Look At Your Poop
Do you ever look at your poop? If you have IBD, then you should be!
Monitoring your stools is a great way to gain insight into your disease. It might be a bit gross, but it can be a crucial step in gaining understanding of what is happening inside your body.
I look at my poop every single time that I have a bowel movement. In doing this, I have learnt a lot about my body, and how to manage my IBD.
In this article, we will discuss,
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Why is it important to look at your poop?
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What exactly are you looking for?
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The Bristol Stool Chart
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The importance of keeping a poop journal
Let’s get into this interesting subject: the nitty gritty, of looking at your poop!
Why is it Important To Look at Your Poop??
For many people it may not be their natural instinct to look at their poop. It turns out that around 27% of people consistently look at their stool after a bowel movement.
I firmly believe that if you have IBD, you should look at your poop 100% of the time.
But why? Isn’t that gross?
Looking at your stool gives you important information into what is happening inside your gastrointestinal tract. After all, that’s exactly where the stool has just traveled from.
Without receiving an endoscopy, or blood test. Having a look at your poop, may be the best indicator of what exactly is happening inside your bowels. And you can gather this info every single day. For most people with IBD, that’s actually multiple times per day.
Most importantly, having a look at your poop, can help you notice any changes that may occur. And these changes can indicate changes in your disease state.
Looking at your stools, can provide some important clues on your digestive health.
This is important for anyone, but especially those with IBD. Any negative changes in the stool, implies negative changes in your diet or lifestyle. And vise versa is also true.
Most people with IBD experience diarrhea as a symptom. If you make changes to your diet or lifestyle, and see your stool type change towards the more “normal” type. It may indicate that your these changes are having a positive effect on your overall digestive health. And that you should keep doing them!
What am I looking for?
So, if you are having a look at your poop. What exactly are you looking for?
When I look at my stools, the main thing I am looking for is any changes. Changes in my stool indicate changes in my digestive health overall.
What you see in the toilet is the direct result of your diet, fluid intake, medications, and lifestyle.
I am mainly looking at stool shape, consistency, timing, colour, and even smell.
To get to the nitty gritty; I have found the best way to examine my stool is by having a look directly after the stool has come out. Before I wipe (or use the bidet) and the stool is visually blocked by the paper, I have a look. I also find that if I wait too long, my stool may be affected by the water in the toilet (especially if it is number 5, see below).
The best way to examine your poop is by using the Bristol Stool Chart as a guide.
The Bristol Stool Chart
If you are unfamiliar with it, see the diagram beside this text. There are seven categories, labeled from 1-7. Feces 3, and 4 are usually considered normal. Although for some people number 5 is also normal.
The Bristol Stool Chart indicates how long your stool has spent inside your digestive tract. It can help you understand whether your stool is normal, or not.
I suggest that you print out a copy of the Bristol Stool Chart and keep it in your bathroom. This way you can reference it, and become familiar with each of the 7 types of stool.
The Importance of Writing it Down
This has been a game changer for me. Getting into the habit of writing down my stool information in my symptoms journal, has given me huge insight into my disease.
It has allowed me to discover when individual foods are affecting my digestive health.
It has reminded me of small, important details that I would have otherwise forgotten.
Ideally, you would write down your bowel movements directly after they happen. You may find this easiest if you keep your bowel movements journal in the bathroom. I did this at the beginning, but soon found it impractical.
Now I write down this information at the end of each day. With each bowel movement, I have a close look. And mentally note anything that I want to write down.
I keep a record of the time of the BM. The bristol stool chart number. Any extra symptoms I experienced with it, such as pain, or nausea. And whether the BM happened directly after eating.
I cannot stress enough how much this has helped me monitor my IBD. It is one of the most important tools that I use to manage my IBD.
It can be especially important when you are trying to add new foods into your diet. You may be able to have a general feeling of your IBD without keeping a diary. But a symptom and bowel movement journal gives you the details that you need to keep a close eye on your digestive health.
When To Contact Your Doctor
Watching your stools can sometimes show you some scary symptoms. Blood in the stool is one of the most terrifying symptoms of IBD. Other unpleasant symptoms of IBD include: mucus in your stools, middle of the night BMs, and explosive diarrhea.
I cannot say when it would be best for you to visit your doctor. I am a firm believer that if you pay attention, you know your body much better than anyone else can.
It must be up to you to decide when you should contact your doctor. Keeping a journal that includes your bowel movements and symptoms will also be useful information for your doctor to know.
The most important takeaway here is that if you have IBD, you should have a look at your poop! It is a very important indicator of your overall digestive health.
The second most important takeaway here is to go one step further. Write down all of the information that you can about each of your bowel movements in a journal.
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