possible fat malabsorption ?

[Shady Kaity]

I know this is gross, but I am a little concerned from doing my own research online about my current problem and would like to hear opinions of others on this matter...

Today, I experienced very light colored, thin stool accompanied by an upper abdomen pain...from my first researching I found it could possibly be gallstones, or a gallstone blocking a bile duct..totally not fun.

Then, I read, it could possibly be fat malabsorption? Which, from what I've read anyway, has terrible causes such as pancreatitis, or pancreatic cancer, or celiac disease.

AND THEN, I read what most sounds similar to my situation, which was colon cancer...I am for the most part very constipated...I was diagnosed with IBS a few years back, but occasionally, I do experience softer stools, not exactly diarrhea, but definitely not the normal "texture" i guess you could say.

I don't tend to eat very much(I struggle with an eating disorder) and when I do eat, its usually not always that good for me. Not to say that I eat fast food and greasy shit, I never eat fast food and I don't even drink soda. But I tend to eat "quick" things, such as mac and cheese and microwavable meals, sweets and such things. And I also tend not to eat so much perhaps due to my medications, I am on prozac and vyvanse. I know the vyvanse has an effect on appetite but not too sure about the prozac.

What I ate today:
a bowl of oatmeal
a SmartOne chicken fettuccine microwave meal
and cookies and mini donuts (I know, not good lol)
and I had around two-three cups of coffee.

Does anyone have any advice or any idea of whats going on with me? I'm 20 years old 5'7 and around 140 lbs. I don't have any other medical conditions to my knowledge other than the IBS, so I'd like to think I'm pretty healthy...

Help, please?

Also: I am experience a dull back pain in my middle of my back..IDK if that due to this issue, or perhaps I've been on an intense cleaning spree all afternoon.

 

[euphoria]

It seems unlikely that you'd have colon cancer at such a young age. The other conditions are possible as well, but since you're otherwise in good health, they are also unlikely. Regardless, we are not doctors here, and you should consider having a lower GI test if your condition doesn't improve soon. It's definitely not worth risking your life over.

My gut reaction says that your diet and medications are to blame for the inconsistent stool/pain you are having. I know from experience that ssri's affect your digestive system massively. A friend of mine took Paxil for around a year and has suffered from ibs ever since. I'm not saying this is always true of people who take ssri's, but its definitely a possible side effect. Your diet (from the example you shared) contains very little fiber and nutrients, which are what produce a healthy stool. Even if you don't switch to a full-blown health nut diet, just adding in some fresh foods like fruits and veggies would help. It may sound kinda gross (as talking about bowel movements does lol) but anytime I eat a big salad I notice that the next day it's a lot easier to go. You can get lower back pain and abdominal pain from not pooping regularly.

 

[Shady Kaity]

Hmmm...thank you for that..I'm hoping to be able to schedule an appointment with a gastroenterologist, but my family currently has MANY other issues at hand before we can deal with my issues..mother might have cancer and might have to have surgery on her shoulder, grandmother has emphysema and breast cancer, my son has speech therapy most days of the week, and I just started my first year at college the other day, oh and also my mothers always busy dealing with my incarcerated brother, so needless to say, my needs often come last if at all.. lol If I were able to drive, making an appropriate time for an appointment would be a lot easier, but unfortunately I really dont have much of a way to transport myself anywhere thats not within walking distance..
So, what I do whenever I have stomach pains and issues, is take a ginger supplement...I've personally found it to be much more effective than other OTC products such as pepto and tums. So, I guess until then, I'll just have to make some changes to my diet and continue to take the ginger and hope for the best

 

[euphoria]

Sorry to hear that hun! Take care of yourself That's a lot to handle, and stress can also wreak havoc on your body (especially your digestive system) One step at a time! You will make it, I just know it! Ginger is good. I didn't know this until recently but I read on the back of the bottle of pepto I think... it can cause changes to your stool after you take it. So if you're taking pepto every day, it can have a huge effect on your bowel movements. I know first hand that taking acid reducers every day (I got probs with the upper half of the digestive system) only made my acid reflux WORSE. Crazy I know. Diet change is what did it for me. It sucks to not be able to just eat whatever, but it's worth it to not be in pain. And you can treat yourself once in awhile

 

