Reeking stool

My stool and farts have been really reeking lately. We're talking 10/10 stench, enough to clear the room of the most tolerant people, enough to make your loved ones want to move from sitting beside you. It smells like something crawled up and died in there, lol. The worst is overnight because I wake up in the morning and my bedroom smells DISGUSTING. And they're the kind of farts that linger in the air forever.

Seriously though, I'm a bit concerned. Normally when my stools start smelling this bad I am weeks away from a flare, but I know that's not possible right now because I'm in clinical remission. I don't have any pain or anything else. Just a lot of gas and really smelly stools, 1-2 times a day. I've tried increasing fiber and my diet is already low sugar, so I don't get it. I'm otherwise healthy...

When I'm in public places I hold in the gas because it smells so bad that I don't want to embarrass myself, but eventually holding it in gets painful. People are so unforgiving about it. They make faces or they even call you out about it (I've had this happen).

What could this possibly be? I am taking probiotics, I get decent fiber, diet is low sugar, I avoid all my previous trigger foods. (I could eat them now if I wanted to but why do that to myself.)

It's more of a nuisance than anything, but it's not a sign of good health IMO.

Often putrid smelling bms and gas are a sign of something like Clostridium Difficile (something we are more prone to getting as UC patients). If your symptoms suddenly get worse then I would get a stool test for C Diff. As C Diff symptoms mirror UC flare symptoms.

Maybe take some probiotics, if you are not already. The bacterium/fungus makeup within our guts can be totally wacky with large concentrations of bad guys and low concentration of good guys which isn't good.

Not sure if you are eating a lot of proteins and/or a lot of sugars. Stuff that might be undigested, reach the large intestine, and the bacterium there are having a field day creating gasses (which is where flatulence comes from: intestinal bacteria of specific types thriving).

C_G_K said...
I don't see what meds you're on, but can you up your maintenance meds? If I get that tell-tale bad smell (assuming I am not eating something weird), I usually start a second Rowasa in the morning, especially if I notice an uptick in other symptoms.

No meds right now, as I'm in remission.

iPoop said...
Often putrid smelling bms and gas are a sign of something like Clostridium Difficile (something we are more prone to getting as UC patients). If your symptoms suddenly get worse then I would get a stool test for C Diff. As C Diff symptoms mirror UC flare symptoms.

Maybe take some probiotics, if you are not already. The bacterium/fungus makeup within our guts can be totally wacky with large concentrations of bad guys and low concentration of good guys which isn't good.

Not sure if you are eating a lot of proteins and/or a lot of sugars. Stuff that might be undigested, reach the large intestine, and the bacterium there are having a field day creating gasses (which is where flatulence comes from: intestinal bacteria of specific types thriving).

I'm seeing my doctor tomorrow. I'll ask her for a c. diff test. Thanks for the tip!

I found a hidden sugar source in my diet that I'm cutting out now, so I'll see if that helps. I do think my GI incompletely digests things, so the rotten stuff ends up in my colon.

notsosicklygirl said...
I agree with iPoop. You should get tested for C diff, but on the other hand, I always had it when I was flaring. It's very common for UCers to complain about gas and stool odor, but in remission, it shouldn't be any different from anyone else's odors, which aren't so great either, so I wouldn't worry too much.

In all my years of flaring I never tested positive for c. diff, so it would be weird to suddenly have it now that I'm in remission. My doctor previously said to me that maybe I have an IBS situation now, rather than IBD, and that might be why there's odor. Something's still not right though

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