light colored stool

[BrightPhoenix]

It's what Kristine said. You look up these symptoms and the Internet says it's something far worse. It's frustrating because most likely it's something that might be there but easily treatable, but you know... it's the Internet and that stuff hits front and center all the time.

If you don't factor in the "worst" - the alternatives are still rather scary. Obviously I'm not going to go into details myself but like Kristine I ended up going down a Google rabbithole of all kinds of digestive symptoms and issues that could be causing what I have. All I know is I want this discomfort to settle down because I just want to enjoy my thanksgiving, but it's not letting me and won't go away - I normally let these things pass after a few weeks but I guess I'm more concerned because of the accompanying feeling of weakness (see my previous post).

Kristine, if you haven't yet, please see a psychiatrist/psychologist - I will be on Saturday but I'm just venting because I have no family or friends I could vent this to.

 

[Bearcat999]

i have another question. does the pancreas show up in endoscopy? can the doctor check the pancreas, liver, gallbladder in endoscopy?

also, would the problem in the pancreas show up in the bloodwork? or is there some special test that you need to do?

The bloodwork wouldn't necessarily point to pancreas, but it would not have come out normal. You would a number of elevated levels. The endoscope wont look at your pancreas. The ultrasound would have looked at your pancreas. The fact that you have clean bloodwork and a clean ultrasound is reason enough for your doctor to move on from your pancreas.

It's what Kristine said. You look up these symptoms and the Internet says it's something far worse. It's frustrating because most likely it's something that might be there but easily treatable, but you know... it's the Internet and that stuff hits front and center all the time.

If you don't factor in the "worst" - the alternatives are still rather scary. Obviously I'm not going to go into details myself but like Kristine I ended up going down a Google rabbithole of all kinds of digestive symptoms and issues that could be causing what I have. All I know is I want this discomfort to settle down because I just want to enjoy my thanksgiving, but it's not letting me and won't go away - I normally let these things pass after a few weeks but I guess I'm more concerned because of the accompanying feeling of weakness (see my previous post).

Kristine, if you haven't yet, please see a psychiatrist/psychologist - I will be on Saturday but I'm just venting because I have no family or friends I could vent this to.

The stomach gurggling is pretty class IBS for me. And I always have stool changes with that. You can also get pretty seriously fatigued from IBS. I'm not a doctor, just my experience. But you mentioned fauna in your gut. We have so much bacteria in our gut that it isn't hard to get it out of whack.

 

[Hypomania]

I wrote a really long thread about this on NMP, but I'll try to recap it.

Last year I was really worried about this because I got back some slightly elevated liver enzymes in routine blood work. I read an article where a guy had elevated enzymes and was eventually diagnosed with PC. Even though the clinical context for that case is way different than mine, I was absolutely CONVINCED that was happening to me.

I had a clean u/s, clean repeat bloodwork (twice more) and had no red flag symptoms. The symptoms I did have were vague and attributed to anxiety at the end of the day.

Like you, I was experiencing stomach pains, pain below the ribs on the side of my pancreas, and floating, light colored stool.

First off, muscle tension from anxiety will cause abdominal pain,and sometimes it floats around. Second, floating stool as a result of fat malabsorption is very obvious when it happens: it will have an absolutely wretched stink (far worse than the stinkiest normal stool), will float ABOVE water (not floating near the top as some normal stool does), will be very hard to flush, and will produce an oily texture that looks like droplets of salad dressing in water. Third, describing a "light" stool is pretty subjective. Typically, stool as a result of lack of bile would be white and caused by a tumor obstructing your bile ducts. If you had a tumor blocking your bile ducts, you would be having repeat bouts of pancreatitis, and the bile would try to release upon eating, but get trapped and would activate while still inside the organ, causing it to literally start digesting itself. Needless to say,this process is EXTREMELY painful, probably like nothing you've ever experienced and would send you to the ER, if you were even able to stand up to call 911. As mentioned earlier, it's likely transit time causing your stools to be lighter... happens to me as well.

 

[kristinelorraine]

The ultrasound would have looked at your pancreas. The fact that you have clean bloodwork and a clean ultrasound is reason enough for your doctor to move on from your pancreas.

The technician said i'm very gassy when she did my ultrasound. would they still be able to clearly check my pancreas even if i'm very gassy? sorry for too much question. i just really need to ease my mind on my pancreas.