[Shady Kaity]

yes i definitely know that stress has a huge impact on the digestive tract...I have been diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder with acute social phobia...so when I'm stressed, anxious, nervous, angry, sad, excited...basically any emotion, It will sometimes get so bad that I will vomit from pure emotion...but stress definitely causes the worst upset of my stomach...I have not taken pepto or any acid reducers in a decent amount of time...
The last time I took pepto was because I got very nauseous from taking a little bit of suboxone...and for some reason, any time I get upset about something when on suboxone, I throw up. That day I had a current argument with two close friends and I had taken it and felt very sick to my stomach, so logically my boyfriend thought some pepto would help, so he bought me some...I took a nice sized gulp of it in the car, and almost IMMEDIATELY after I gulped it down, I told him to pull over, and then proceeded to vomit multiple times on the side of the road...Not saying its necessarily peptos fault, like I said any time I'm upset on suboxone I WILL throw up, just think its a weird coincidence that right after I took the pepto, I started vomiting...IDK. but since that situation, I've been too scared to take anything again, so I turned to ginger as a much better alternative. When I had been pregnant and had severe morning sickness, the pharmacy swore by ginger, and I was skeptical at first, but really am amazed with the results of it.
It may sound strange, but I really think with starting school, it will reduce a lot of my stress...the main part of my stressors are from being at home, dealing with family, chasing around a toddler and petty arguments with the boyfriend...So really, going to school feels like a vacation to me. And it makes me feel a lot better depression wise with being productive and doing something I truly enjoy. I never ever thought that I'd say I wish I had school everyday but I really do now lol...

 

[euphoria]

I hear what you're saying. I have always been the same way with my stomach. I take ssri's for the same reason... anxiety. I threw up on my first day of kindergarten because I was so nervous... lol. And that's been kinda the theme throughout my life. And it comes and goes.

That's cool you start school soon. Structure is good sometimes ya know? It can give you a time to clear your head from your stresses, and focus on something else. One of my favorite things about structured schedules is that I tend to eat a lot better because I end up eating at more regular times. Getting into a regular eating and sleeping schedule does wonders for my anxiety and digestive system I think. Hopefully you start to feel better soon Good luck with school!

 

[Shady Kaity]

thank you!

 

[littlepenguin]

I love coffee. It makes me shit like a goose, though. Any time I am a little 'plugged up,' I make a french press and it's bombs away from there. I would suggest removing the coffee from your diet for a week and I bet you would see a difference in your BM's (they would solidify more). Also, there is very little fiber in your diet. Fiber is awesome. It helps you feel full, and it makes you poo on a regular basis. You can take fiber pills or you can get the junk that you mix into water or juice. I would recommend adding either that fiber supplement to your diet, or a meal with some serious fiber in it. I won't list them here, but you could google 'foods rich in fiber' and pick one item from that list and eat it everyday. The oatmeal you're eating is good, but apparently you may need additional fiber. Make sure you're drinking enough water. And hey, I don't think it's necessary to slam coffee when you're on Vyvanse, and what I mean by not necessary, I mean probably not recommended. You're probably dehydrated. I am on the uppers as well and it is very difficult for me to consume adequate amounts of liquids, so the ones I do, I try to make it count, one's that I know I like and will drink. I drink apple juice like it's going out of style. I know it's super high in sugar, but when I am not eating very much, I get extremely shaky when my blood sugar drops (and I shake a little anyways) so if I don't get sugar in me STAT, I look like a crazy shaky mofo. Pick something you like to drink, and drink it. Some fluid of any kind is better than no fluid/coffee. Good luck

 

[CHiLD-0F-THE-BEAT]

I know it's easy to Google symptoms and diagnose yourself, but it's always a better idea to go to a professional (GP) who can correctly diagnose you first time.

Hope you get to the bottom of this soon Kaity!

 

[Shimmer.Fade]

IF it has something to do with your gall bladder or pancreas being blocked from secreting into the small intestine than time is important in regards to outcome. If the pain continues you most definitely should get it checked out. Another interesting thing with an inflamed gall bladder, which is often, but not always present, will be pain in the right shoulder. The gall bladder secrete is what emulsifies the fats that you eat allowing them to be absorbed, so a blocked gall bladder/pancreas canal would lead to fat mal-absorption. However, there would in this case usually be more severe symptoms, which would end up leading fairly quickly to pancreatitis (very life threatening). Also, it really depends on where the stone is lodged as to the symptomatic..if it is higher up in the gall canal then the problem is not nearly so bad as if it would go further down and block the canal that the gall bladder/pancreas share. A gall stone can also dislodge with time, and then move down there.

Really though it is impossible with such little information to do anything more than think about what it COULD be.

Anyways, if the pain was a one time deal I would say don't worry about it too much. If the pain continues, or your unusual stools continue then you should most certainly go seek a doctor. If the pain becomes excruciatingly bad go to the emergency room.

 

[Samadhi]

I'm absolutely with COTB here - if you possibly can, please see a doctor if you're concerned with anything regarding recurring abdominal pain and abnormal stools. Self-diagnosis can be a very dangerous exercise. As shimmer.fade said, if it's a one-off, perhaps it might have been something not agreeing with you, for whatever reason, and your digestive tract was resetting itself. Keep an eye on it and seek further medical advice from a GP if it keeps up.

All the best