Sudden Change in Bowel Movements: Causes & What to Do

Question
I am a 21 year old female, don't smoke, don't drink.

About a year ago I noticed a drastic change in my bowel movements. My Bms were usually pretty hard, but I never considered myself constipated. I could have probably gotten away with never wiping because there was nothing to wipe(normal for my family). Then, about a year ago, they suddenly changed to very mushy consistency. I have to wipe a lot, and this causes irritation and bleeding.

This wouldn't be so bad if I didn't have leakage. I can wipe for 10 mins and half an hour later (sometimes less) it starts feeling very itchy, so I go back and it's as if I never wiped to begin with! I also have a feeling of not being "empty" and I am tired of ruining my underwear.

So far the only thing I have found to be remotely helpful is to take 10-15 fiber pills to make myself constipated. Is there anything else a doctor could do, or is he going to say take more fiber?

Thanks,

Kristen  

Answer
You said some bleeding... if it is definitely only the skin outside of the anus, (which it probably isn't) no problem, but you need to find out why there has been a change... the best case scenario is you have developed a food intolerance and can't digest something that is going right thru you.  You need a gastroenterologist evaluation and probably a looksee into the colon.  I would wonder about inflammatory bowel disease, maybe a thyroid problem, and some others.

I hope this helps.