Horrible smell - IBD??

[Badluck01]

Hello.
I'm not yet formally diagnosed with Cd or Uc. Still waiting for my first colonoscopy which is in a few weeks.
But here's my problem:
Several months ago I noticed my stool smell change (not worst, just different). At the same time the number of times going to the toilet reduced.
Didn't pay much attention to that until one day some friends started asking if I had released gas. This situation continued even though I wasn't doing it.
Now the worst thing is that the stool/gas smell got increasingly horrible (people describe it as rotten/sulfur/fecal, gagging odor).
Curious situation is that I stopped being able to smell my own flatulence (good for me, not so good to other people).
About 2 months ago, noticed some mucus in my anus, then had bowel movements of only mucus mixed with bright red/maroon blood. This has been happening more frequently and a lot of the time I get this bloody mucus before the actual stool.

Other symptoms are:

Constipation (sometimes almost a week without going)

Difficulty emptying the bowels

Bloating

Having to strain with soft or hard stools

Burning sensation in anus (like when you pass hot gas)

This incredibly strong smell (maybe because of the bleeding?) that surrounds me almost all the time. It's worse about 2h after eating or if I eat/drink liquid foods. Changing diet doesn't seem to make it much better.

Blood tests - lactose and gluten/celiac were fine
Stool parasite tests - negative
Stool blood test - positive
Calprotectin levels - high

I've heard an internal rectal prolapse could explain the smell. Anyone like this out there/any tips ?

Thanks

 

[Stressedmom]

I am a newbie, son may not even have Crohns-don't know yet and no expert so take what I say with a grain of salt. Were the bloodtests for celiac and gluten genetic tests? My son had the most horrid smelling gag worthy BMs as a toddler (the way you described, but large and fluffy) and was miserable after meals until we gradually went GF. His Celiac genetic blood test was normal. Never got to do biopsies back then because was desperate for results and got them with GF. He also had bloating until GF. He did finally have scopes recently as a teen, but too late to look for Celiac because he has been GF all these years. I am NOT saying to try GF because if you have scopes ,you want them to biopsy for Celiac and it cannot be found without you eating gluten.

The calprotectin being high definitely tells you it's worth getting the scopes. Are they just doing colonoscopy for upper GI as well? How high was the calprotectin?

(Again I must say I am not an expert and I am new and mostly just learn from others here so don't take me too seriously).

 

[my little penguin]

Rectal prolapse means the area of the intestine near the rectum actual protrudes outside of the rectum
It’s not an internal thing
Hemorrhoids can be external or internal
They can cause bleeding as well but not a high fecal caloprotectin
High fecal cal is a sign of inflammation
But that can be from crohns ,ulcerative colitis, infection , non steroidal meds like advil etc….
Glad you are getting a scope

there are lots of different issues in Gi land that can occur
So better to rule things out with a colonoscopy

do not change your diet unless your Gi specifically tells you to
Since that can alter the results of the scope
Without knowing the why of what is really going on

Good luck

 

[Badluck01]

Ok so here's the deal:
Managed to do the colonoscopy earlier and nothing special was found. Only thing the doctor noticed was slight Proctocolitis (inflamation?). Now I'm waiting for the result of the biopsies.

I don't think the gluten/celiac blood tests were genetic but I've been on a gluten free diet for some months now just in case. Didn't seem to change much. Fecal calprotectin was around 250.

Thought the colonoscopy prep would get rid of the smell but it didn't. However, it was very difficult to have bowel movements. Even when it was liquid I had to strain a lot.

Told my doctor this, who said there's high probability of some pelvic disorder because he didn't find anything blocking the rectum/anus.

Nothing that seems to explain the putrid/gas smell though

 

[Stressedmom]

Glad you got the colonoscopy. Biopsies won't be able to tell you if it's Celiac if you have been GF already. Hope you get some answers. Did you do stool testing for infections? I saw they tested for other things. I think infections can raise calprotectin. Also do you take a lot of NSAIDS?

Any chance you eat a lot of foods with sulfur like eggs? I assume you have already ruled out lactose intolerance for smell? I'm just grasping at straws. Good luck!

 

[Badluck01]

Regarding foods I've been off gluten, dairy and sulfur rich foods. Have tried changing my diet but it doesn't affect much. Only thing that's certain is that when drinking water/other liquids it gets much worse.
Stool tests were for parasites/bacteria and came clean. No meds for now.
Maybe more tests will show something

 

[my little penguin]

https://muschealth.org/medical-serv...ve-diseases/pancreas/pancreatic-insufficiencyMaybe a rock to look under

 

[my little penguin]

Also cystic fibrosis
There are mutations that are very mild
Cause foul smelling bm
Rectal prolapse etc…,
And sometimes just confined to the gut with no lung involvement

 

[crohnsinct]

Fecal Cal of 250 is elevated. Not so high that I would fear colonic disease although it might explain the mild procotcolitis but it is more concerning if you were to have small bowel disease. Small bowel disease would present as constipation more than colonic disease. Did the GI mention getting an MRI Enterography to rule out small bowel disease? Hopefully the biopsies will give you more information on why the GI saw proctocolitis.

 

[Badluck01]

Maybe it's related to cystic fibrosis, will definitely bring that up next appointment as some symptoms match.
The doctor told me to wait for the biopsies. Then will probably investigate around pelvic disorders.
Bowel movements are increasingly difficult, even passing gas. Feels like an actual physical problem with the rectum.
After eating there's a lot of bloating and low abdominal pain/disconfort that decreases after a few hours even if I don't pass any gas.
Only thing related to small bowel was a prescription of SIBO meds and antispasmodics, which didn't change much.

 

[Stressedmom]

Maybe it's related to cystic fibrosis, will definitely bring that up next appointment as some symptoms match.
The doctor told me to wait for the biopsies. Then will probably investigate around pelvic disorders.
Bowel movements are increasingly difficult, even passing gas. Feels like an actual physical problem with the rectum.
After eating there's a lot of bloating and low abdominal pain/disconfort that decreases after a few hours even if I don't pass any gas.
Only thing related to small bowel was a prescription of SIBO meds and antispasmodics, which didn't change much.

Did they ever do an xray to see how much stool is staying in the colon and where it lingers? Sometimes they make recommendations based on that too to empty out like laxatives vs. enema.

 

[Badluck01]

Did they ever do an xray to see how much stool is staying in the colon and where it lingers? Sometimes they make recommendations based on that too to empty out like laxatives vs. enema.

Not yet, but had an abdominal CT scan. They found a lot of trapped air/gas.

 

[my little penguin]

Any update from the doc ??

 

[Badluck01]

Any update from the doc ??

Got the results yesterday.
Biopsies show mild acute colitis only in the rectum. No signs of chronic inflamatory bowel disease found.
Now I'm waiting for next appointment and further exams.

 

[Stressedmom]

Got the results yesterday.
Biopsies show mild acute colitis only in the rectum. No signs of chronic inflamatory bowel disease found.
Now I'm waiting for next appointment and further exams.

Good to know you found some answers. I assume they give you medication for the inflammation even if it isn't IBD? Please keep us posted.

 

[my little penguin]

Great news !!!
Rectum takes a long time to heal but at least you caught it
Rectal steriod foams like Uceris sometimes can help or suppositories.
Might want to check out the UC part of the forum for proctitus.

 

[Badluck01]

I'm seeing the doctor next week. Let's see what he has to say. At least several possible causes of the symptoms have been ruled out now.