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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 11 of 11. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by ethan on January 28, 2002, at 23:38:10
I am on Wellbutrin, Buspar, Trazodone (for sleep inducement), as well as Prinivil for hypertension and Clinoril for arthritis. I try to take a Centrum every day with a large meal. After some of these meals I get what I can only refer to as explosive diarrhea (I'm sure this can be caused by myriad influences, so that's not my question). What I noticed in today's drama was that a pill was floating in the stool, perfectly whole. I checked it with a tissue and it was soft and when broke open white powder was inside (dry). My first concern is whether it is normal for pills to go through the body and come out like this (or shouldn't they decompose?); i.e. is it just by chance that I am noticing this "normal" phenomenon because I have the trots, and was my body able to leach out what it needed from the pill and still leave it whole? The only pill it resembled was Wellbutrin, but this is a guess on my part. Is this something to bring up to my physician? We've talked about diarrhea before, and his response is that some medications cause diarrhea, watch what I eat, etc. (the usual suspects). I must say that my condition (mood) is not ideal; I was diagnosed by an insurance psychiatrist as dysthymic, and while I suspect my depression is chronic since childhood and I have never truly been "well", I would question the diagnosis as dysthymia is, everywhere I've looked, defined as a "mild" form of depression (nothing could be further from the truth, for me!). I've been on Wellbutrin for years now, and we keep changing the "other" med around looking for the best possible match. I can not tolerate sexual side affects. I have tried so many that few are left. Thanks in advance for any response you have, Doc.
Posted by Cmatt on January 29, 2002, at 5:54:00
In reply to Do pills go through stool?, posted by ethan on January 28, 2002, at 23:38:10
Although I can only speculate, it may be that those explosive stools may indicate that substances in your intestines were pushed through faster than normal, and if you use the Slow Released Wellbutrin, the pill may have gotten far enough to be forced out without having had time to fully dissolve, or it may just as well have been a different pill.
You should mention it to the doctor. An Internist or Gastro-Intestinal physician is the best bet if you do not already have one.
Cmatt
Posted by spike4848 on January 29, 2002, at 18:26:09
In reply to Re: Do pills go through stool?, posted by Cmatt on January 29, 2002, at 5:54:00
Posted by IsoM on January 29, 2002, at 18:58:42
In reply to Re: I am sorry .... but this is pretty gross (nm), posted by spike4848 on January 29, 2002, at 18:26:09
hey, Spike - of course, it's gross but weren't/aren't you a doctor? Lots of medical problems are pretty gross.
I got talking with a woman doctor I had before I moved - she was good & we became very comfortable around each other. She said while patients are embarrassed as all get-out when they need to have "intimate" examinations done, so are most of the doctors, unless they become real blasé about it. But the doctor has to assume an unruffled pose & proceed with exam.
A good reason I'd rather be a pathologist than a doctor. :) (Oops... not to imply I am one but it fascinates me.)
Posted by IsoM on January 29, 2002, at 19:04:50
In reply to Do pills go through stool?, posted by ethan on January 28, 2002, at 23:38:10
Just about everybody suffers from an intestinal upset or disturbance at least once in their life. What you've described is simply the digestive process rushing through without adequate water being drawn from the stool & along with gas causing an explosive expelling of the stool.
Whatever caused your stomach to get upset is what caused the rapid passage through your system without the necessary time for the pill to dissolve. (Like eating too much corn-on-the-cob at one sitting, if you understand the comparison).
If rapid passage through your alimentary system happens often enough, yes, definitely talk it over with your doctor. He'll come up with suggestions after asking you some questions. You might not be benefitting from your full dosage otherwise.
Posted by spike4848 on January 29, 2002, at 19:27:31
In reply to Re: I am sorry .... but this is pretty gross » spike4848, posted by IsoM on January 29, 2002, at 18:58:42
> hey, Spike - of course, it's gross but weren't/aren't you a doctor? Lots of medical problems are pretty gross.