I wrote a really long thread about this on NMP, but I'll try to recap it.

Last year I was really worried about this because I got back some slightly elevated liver enzymes in routine blood work. I read an article where a guy had elevated enzymes and was eventually diagnosed with PC. Even though the clinical context for that case is way different than mine, I was absolutely CONVINCED that was happening to me.

I had a clean u/s, clean repeat bloodwork (twice more) and had no red flag symptoms. The symptoms I did have were vague and attributed to anxiety at the end of the day.

Like you, I was experiencing stomach pains, pain below the ribs on the side of my pancreas, and floating, light colored stool.

First off, muscle tension from anxiety will cause abdominal pain,and sometimes it floats around. Second, floating stool as a result of fat malabsorption is very obvious when it happens: it will have an absolutely wretched stink (far worse than the stinkiest normal stool), will float ABOVE water (not floating near the top as some normal stool does), will be very hard to flush, and will produce an oily texture that looks like droplets of salad dressing in water. Third, describing a "light" stool is pretty subjective. Typically, stool as a result of lack of bile would be white and caused by a tumor obstructing your bile ducts. If you had a tumor blocking your bile ducts, you would be having repeat bouts of pancreatitis, and the bile would try to release upon eating, but get trapped and would activate while still inside the organ, causing it to literally start digesting itself. Needless to say,this process is EXTREMELY painful, probably like nothing you've ever experienced and would send you to the ER, if you were even able to stand up to call 911. As mentioned earlier, it's likely transit time causing your stools to be lighter... happens to me as well.

thanks Hypomania. what worried me most is that the yellowish, light stool is almost 3 months now. the stabbing and poking pain is still here. it starts on my left side and now affects my right side as well and the back. i'm not sure if the culprit is just trapped gas but i'm hoping that's just it.
i dont know if it's my anxiey, i'm also feeling full easily and im starting to feel pain in my sternum and on my middle back or is it because i read that PC pain starts in upper abdomen and radiates to the back, it also causes loss of appetite.

also, im really confused as to where the pancreas is located. is it on the right or left side?

 

[BrightPhoenix]

I wrote a really long thread about this on NMP, but I'll try to recap it.

Last year I was really worried about this because I got back some slightly elevated liver enzymes in routine blood work. I read an article where a guy had elevated enzymes and was eventually diagnosed with PC. Even though the clinical context for that case is way different than mine, I was absolutely CONVINCED that was happening to me.

I had a clean u/s, clean repeat bloodwork (twice more) and had no red flag symptoms. The symptoms I did have were vague and attributed to anxiety at the end of the day.

Like you, I was experiencing stomach pains, pain below the ribs on the side of my pancreas, and floating, light colored stool.

First off, muscle tension from anxiety will cause abdominal pain,and sometimes it floats around. Second, floating stool as a result of fat malabsorption is very obvious when it happens: it will have an absolutely wretched stink (far worse than the stinkiest normal stool), will float ABOVE water (not floating near the top as some normal stool does), will be very hard to flush, and will produce an oily texture that looks like droplets of salad dressing in water. Third, describing a "light" stool is pretty subjective. Typically, stool as a result of lack of bile would be white and caused by a tumor obstructing your bile ducts. If you had a tumor blocking your bile ducts, you would be having repeat bouts of pancreatitis, and the bile would try to release upon eating, but get trapped and would activate while still inside the organ, causing it to literally start digesting itself. Needless to say,this process is EXTREMELY painful, probably like nothing you've ever experienced and would send you to the ER, if you were even able to stand up to call 911. As mentioned earlier, it's likely transit time causing your stools to be lighter... happens to me as well.

This is actually good to hear. I do have elevated liver enzymes but it is due to fatty liver, which is something already diagnosed, so those enzyme levels don't set off the HA alarm bells in my head.

And my stool sinks, it doesn't float like what you said, and generally flushes (though since it's loose it takes a couple flushes instead of one) so that's also good to know because a lot of sites don't explain that either. I'm assuming the anxiety is essentially making our bowels work faster and push the food out quicker, like you said transit time because of all that stress. OP sounds like she is going through a lot.

This post and Bear's actually is a huge help. I already contacted my gastro and will have a discussion with him about it. I just wanted more anecdotal information on this because these sites are awful at explaining this stuff. Thank you!

The technician said i'm very gassy when she did my ultrasound. would they still be able to clearly check my pancreas even if i'm very gassy? sorry for too much question. i just really need to ease my mind on my pancreas.

These are questions you need to ask your gastro. Call them and ask to speak to either his nurse assistant or have the nurse leave a message with him to get back to you. It works a lot better than asking us - I'm still waiting for a reply from him but my gastro is a very patient guy with good bedside manner. Hopefully yours is too.

Kristine, are you seeing a psychiatrist/psychologist? It sounds like you need to manage the anxiety you're subjected to in your life. You'll be able to discuss all this with them and get it off your chest and hopefully find a means to deal with it.

 

[kristinelorraine]

is it considered a fat malabsorption when the soft stool leaves a trail or sticks on the side of the bowl?

 

[Hypomania]

About the floating stool stuff: the jury is still out about whether or not it's clinically significant. One of my best friends is a doc and he was saying it's probably one of the least predictive symptoms and really doesn't mean anything. There

I've had floating stools, and still do on occasion, and I'm still around. PC is so aggressive, especially with no treatment, so I'd definitely be dead by now if I had it. So I don't think floating stools always mean anything is wrong.

I've also had streaks of stool stock to the bowl. Sometimes our stool is really soft and leaves streaks. Doesn't always mean anything sinister is going on. Actually happened the other day if you want to know lol

 

[kristinelorraine]

i think i had the fat malabsorption stool happened to me once throughout my sromach problem. it's like a greasy, orange-y oil in the stool. i charged it as a diarrhea and it never happened again. should i be worried?

 

[Bearcat999]

I wrote a really long thread about this on NMP, but I'll try to recap it.

Last year I was really worried about this because I got back some slightly elevated liver enzymes in routine blood work. I read an article where a guy had elevated enzymes and was eventually diagnosed with PC. Even though the clinical context for that case is way different than mine, I was absolutely CONVINCED that was happening to me.

I had a clean u/s, clean repeat bloodwork (twice more) and had no red flag symptoms. The symptoms I did have were vague and attributed to anxiety at the end of the day.

Like you, I was experiencing stomach pains, pain below the ribs on the side of my pancreas, and floating, light colored stool.

First off, muscle tension from anxiety will cause abdominal pain,and sometimes it floats around. Second, floating stool as a result of fat malabsorption is very obvious when it happens: it will have an absolutely wretched stink (far worse than the stinkiest normal stool), will float ABOVE water (not floating near the top as some normal stool does), will be very hard to flush, and will produce an oily texture that looks like droplets of salad dressing in water. Third, describing a "light" stool is pretty subjective. Typically, stool as a result of lack of bile would be white and caused by a tumor obstructing your bile ducts. If you had a tumor blocking your bile ducts, you would be having repeat bouts of pancreatitis, and the bile would try to release upon eating, but get trapped and would activate while still inside the organ, causing it to literally start digesting itself. Needless to say,this process is EXTREMELY painful, probably like nothing you've ever experienced and would send you to the ER, if you were even able to stand up to call 911. As mentioned earlier, it's likely transit time causing your stools to be lighter... happens to me as well.

Great post! One last thing, as Hypo described the bile being trapped, your body would absorb it and you would be jaundiced.

 

[kristinelorraine]

Kristine, are you seeing a psychiatrist/psychologist? It sounds like you need to manage the anxiety you're subjected to in your life. You'll be able to discuss all this with them and get it off your chest and hopefully find a means to deal with it.

i'm planning to see one once i sort out my stomach issues.

 

[Hypomania]

i think i had the fat malabsorption stool happened to me once throughout my sromach problem. it's like a greasy, orange-y oil in the stool. i charged it as a diarrhea and it never happened again. should i be worried?

I had a thing where my stool looked orange-ish. Wasn't anything to worry about. It's down to diet and transit time. If it was fat malabsorption, it would be pretty obvious. Also, fat malabsorption due to low pancreatic function would be consistent, not something that comes and goes. Actually, I had read studies that shown fat malabsorption occurs when the pancreas has been damages to such an extent that 90% ceases to work properly. As mentioned before, that would have produced multiple other symptoms before that point.

 

[BrightPhoenix]

I had a thing where my stool looked orange-ish. Wasn't anything to worry about. It's down to diet and transit time. If it was fat malabsorption, it would be pretty obvious. Also, fat malabsorption due to low pancreatic function would be consistent, not something that comes and goes. Actually, I had read studies that shown fat malabsorption occurs when the pancreas has been damages to such an extent that 90% ceases to work properly. As mentioned before, that would have produced multiple other symptoms before that point.

Yep, this is like with the liver. My mom passed away from something involving the liver and the liver can take quite a beating before becoming an issue. What my mom had was undiagnosed because nobody in my family knew about it and I will not reveal what it is since I don't want to set anyone off. This is why so many alcoholics can live for ages despite being heavy drinkers because the liver can tolerate a lot of alcohol and by the time you hit that point where the liver's screwed up it's VERY obvious, just like with the pancreas.

Kristine please call your GI and ask for a nursing assistant or your doctor to discuss this. They'll be able to know better.

 

[kristinelorraine]

okay, so yesterday i pressed hard on the part where i feel the stabbing pain in my upper right back and now it's hurting a lot.
it's located at the bottom of my right shoulder bone. it hurts a lot now after i keep pressing hard should i be worried? did i tear a muscle, tendon or nerve or is it something worse like a blood clot or my gallbladder? please help, i'm also feeling nauseous now.

 

[BrightPhoenix]

I get that issue when I push really hard down on an on my torso that hurts, I just make it hurt more.

Trust us, you *need* to see a therapist at the same time, if not earlier before you get your stomach issues taken care of. I get small abdominal pains too and right now I feel like there's some fluid stuck in my throat (not bile), but us obsessing over it I think is only going to make it worse. We can reassure you again and again but you're only going to drive yourself into a HA spiral by worrying about every little pain. All of us here knows how you feel to be in that HA loop. My stomach issues is also keeping me in that loop because it's front and center - I get reminded every time I go to the bathroom.

But at least try to live your life. Thanksgiving is coming up - if you're able to visit them, spend some time with your family and discuss what is going through your mind with them. I'm going to try myself, despite my stomach feeling bad, because I too will probably have to wait a short bit before seeing my GI. It's tough and yes it drives us nuts, but you need to take it one day at a time.

 

[kristinelorraine]

I really appreciate it BrightPhoenix. I only slept for 3 hours today. I hardly get any sleep since my stomach issues happen.
I was feeling good last night and was about to fall asleep when I suddenly feel nauseous and my back (scapula) where I pressed hard suddenly hurts again. I freaked out so I pressed it again to check, that's when it hurts really bad I thought I will get a Pulmonary Embolism or maybe it's my pancreas, gall bladder or liver getting worse. I can't breathe so I vomit. Im feeling a bit better now but my back is still sore.

can you get blood clot on the back? or did i just sprain my muscle on the back from pressing too hard or is it my internal organs getting worse? the pain is just below my right scapula. i'm not sure if there's any organs in there.

 

[BrightPhoenix]

I would have to defer to other people because I don't know. I've had pain on my shoulder bone completely unrelated to digestion - but what I had was more of a rash and it's this interesting condition that is related to some nerves being irritated and it just being in the perfect spot (right where the back shoulder bone connects to the torso).

Are you taking anything to treat your anxiety?

 

[kristinelorraine]

Are you taking anything to treat your anxiety?

nothing right now. my GI doesn't want me to take anything and said to just wait for the endoscopy

 

[BrightPhoenix]

That's strange, my GI said to just keep taking my meds before the day of the endoscopy. I guess he suspects maybe a med is causing some stomach irritation or something and he wants to make sure it's a clean test. Your GI needs to communicate with you more.

 

[kristinelorraine]

i scheduled an appointment with a primary care doctor next week. I cannot wait till my endoscopy. i feel like my GI doctor is not taking me seriously.
i need my other body parts get checked as well and also get some psychiatric test.
right now, my fear have shifted to ovarian cancer since the symptoms are quite the same (bloating, abdomen pain, back pain, indigestion, loss of appetite). it's really worrisome for a hypochondriac like me. i really want to get this over with.

 

[BrightPhoenix]

Sorry for the bump folks - how are you doing Kristine? Did you find out what's bugging you?