"Why Is My Stomach So Bloated — And Why Can't I Ever Get Clean?" The Two Embarrassing Symptoms That Revealed What Was Really Wrong

A gastroenterologist exposes the hidden connection between severe bloating and sticky stools — and the centuries-old herbal protocol that's transforming his patients' lives

By Dr. Joseph M. Marcello, MD | Board-Certified Gastroenterologist | December 3, 2025 

The Two Symptoms No One Wants To Talk About

In 22 years as a gastroenterologist, I've heard thousands of patients describe their digestive symptoms.

 

But there are two complaints that come up more than almost any others — and they're the ones patients are most embarrassed to mention.

 

The first: "Doctor, my stomach is constantly bloated. By evening, I look six months pregnant. Nothing I do helps."

 

The second: "I never feel clean after going to the bathroom. The wiping never ends. It's sticky, like paste."

 

Here's what most people don't realize:

 

These two symptoms are connected.

 

They're not separate problems. They're not random. They're not "just how some people are."

 

They're both pointing to the same hidden cause.


 

And once we identify it, everything changes.

 

"When a patient tells me they're severely bloated AND they have sticky, difficult-to-clean stools, my clinical suspicion immediately goes to one place. These two symptoms together are a powerful diagnostic clue that most doctors miss."

— Dr. Joseph M. Marcello, MD

The Case That Changed How I Practice

Let me tell you about Sarah.

 

32 years old. Marketing professional. Appeared healthy by every standard metric.

 

But Sarah was living a secret nightmare — two nightmares, actually.

Nightmare #1: The Bloating

Every single day, Sarah's stomach would expand.

She'd wake up relatively flat. By noon, she looked 4 months pregnant. By evening, she looked 6 months pregnant — sometimes more.

 

"I have two wardrobes," she told me. "My morning clothes and my evening clothes. Nothing fits by the end of the day."

 

The bloating wasn't just cosmetic. It was painful. Pressure. Distension. The feeling of being inflated from the inside.

 

She'd tried everything:

  • Elimination diets (gluten-free, dairy-free, low-FODMAP)
  • Probiotics (14 different brands)
  • Digestive enzymes
  • Gut-healing protocols
  • Activated charcoal
  • Peppermint oil
  • Reducing portion sizes
  • Eating slower

 

Nothing worked.

The bloating came every single day, no matter what she did.

Nightmare #2: The Bathroom Situation

This was the symptom Sarah had never told anyone about.

 

Every bathroom trip was an ordeal. Wipe after wipe after wipe — and still, that sticky, paste-like residue that never fully went away.

 

She'd use half a roll of toilet paper sometimes.

 

She'd leave the bathroom feeling unfinished. 

 

Unclean. Like something was still there.

 

"I thought I was the only person with this problem," she said, her face flushed with embarrassment. "I thought my body was just... broken."

 

The endless wiping had given her hemorrhoids. She was raw, irritated, in constant discomfort.

 

And she never felt fully evacuated — like her bowels couldn't completely empty.

The Connection She Didn't See

Sarah had been treating these as two separate problems.

 

The bloating? Must be food sensitivities.

 

The sticky stools? Must just be "how she was."

 

She didn't realize they were symptoms of the same underlying condition.

The Two Symptoms Together: A Powerful Clue

When Sarah came to see me, I asked my standard intake questions.

 

Then I asked the questions most doctors don't ask:

"Tell me about your bloating. When does it start? How severe does it get? Does anything make it better or worse?"

 

Sarah described the daily progression — flat in the morning, pregnant by evening. The pressure. The pain. The embarrassment.

 

"And your bowel movements — what's the consistency like? Do you feel fully evacuated afterward?"

 

She hesitated. Then finally admitted:

"They're sticky. Really sticky. I have to wipe forever. And I never feel done — like there's always more."

 

That's when I knew.

 

These two symptoms together — severe bloating and sticky, incomplete stools — are one of the most reliable indicators of a condition that's massively underdiagnosed:

Intestinal parasites.

Why Bloating and Sticky Stools Appear Together

Let me explain the connection:

When unwanted organisms take up residence in your digestive tract, they trigger a cascade of effects:

 

 

🎈 THE BLOATING CONNECTION

Parasites cause bloating through multiple mechanisms:

Inflammation — Parasites irritate the intestinal lining, causing chronic inflammation that leads to swelling and distension.

 

Gas production — Parasites ferment food in your gut, producing excess gas that inflates your abdomen.