Hey IsoM,
Love to hear from you. Yes, once the doc coat goes on .... my work is to listen and help individuals .... things that usually are gross you look pass .... because you really are concentrating on helping the patient.
But when I come home, I relax. For some reason, explosive diarrhea and search for pill capsules sounded a little gross to me. I didn't mean to belittle ethan's situation.
It is just a little warning to those on the board who maybe be queazy as well.
Your friend,
Spike
Posted by IsoM on January 29, 2002, at 19:49:39
In reply to Re: I am sorry .... but this is pretty gross » IsoM, posted by spike4848 on January 29, 2002, at 19:27:31
Yeah, well I know I'm a little weird & keep forgetting other people aren't like me. Nothing really turns my stomach. I could eat a full course meal at the same table chickens were being slaughtered & plucked at as long as none got on me or my food. :)
When my three sons were younger, we'd get talking about something at supper time & slowly veer off the sugject. Pretty soon, my sons would say "Mom can you please not talk about that?" & I'd always be surprised when they told me it was making them queasy. (I was the tomboy who chased the boys in elementary school with frogs & snakes - go figure.)
Oh well, I better shut up or Dr. Bob will redirect.
Posted by ethan on January 30, 2002, at 4:56:11
In reply to Do pills go through stool?, posted by ethan on January 28, 2002, at 23:38:10
I apologize for the grossness of my question. But this began making me really anxious, and by the time nighttime rolled around I was getting desperate in my head that something was really WRONG with me (and not just physically, but also in my head). It felt belittling to read the one guy's post that my question was gross; I'm sure it was just a kneejerk reaction on his part made simply becausehe can hit submit without thinking twice (maybe he did think twice, that's not my problem)...and since he followed up to reframe his comment, I can further see why he'd make it. Yes it's gross. I'm sorry. But depression is gross, too. Feeling like it's not worth getting out of bed, not worth bathing, not worth cleaning around you. That you're not worthy of holding a job, any job. These things are gross to ME, but I suffer with them, and have been on medication to help cope with these (as an active part of addressing my depression). I suppose if I didn't look behind me before I flushed I would be living in Bliss, but maybe that's not a healthy place to be. I appreciate the helpful comments you folks have given. I don't want to overreact about the gastro problem and this whole pill thing because I have an HMO and already they think I'm nuts when I come in about anything anymore because I've been in so often about some malady or concern...they don't say so to my face but I can tell. It makes me not want to call the doctor, but reach out to someone impartial (which I was surprised I was able to when I found this bulletin board). I'm glad this place exists, because it was a place to get information, at least impartial information from other people suffering with depression, perhaps even dealing with stomach upset or gastro problems from some medication or other. It's invaluable to me to find out what others have experienced especially with the medications I have been prescribed. I feel often that it's not worth fighting the battle (if that makes any sense)...when my body starts selling me short (as with diarrhea, for example, or migraines, or because I seem to get every cold virus that comes along) it's even more difficult to imagine the rottenness that I live in In My Head will ever pass. I sure wish I didn't have to take medications. I feel like every day I wake up I live my life around a timeclock of this pill or that at this hour or that, and therefore constantly reminded that I am not well -- not even reminded so much as I must be constantly mindful of my illness, so that I don't MISS a dose of medication (something I don't think doctors understand takes an irrevocable toll on patients). Turning thoughts that refer to the situation as medicating an illness into "correcting an imbalance" is like asking for Unemployment percentages to magically be turned to zero. I guess I am having a hard time coping with the fact that my HMO is set up only to deal with people who are physically Well and not ill in a way that is more complex than one specialist can deal with in a quick, fifteen minute visit. I feel sometimes that my ability to Get Well is determined not by my own means or motivations but by the constraints and limitations of my healthcare (and I don't believe this is a totally irrational thought, either). Let's face it, I don't want to take these lousy Wellbutrin pills and my medication copayments have just gone up 400% since January first (a good reason to get OFF medication, huh!). I don't know how much longer I can afford to entertain the notion that I can continue to subsidize Wellbutrin, and that means how much longer can I entertain the notion that the medication will elicit some solution (especially if it is playing any role in my gastrointestinal situation, however peripheral). You see, one card of the fragile house turns out to be a Joker, like a pill that won't digest, and the whole house in my head can cave in. Today I've had the same problem with gastro and pill. Whatever is upsetting my system, well, that I can't figure out yet since my diet is varied. Another day of this and I will probably call my internist and schedule an appointment, but I'm sure all he'll do is prescribe Immodium AD which I'm already taking and send me home, reluctant to refer me to a gastroenterologist or similar specialilst (and even if he does it will be four weeks before I can see one). And so the pattern of anxiety continues (both in reality and in my head). Hard to turn some of that off when you don't feel well. Again, thanks to those for the considerate comments. I'm sorry this is gross.
