Normal Stool and Testing

[desche]

Hi All,
I just called EnteroLabs and asked what the consistency of the stool sample needs to be (I wasn't sure about sending in WD or very loose stool) and was told it needs to be as close to normal as possible. I said so if you are in a flare with MC you should not send it in. I was told to wait until it returns to normal.
I don't really have a normal any more. It is either diarrhea or constipation (but not lately). How can you get back to normal without knowing the results of the test?

What did you all do about this problem when you were tested?

Thanks for any and all advice.
Debbie

[Erica P-G]

Hi Debbie,
Not sure what they meant as you have to freeze the sample in your freezer as you fill up your container.....and then it gets sent UPS over night and the way you package it up it maintains its frozen status pretty well I understand.

I did not have 'normal' BM to send to Enterolab...so give them what you got, don't worry about it

[LauraAnn]

I did the same thing......was in the worst of it and they accepted it and processed it without complaining.

[tex]

I agree. You must have talked with a dreamer or someone new on the job. Anyone with a normal stool is not going to send them (EnteroLab) a sample because if their stool is normal they obviously don't have any major digestive problems. I'm not saying EnteroLab doesn't get any normal looking stool samples, but I'll bet normal looking samples are a mighty small percentage of the samples they receive. Their main business comes from celiacs and people who have IBDs or food sensitivities, and those samples don't look like normal stool.

I've sent them samples twice in the past, over the years, and neither of those samples looked "normal", and I never heard them complain.

Tex

[desche]

Thank you all for your replies. I feel so much better hearing how you handled it.
I so appreciate having somewhere to go with my questions and how willing everyone is to share their experiences.