One day I began noticing oddly shaped and colored bowel movements that were loose enough to be considered mild diarrhea.
I thought this was related to my period, which was due in several days.
Very soft stools preceding the onset of menstruation had happened to me before, so I really didn’t think a whole lot about this.
However, it was difficult to dismiss the fact that these poops just plain looked weird.
I really began worrying when every day, I kept having this strange looking diarrhea, and my period had already begun.
So I knew this diarrhea wasn’t related to menstruation at that point. Furthermore, I was getting up in the middle of the night to have this diarrhea.
And like clockwork, almost right after getting out of bed in the morning, I had to do another poop. I’d feel this odd unfamiliar churning in my lower stomach. I knew something was wrong.
I was also wondering why the joint aches that began more than a week prior to my period were still with me.
My menstrual related joint aches (PMS) had always disappeared by the time I officially began flowing.
But this time, the joint aches – and the diarrhea – persisted even after my period ended.
At the time, I didn’t connect the joint aches to the diarrhea. Instead I attributed them to some oddball hormonal fluctuation related to my monthly cycle.
I soon had a colonoscopy and some tissue samples from my large colon were extracted and set to a lab for analysis.
A few days later I was told I had microscopic colitis of the lymphocytic type.
This is a benign inflammatory bowel disease.
The cause is not known, but in my case, the onset was preceded by enormous longstanding anxiety over a family situation.
Since being diagnosed with microscopic colitis (which, by the way, is known for causing transient joint aches), I have written quite a few articles about this uncommon condition. Below are links to some of them.
IBS vs. Microscopic Colitis: Similarities, Diagnosis
Microscopic Colitis Joint Aches Preceding Diarrhea for How Long?
Can Microscopic Colitis Diarrhea Cause Nutrient Loss?
Lag Time Between Joint Pain & Diarrhea in Microscopic Colitis
Microscopic Colitis: Can Intermittent Fasting Help Diarrhea?
Lorra Garrick has been covering medical, fitness and cybersecurity topics for many years, having written thousands of articles for print magazines and websites, including as a ghostwriter. She’s also a former ACE-certified personal trainer.
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Top image: Shutterstock/ Pixel-Shot
