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" Question I have irregular bowel movements, sometimes up to six or seven times per day.  I feel constipated at times and other times have loose, bloodstained and watery stools.  I have severe wind pains around the lower abdomen. This is painful to the touch.   Answer The fact that you say you are taking Colpermin suggests to me that you have been diagnosed as having irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) or that you suspect yourself that you have this condition.  While this is possible, I think that it is not safe to assume that your present symptoms are due to this without further investigations.  Increased wind, alternating diarrhoea and constipation, and abdominal pain are certainly features of IBS, but with the bloody mucus discharge a question mark has to be raised against the diagnosis, and the passage of so many stools a day is also unusual.  I think that you should go to see your GP and explain that this pattern of symptoms has been going on now for a long time.  I presume that so far you have not had any investigations, and I think that if I were your GP I would be inclined to refer you to a gastroenterologist, a specialist in bowel disorders.  He/she could arrange an endoscopy to examine the bowel directly, as well as some blood tests and maybe special X-rays.  Hopefully all this will be normal, and if it turns out to be IBS then this can be treated more aggressively that it is at the moment with just an occasional Colpermin.  If it turns out to be something else, like colitis, diverticulitis or some other condition that can cause similar symptoms, then of course the sooner you know about it the better, so something can be done.  Don&amp;#039;t get too anxious about this, I am just advising you what is the safest course of action, and not trying to guess at what the diagnosis might be. Yours sincerely The NetDoctor Medical Team   Other Qs &amp;amp; As Acid indigestion and irregular bowel movements Antidepressants and IBS Bowel problems Can I cure my irritable bowel syndrome? Can stress cause IBS? Could diet be affecting my IBS? Could IBS develop into Crohn&amp;#039;s disease? Could my nausea be IBS or an ulcer? Do I have diverticular disease or IBS? Do I have IBS? Do I suffer from IBS? Fluoxetine to improve IBS Gas in the lower bowel Has my IBS got worse or is this a tummy bug? I don&amp;#039;t think I have IBS I have IBS: what foods should I avoid? I think that maybe I don&amp;amp;#8217;t have IBS at all IBS IBS and candidiasis IBS and recreational drugs Irritable bowel syndrome symptoms Is this IBS? I&amp;#039;ve IBS and there is blood on my toilet paper My eight-year-old has involuntary bowel movements My IBS symptoms lessened Paracetamol to control pain from IBS Post-infective IBS Problems in the bowel Problems with bowel movements Relief from IBS pain Three or four bowel movements daily   Last updated 18.01.2015 "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/ask-the-expert/digestive-health/a4814/irregular-bowel-movements/>