Can drinking tea make your stools look darker? What about taking certain medication like clonazepam(used for anxiety)? Fasting?

I think stool color is determine alot by what you eat, drink and there are medications that slow the intestines down and your stool gets drarker.

Dairy products make it light color!! I don't know about fasting but I think the longer the stool stays in your intestines it would become darker. Just a guess??

I would agree Harry.

Tea doesn't seem to stimulate the bowel as coffee does, actually it does the opposite.

Protein, iron supplements and my favourite...chocolate... would all cause the stool to be a darker colour.

If they're black..could be bleeding high in the bowel.

quincy

Can drinking tea make your stools look darker? What about taking certain medication like clonazepam(used for anxiety)? Fasting?
Beyond food colorings, Bismuth which is found in Peptibismol, will make your stool black. It can not be distinguished from digested blood unless you know that you took the bismuth. The other thing that influences stool color is the bile that is excreted from the liver. If the stool is pale tan colored there may be a blockage occuring in the liver bile ducts.

If there is any type of internal bleeding is it possible for it to be going on for 2-4 months without anything bad happening(death, passing out, etc.)? Would certain blood tests(CBC's) be able to detect anything going on? What is the likelyhood of somebody that is 25 years old having these type of problems? I actually had a stool test done back in January that came up normal. Wouldn't that have shown anything? I have had problems with dizziness/lightheadedness for a few months now. Would any internal type of internal bleeding contribute to this?

Tallman,--

Yes, intermittent bleeding can occur but one can have tiny bleeding amounts with out anything adverse happening. If it is happening enough, you can eventually start to have fatigue. If you are female that in combination with monthly cycle can really drain you fast. If you are male and your hemaglobin starts to drop then it is very imperitive that you seek the cause. Dizziness, light-headedness, fatigue, shortness of breath etc, are all symptoms of anemia and this will show up on a routine Complete blood count if it is anemia.

Do you mean it can happen as far as for the 2-4 month period or as far as people my age go? So would dizziness/lightheadedness be a sign of this type of problem or just with anemia, inner ear disorders, etc.? Again, I'm curious if this can happen to people in their 20's, if blood tests can show signs(did you cover it with the thing on hemaglobins?) and if its a good sign that nothing is wrong since I had normal stool tests? Thanks!

I just found this posting and what Quincy wrote about chocolate is interesting - I love Dove dark chocolate and eat it on occasion. I never considered that chocolate could cause the darker areas in my stool. Hmmm. This is Wednesday morning, and I just ate a dark chocloate Dove bar Monday afternoon. I think I will have to test this a little more and see if it happens again when I eat one of these. Thank-you Quincy.

Hey Tallman,
I'm another Tallman and ran across this message board googling the Tallman name.
I noticed you had questioned about stool changes if you were fasting.
I have fasted before, and your body will dump toxins during the fasting process. I would think this might affect the color of your stools. Also depending on how stringemt you are fasting, the lack of fiber in your diet may cause you to become constipated.
I know from past experiences in severe fasting periods that fainting and light headedness also are symptoms due to poor nutritional intake.
If you truly had concerns that you might be suffering from "say colon cancer" your doctor can give you a simple stool testing kit, where they analyze for blood in your stool.
I would think it is possible for anyone at any age to contract cancer.
If you are concerned about this, go be tested. The earlier you catch it the better chance you have for treatment.
Best of luck to you.
Sorry it took me 3 yrs. to find this thread.