 

Disrupted motility — Normal gut movement is impaired, causing food to sit and ferment longer.

 

Bacterial imbalance — Parasites disrupt your microbiome, allowing gas-producing bacteria to overgrow.

 

Fluid retention — The inflammatory response causes the gut to retain fluid, adding to distension.

 

This is why the bloating gets worse throughout the day — as you eat, you're feeding both yourself AND the organisms living inside you. They ferment your food, produce gas, and your stomach expands.


 

This is why elimination diets don't work — you're not reacting to the food. You're reacting to what's EATING the food inside you.

 

🧻 THE STICKY STOOL CONNECTION

Parasites cause sticky stools through a protective response:

 

Excess mucus production — Your intestines produce extra mucus trying to protect the lining from parasites — this mucus makes stools sticky.

 

Incomplete digestion — Parasites interfere with proper breakdown of food, especially fats — undigested fats create sticky, paste-like consistency.

 

Intestinal inflammation — Inflamed intestines don't absorb properly, leaving residue that clings.

 

Disrupted gut motility — Impaired movement means stools don't form properly and don't evacuate completely.

 

The sticky stools are your body's defense mechanism — it's producing mucus to try to protect itself from invaders.

 

The incomplete evacuation happens because something is disrupting normal function — your gut literally can't empty properly.

The Condition Hiding in Plain Sight

The Condition Hiding in Plain Sight

I know what you might be thinking.

 

"Parasites? In America? That's a third-world problem."

This is one of the most dangerous misconceptions in modern medicine.

 

The reality:

The CDC estimates millions of Americans are currently infected with intestinal parasites. 

 

A study in The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene found parasites in 32% of stool samples from a national survey. 

 

Most infections are asymptomatic or misdiagnosed as IBS, SIBO, chronic fatigue, or anxiety. Standard stool tests miss up to 70% of parasitic infections.

Sarah's Diagnosis

I ordered comprehensive parasitology testing for Sarah — more thorough than standard stool panels.

The results confirmed my suspicion.

 

Sarah had an intestinal parasite — likely contracted from undercooked fish (she ate sushi weekly) or contaminated produce.

 

When I called her with the results, she broke down crying.

 

"You mean there's actually something WRONG? All this time I thought I was just bad at being healthy. I thought the bloating was my fault. I thought the bathroom thing was just... me."

 

"Sarah, everything you've been experiencing — the bloating that makes you look pregnant, the sticky stools that never end, the fatigue, the brain fog, the cravings — it all connects to this. Your body has been fighting invaders for years."

 

"Why didn't anyone find this before?"

 

"Because no one looked. And because you were too embarrassed to tell them about the sticky stools — which is actually the most important clue."

The Treatment Protocol

Here's where my approach differs from some of my colleagues.

 

There are pharmaceutical antiparasitics available. They work. But they also come with significant side effects, and they don't address the complete lifecycle of many parasites.

 

Over the years, I've found that a traditional herbal protocol — used for centuries across multiple cultures — often produces better outcomes with fewer side effects.

 

The three herbs I recommend:

BLACK WALNUT HULL (Juglans nigra)

The adult parasite eliminator.

 

Black Walnut hull contains juglone, a compound with demonstrated antiparasitic and antimicrobial properties. It's been used by indigenous North American cultures for centuries for intestinal cleansing.

 

WORMWOOD (Artemisia absinthium)

The ancient parasite fighter.

 

The name tells you everything — this herb has been used specifically for "worms" since ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome. It contains artemisinin, a compound so effective that its discovery earned a Nobel Prize in Medicine in 2015.

 

 CLOVE (Syzygium aromaticum)

The egg destroyer.

 

This is the crucial piece most protocols miss. Black Walnut and Wormwood address adult parasites — but what about the eggs? Without eliminating eggs, the cycle simply repeats.

 

Clove contains eugenol, which has been shown to dissolve the protective coating surrounding parasite eggs.

The Product I Recommend

Based on years of clinical experience, I recommend Suveea Black Walnut Wormwood & Clove Capsules — a formula that combines all three herbs in clinically-informed ratios.

 

Why I choose Suveea specifically:

✅ All three herbs in therapeutic amounts — Proper ratios for complete lifecycle coverage

✅ Clean formulation — No unnecessary fillers, binders, or additives

✅ GMP-certified manufacturing — Rigorous quality controls and testing

✅ Convenient capsule form — Easy dosing for protocol compliance

✅ Consistent patient results — Years of positive outcomes in my practice

 

I reviewed the supplement facts and approved it for Sarah's protocol.

