hi,

recently i've been having a lot of problems with diarrhea/loose stools. i have a history of IBS and lyme disease which affects my digestive system, so that could be what's going on now, i'm not sure.

my symptoms:

nausea, lack of appetite
loose stools/diarrhea -- especially in the morning. sometimes i'll start out with a normal bowel movement, then have to go three or four more times in a row, the consistency progressively getting looser.
when this happens i often have extreme bowel urgency.
when my stools are formed they're rarely 'normal' -- varying shapes and sizes, sometimes i have thin stool, sometimes i don't. even when formed my stool is often very soft.

no noticeable blood in stool, very little pain. occasional cramping RIGHT before a loose bowel movement, that's it really.

symptoms don't seem to be affected by what i eat or don't eat.

this has been going on for months and now my GI doc wants me to get a colonoscopy. i'm 28 years old and female by the way.

part of me thinks that whatever's wrong with me is infectious in nature, because i was on vancomycin (an antibiotic) for awhile for suspected c difficile and that made my symptoms virtually disappear. but i'm off the vanco now, it's too insanely expensive and i have no insurance so my symptoms are back with a vengeance.

the other part of me is terrified of possible colon cancer.

any insight would be greatly appreciated.

thanks.