Posted by spike4848 on January 30, 2002, at 10:14:02
In reply to Sorry It's Gross, but I had to ask..., posted by ethan on January 30, 2002, at 4:56:11
>I'm sorry this is gross.
Hey Ethan,
I'm sorry, sounds like you are going through a tough time. I can sympathize with the suffering that goes with depression and dealing with the side effects of medications. I did not mean to belittle your problem by call it "gross".
Spike
Posted by jimmygold70 on January 30, 2002, at 16:16:01
In reply to Do pills go through stool?, posted by ethan on January 28, 2002, at 23:38:10
> I am on Wellbutrin, Buspar, Trazodone (for sleep inducement), as well as Prinivil for hypertension and Clinoril for arthritis.
This meds combination doesn't sound that good to me. How did you get to this wierd combination ? What did you try before ?
Posted by ethan on January 31, 2002, at 4:31:11
In reply to Re: Do pills go through stool? » ethan, posted by jimmygold70 on January 30, 2002, at 16:16:01
What haven't I tried is probably the best way to respond. I have tried Zoloft and Paxil (not Prozac) and can not tolerate the sexual side effects. I will not try Prozac. Period. I have tried Effexor, Elavil, Serzone, among others. I was also prescribed Lithium at one point, and I would rather die than try that stuff again. Wellbutrin has been the basis of my medication therapy for some years now, as it has proven to be the least detrimental in terms of side effects compared with benefit. Other drugs have been tried in combination, to varying degrees of success. When one "plateaus" we try another. The Trazodone is used specifically and only as a sleep inducement. Buspar, which I have been on for some time now, I am not altogether certain is right for me. For that matter, I also am beginning to question whether Wellbutrin is right for me also, though the alternatives (if any left) are few if I decide to eliminate Wellbutrin from my "cocktail." I know someone who is effectively being treated with a combination of Wellbutrin and Buspar (no, I wouldn't say "I want what he has" in terms of emotional and psychological "health" but he's doing okay on the stuff for HIM). All medications used with Wellbutrin, I have been told, raise any possibility of seizure that Wellbutrin already provides on its own (if that is the source of your concern over my mentioned combination therapy sounding weird). Would you please be more specific about what in particular sounds weird to you about this particular combination drug therapy? Is this from your own experience? Are you a pharmacist or psychiatrist; if not, on what do you base such an opinion? (not an attack, I just want to know where you're coming from so I might be able to discuss such a viewpoint with my doctor). Thanks. Incidentally, if my latest cholesterol test comes back "high" as it likely will, I will be prescribed yet another drug to combat high cholesterol -- without a doubt the last thing I want to add to my already overwhelming "cocktail" of medications.
> > I am on Wellbutrin, Buspar, Trazodone (for sleep inducement), as well as Prinivil for hypertension and Clinoril for arthritis.
>
> This meds combination doesn't sound that good to me. How did you get to this wierd combination ? What did you try before ?
This is the end of the thread.
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