Sarah's Results: The Complete Timeline

📅 DAYS 1-3: Die-Off Phase

Sarah texted me on Day 2:

"Dr. Marcello, I feel terrible. More bloated than usual, headache, exhausted, super foggy. Is this normal?"

 

I reassured her: "This is exactly what we discussed. It's called a Herxheimer reaction — as parasites die, they release toxins. Your body is processing the die-off. This is actually a GOOD sign. Push through — it gets better."

 

 

📅 DAYS 4-7: The First Breakthroughs

On Day 5, I received a text:

"TWO things happened today. First — I went to the bathroom and ONE WIPE. Clean. That has literally never happened. Second — it's 6 PM and my stomach is still FLAT. I'm sitting here in shock."

 

This is the moment I see with patient after patient.

 

Both symptoms — the bloating AND the sticky stools — often begin resolving in the same window. 

 

Why? Because they share the same cause. Address the cause, and both symptoms improve together.

 

 

📅 WEEKS 2-3: Systemic Transformation

Sarah's progress accelerated rapidly:

The Bloating:

  • Week 1: Still present but less severe
  • Week 2: Minimal by evening — "I look normal all day now"
  • Week 3: Completely flat, even after large meals — "I forgot what this felt like"

The Sticky Stools:

  • Week 1: Noticeably less sticky, easier wiping
  • Week 2: Clean, complete eliminations — 1-2 wipes maximum
  • Week 3: Fully normalized — "I actually look forward to bathroom trips now"

Other Improvements:

  • Energy: "I feel like I'm 22 again. I wake up BEFORE my alarm."
  • Mental clarity: "The fog is completely gone. I feel smart again."
  • Cravings: "I walked past a bakery and felt nothing. That's never happened."
  • Mood: "My anxiety is almost gone. I feel calm. Grounded."
  • Weight: Down 11 pounds without any dietary changes.

📅 WEEK 4: Follow-Up Appointment

Sarah came back to my office four weeks later.

She looked like a different person.

 

The bloating was completely gone. She was wearing a fitted dress — something she told me she hadn't worn in years because "what's the point when I'll look pregnant by lunch?"

 

Her whole demeanor had changed. Confident. Bright-eyed. Energetic.

 

"Dr. Marcello, I have my life back."

 

I smiled. "Tell me about the two main issues — the bloating and the bathroom situation."

 

She laughed.

 

"Gone. Both of them. GONE. I wake up flat and I stay flat. 

 

I go to the bathroom, and it's quick and clean. I didn't know this was possible. I thought I'd be bloated and wiping forever."

 

We ran follow-up testing.

 

The parasites were gone.

This Pattern Repeats Constantly

Sarah isn't unique.

 

I've recommended this protocol to hundreds of patients over the years.

 

The pattern is remarkably consistent:

Patients who present with:

  • Severe bloating that worsens throughout the day
  • Sticky, difficult-to-clean stools
  • Feeling of incomplete evacuation
  • Chronic fatigue
  • Brain fog
  • Sugar cravings
  • Unexplained weight gain

And who test positive for parasites (or have high clinical suspicion)...

 

...experience dramatic improvement in BOTH the bloating AND the sticky stools — usually within the same timeframe.

 

Because they're not two problems. They're one problem with two manifestations.

 

Are You Recognizing Yourself?

I want to ask you something directly.

 

As you've read this article, have you recognized yourself in Sarah's story?

 

Be honest about the bloating:

  • Does your stomach bloat severely, especially as the day progresses?
  • Do you look noticeably "pregnant" by evening?
  • Have elimination diets failed to fix your bloating?
  • Do you experience abdominal pressure, distension, or discomfort?
  • Does the bloating happen regardless of what you eat?

Be honest about the bathroom situation:

  • Are your stools sticky and paste-like?
  • Do you require excessive wiping — far more than seems normal?
  • Do you never feel fully "done" or completely evacuated?
  • Do you dread bathroom trips because of how long they take?
  • Have you developed hemorrhoids or irritation from constant wiping?

Be honest about the other symptoms:

  • Do you have persistent fatigue that sleep doesn't fix?
  • Do you struggle with brain fog or difficulty concentrating?
  • Do you have sugar or carb cravings that feel impossible to resist?
  • Have you gained weight that won't budge despite your efforts?
  • Do you experience anxiety without clear cause?
  • Do you grind your teeth at night?

 

If you checked items in BOTH the bloating AND bathroom categories — plus several others — I want you to seriously consider the possibility that you're dealing with the same condition Sarah had.

