What Causes Severe Stomach Cramps And Diarrhea After Running?

Posted on Mon, 1 Feb 2016

Question: I'm a typically healthy, 33 year old female, with 2 children, youngest being 9 months. I've been a runner for years without any significant stomach issues. Following the birth of my youngest child, I resumed running and began having stomach cramps at the end of runs (usually about 6 miles), followed by diarrhea. It usually happens 1x and then stops. Doesn't occur every time I run, and I started hydrating more, which really seemed to help diminish effects. On Christmas, I went for a run, realized I was quite dehydrated at the start and it was very unusually warm and humid. I came back, had some diarrhea and it had a relatively small amount of bright red blood. Was very scary to see and the following Monday, saw my PCP. She did an exam, said no hemorrhoids or an obvious fissure, but it might have healed as it had been a few days. Tested for current blood and said none present. Having no clear answer is scary to me and I wonder if I should get a colonoscopy? Wondering if I should do it to make sure not cancer or something serious?

Answered by Dr. Dr. Klerida Shehu (7 hours later)

Brief Answer:
Runner diarrhea.,,,

Detailed Answer:
Hi and thank you for asking.
I read carefully all your concerns and I can say as follows:
1. You are reporting to have abdominal cramp and diarrhea after running about 6 miles.
Your symptoms are well known as runner diarrhea or runner colitis. It's causes are not clear but it thought to be related with low blood flow on intestine , dehydration etc.
2. With regards to red bright blood in your stool to my opinion it is related with minor anal fissure due to diarrhea.
Your symptoms are not indicative for cancer or something more serious. So don't worry.
Otherwise If your symptoms like blood in your stool persist than you should schedule colonoscopy .
3.Meantime I suggest to ;
- avoid sugar food especially one day before running
- avoid coffee about 6 hours before running
- don’t eat anything 2 hours before running
- drink plenty of fluids to avoid dehydration
Hope it was helpful to you.
Dr.Klerida

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Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar