Have had symptoms for years and I put it off. Am I screwed?

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Prettyterrified5
Posts: 1
Joined: Sun Oct 29, 2017 8:15 pm

Have had symptoms for years and I put it off. Am I screwed?

Postby Prettyterrified5 » Sun Oct 29, 2017 8:34 pm

Hello. I’m new here and was looking for some opinions. I’m 23, morbidly obese and have a pretty sedentary lifestyle. About three years ago I noticed my stool becoming more yellowish and loose. Me, being a huge procrastinator and someone who tends to ignore issues like these in hopes they’d go away on their own, didn’t go to the doctor for like a year.

I got a stool sample kit and then kept putting off doing it until next thing you know it’s been three total years since I’ve first had the symptoms, and I still haven’t done anything about it. My current symptoms are typically (but not always) loose stool, with an ALWAYS yellow or borderline orange color, it’s very oilly when it comes out, I can visually see a film of oil or something on the toilet water after a bowel movement. Ive seen it be very mucus-y as well. There was one incident where blood was present on the stool (just on the tips of the logs, very strange) but this was an anomoly as it hasn’t happened before or since. No bloating and no abdominal pain ever but i am often a bit gassey and find myself going diarrhea a few times a week. I’ve even had diarrhea happen 30 minutes after a more normal log looking bowel movement. I went on several diets during the span of this three year period for weeks at a time where I was eating exactly how I am supposed to (fulfilling macro nutrition goals and staying away from excess fat and carbs) but the same bowel movments persisted so it doesn’t seem to pertain to diet. I dont think I’ve had more than a handful of normal brown-colored looking stools since the beginning of this three year period. I am going to get a new stool home test kit from my doctor tomorrow and will be completing it and turning it in asap. But I’m pretty terrified of it being some form of colon cancer... especially with how long i waited to do something about it. Am I screwed?

Pemba
Posts: 84
Joined: Thu Aug 24, 2017 7:52 am

Re: Have had symptoms for years and I put it off. Am I screwed?

Postby Pemba » Sun Oct 29, 2017 9:35 pm

It’s really don’t match symptoms to colon cancer, yellow stools are fine actually, but don’t know about it being oily, sound like something not quite right in the digestion department, I know problems with the pancreas can give fatty stools that can be hard to floss out. And also now that you mention being obese, diabetes can cause a loose stomach as well, but there should probably be more symptoms like extreme thirst. And it may be something like lactose intolerance or other food allergies.

I don’t think anything is wrong with you so try to eat healthy and take some extra fiber pills to get the stomach back on track. And of course do the test the doctor gave you!

I know you said that diet doesn’t change you bowl movement, but one health week isn’t enough to change it for the better. It may not work, but try for some months.
Age: 26
2017: 15mm Tubulovillous adenoma- Low grade dysplasi.
Next scopy: original 2020 probably 2018-19

MissMolly
Posts: 645
Joined: Wed Jun 03, 2015 4:33 pm
Location: Portland, Ore

Re: Have had symptoms for years and I put it off. Am I screwed?

Postby MissMolly » Sun Oct 29, 2017 9:55 pm

I would agree with Pemba that the discoloration of your stool most likely points to a something amiss with your body’s digestive processing.

A lack of bile salts, in particular, will produce stool that is yellow/orange in color. That you also see an oily film raises the suspicion of a gallbladder or bile duct origin of your symptoms. You may have gall stones or a gall bladder with a sluggish ejection fraction (low secretion of bile and bile salts into the small intestine).

A diet high in processed foods and/or high fat foods would exacerbate bile-related symptoms.

My hunch would be that your symptoms are related to gall bladder or liver and bile duct problems as a first area of inquiry by a gastroenterologist.
Karen
Dear friend to Bella Piazza, former Colon Club member (NWGirl).
I have a permanent ileostomy and offer advice on living with an ostomy - in loving remembrance of Bella
I am on Palliative Care for broad endocrine failure + Addison's disease + osteonecrosis of both hips/jaw + immunosuppression. I live a simple life due to frail health.

Pemba
Posts: 84
Joined: Thu Aug 24, 2017 7:52 am

Re: Have had symptoms for years and I put it off. Am I screwed?

Postby Pemba » Sun Oct 29, 2017 10:29 pm

MissMolly wrote: My hunch would be that your symptoms are related to gall bladder or liver and bile duct problems as a first area of inquiry by a gastroenterologist.
Karen


I think your right, it’s of cause the gall bladder and not pancreas, that was a brain fart on my behalf! They might live next to each other, but have different functions.
Age: 26
2017: 15mm Tubulovillous adenoma- Low grade dysplasi.
Next scopy: original 2020 probably 2018-19


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