Lets talk poop!!

Oh yes finally a poop blog ive talked about writing one and put it off for far too long. lets face it with crohns poop tells you alot and you can tell alot about how you health is by it. For me just a glance I can tell how my crohns is acting if im bleeding if im backed up ect. to be honest most people dont give poop much credit after all its that nasty smelly leftovers of food that comes out of your butt. but like everything with our bodys it has a purpose and it is actully quit helpful in helping tell you how you body is doing. I know with my crohns poop is a big thing am I having to run to the bathroom every 5 minutes, can I even leave the bathroom, am I stopped up, is there blood??? lets be honest we have all stared at what comes out most not giving it any thought at all think eww gross and hurrying out hoping we dont have to go again. but think how much about poop do you know??

Think about the color of your poop

• Brown:  any shade of brown is normal.
• White: can be a sign of pancreatitis or pancreatic cancer.
• Clay-colored: indicates a lack of bile in the stool which indicates gallbladder disease, cirrhosis, hepatitis or gallstones.
• Black:  may be indicative of bleeding in the esophagus or stomach.
• Green: can indicate Crohn’s disease. Green stool often indicates that food has passed through the intestines faster than normal.
• Bright Red poop may indicate bleeding in your rectum, lower gi tract and the presence of a polyp, diverticulosis or hemorrhoids.
• dont get all jumping by this info foods you eat can effect the color as well!

How food, supplements and medications affect poop color:

• Beets: dark red poop (not bright red)
• Carrots: orange colored poop
• Greens: dark green — brown poop
• Iron supplements: black poop
• Peptobysmol: black poop

Making you say hmm righttttt. well think how much easier life is when you pay attention to all aspects of your body. yes yes i am talking about looking at your poop.

Poop is one of thing that you can rely on well kinda everyone poops and if your not pooping you need help take a laxative and sit back and learn a little about you bady and poop us crohnies seem to have a love hate relationship with our poop!! heres more thing to look at when staring at your poop.... 

Normal Frequency: Every day, one to three times per day. Occasionally, if you eat a lot of fiber containing foods, you might have a fourth bowel movement.
Normal Amount: Depends on your weight: you should produce about one ounce of poop for each 12 pounds of you body weight per day.

Not Normal:Every other day or even less frequent. If your poop stays in your intestines too long two things can happen: the body reabsorbs toxins that were supposed to be removed with your stool and pockets may form in your colon leading to diverticulosis.
Not Normal: More than 3 times per day. If your poop move through you too quickly, the body does not have time to absorb all the nutrients it needs.

Consistency, Shape & Smell:

Food and water intake make the consistency, shape and smell of your poop vary to some degree; some days your poop may be slightly firmer or smell stronger than on others. Having diarrhea for constipation for a day or two is no cause for alarm, your body may just be trying to get rid of something (diarrhea) or you may not have had enough fiber or water (constipation).  However, any prolonged, persistent abnormality in your stool consistency or shape should be discussed with your MD or a well-educated nutritionist. The same holds true for the smell of stool; though the smell of poop can be unpleasant, ongoing smells that are particularly strange or foul shouldn’t be ignored.

Normal: smooth texture, S-shape, like a snake, sinks slowly.

Not Normal:

• Pellets, marble-shaped, like bird or deer droppings, sinks very fast = constipation, can be an indicator of more serious diseases.
• Watery, shapeless = diarrhea, can be an indicator of food allergies, Crohn’s,IBS and more serious diseases such as certain cancers.
• Soft, floating stool that is difficult to flush = can be an indicator of too much fat in the stool and more serious diseases such as pancreatic problems.
• Mucus in the stool = can be an indicator of inflammation in the GI tract and more serious diseases such as Crohn’s and Ulcerative Colitis.
• Pencil thin = can be an indicator of polyps, IBS or more serious diseases such as colon cancer.
• Foul or strange smell = can be an indicator of too much fat or blood  in the stool and more serious diseases such as an infection.

for now I leave you with a picture of the mythical unicorn poop....