 

The same condition that explains BOTH symptoms.

 

The same condition that can be addressed with a proven, natural protocol.

 

My Professional Recommendation

If Sarah's story resonates with you, here's what I recommend:

 

Step 1: Recognize the Connection

Stop treating bloating and sticky stools as separate issues. They're likely connected — two symptoms of one underlying cause. This reframe is crucial.

 

Step 2: Consider Testing

If possible, ask your healthcare provider about comprehensive parasitology testing. Standard stool panels often miss parasitic infections — request the more thorough version.

 

Step 3: Try the Protocol

Whether or not you get tested, the Black Walnut, Wormwood, and Clove protocol is safe for most adults and has centuries of traditional use behind it.


 

The product I recommend to my patients is Suveea Black Walnut Wormwood & Clove Capsules.

 

What To Expect On The Protocol

DAYS 1-3: Adjustment Phase

You may experience temporary die-off symptoms: increased bloating initially, fatigue, headache, brain fog. 

 

This is normal and indicates the protocol is working. Your body is processing the die-off. Stay hydrated and rest as needed.

 

 

DAYS 4-7: Initial Resolution

Most patients notice significant improvement in BOTH symptoms during this window:

  • Bloating: Less severe, doesn't progress as much through the day
  • Stools: Less sticky, easier wiping, more complete evacuation

This is when patients often text me in shock — "Is this really happening?"

 

 

WEEKS 2-3: Major Transformation

  • Bloating: Minimal to none. Stomach stays flat throughout the day.
  • Stools: Fully normalized. Clean, complete, quick bathroom trips.
  • Energy: Noticeably higher. No more afternoon crashes.
  • Mental clarity: Brain fog lifts. Thinking becomes sharp again.
  • Cravings: Sugar cravings diminish significantly or disappear.
  • Weight: Scale begins moving without dietary changes.

 

WEEK 4+: Full Resolution

Complete normalization of both bloating and bowel habits. 

 

Sustained energy. Clear thinking. Stable mood. Weight continuing to normalize. Overall sense of wellness and vitality.

 

 

MAINTENANCE:

I recommend patients repeat the protocol every 3-6 months. 

 

Reinfection is common in our modern world — contaminated food, travel, pets, etc. Periodic cleansing maintains results.

 

What My Patients Say

 "Both problems — GONE"

"I had terrible bloating AND the sticky stool issue. I thought they were unrelated. Dr. Marcello explained they were connected and recommended Suveea. Within two weeks, BOTH problems resolved. My stomach is flat. Bathroom trips are quick and clean. I feel like a completely different person."

David Alaba

Verified Buyer

 "I can wear fitted clothes again"

"I'd given up on wearing anything fitted because I'd look pregnant by noon. And the bathroom situation was a nightmare I never talked about. Four weeks on the protocol and I'm wearing bodycon dresses again. Bathroom trips take 2 minutes. This changed my life."

Serena Gon

Verified Buyer

"Finally, someone connected the dots"

"I'd seen so many doctors for my bloating. No one ever asked about my stools. When Dr. Marcello asked and I finally admitted the sticky, endless-wiping situation, everything clicked. The protocol addressed BOTH issues because they had the same cause. Wish I'd found this years ago."

Rayul Mike

Verified Buyer

 "The bloating was ruining my life"

"I looked 6 months pregnant every single day. I'd also been dealing with sticky stools forever but was too embarrassed to mention it. Suveea resolved both within three weeks. Flat stomach. Clean bathroom trips. I didn't know this was possible for me."

Anna Chirstin

Verified Buyer

→ Try Suveea Black Walnut Wormwood & Clove

The same protocol I recommend to my patients. Addresses both bloating AND sticky stools by targeting their shared root cause.

P.S. — If you recognized yourself in Sarah's story — if you're dealing with BOTH the bloating AND the sticky stool issue — please understand: these symptoms are connected. 

 

They have the same cause. And that cause can be addressed. Don't spend another year suffering with a pregnant-looking belly and dreading every bathroom trip. 

 

Learn more about the protocol →

 

P.P.S. — Still uncertain? Consider this: What's the cost of NOT addressing this? 

 

More years of looking pregnant by evening? More endless wiping? More fatigue, brain fog, and unexplained weight gain? 

 

The protocol is safe, natural, and based on centuries of use. The only risk is continuing to suffer unnecessarily. 

 

Take the first step →

 

I Want To Stop Bloating & Sticky Stools