we have not all inherited the enzymes to digest certain foods. I also believe that we have removed nutrients from our food and supplanted them with sugar (a poison) - definitely with looking into. I myself have completely changed my shopping habits at the grocery store - shop the perimeter. Buying 99% fresh food. Another irritant for the bowel is caffeine (and when you are an adult - alcohol).
Best of luck!

I wish I knew I'm sorry. I do know that as a child my first period lasted 3 months (it did not stop until I was placed on an oral contraceptive). Once on the pill it took almost a year to get my period regulated. I also suffered severe pms and my mom got me on a PMS supplement (easily found at GNC) and I soon balanced out. I believe it is pretty normal for periods to take a while to level out. I also believe that there are a lot of pesticides and/or hormones still in the meat and food we eat that can affect a growing child in different ways (earlier periods, earlier breast development, etc). Best to try no hormone, no antibiotic, no steroid, grass fed meats (as opposed to grain fed) and see if that helps.

What would be the point of your GI saying she has "IBS?" It's not a useful diagnosis. Better for you to focus on getting your daughter to eat a healthy, balanced diet based on whole food. Take a look at the Bristol Stool Scale and see if you can figure out how to get her stools to a "4", which is smooth, easy to pass stool, no pebbly stools. That would typically mean more soluble fiber, more water intake, more exercise than she's probably getting.