Jaundice? - Liver & Pancreas Disorders Message Board

Yommy · 09-26-2004, 01:47 PM

Hi All!

I've had trouble off and on for the past few years with my bowel movements being really light colored. I've had some problems with bilirubin in my urine which they've not formally come up with an explanation for. I know that when this amount is high, it means I'm jaundiced and that jaundice can cause light colored stools. For the past couple weeks, however, they have been much darker than normal. I was thinking "YAY, I'm back to normal!," when today my hopes were crushed. My feces this morning were lighter than they've ever been- almost white! However, I'm not showing any signs of jaundice. Could this be caused by something other than liver/gallbladder? Could it simply be stress? (I've been under a tremedous amount of that lately.) Is it ever normal to have stools this light? I don't have health insurance, so trips to the doctor are on an emergency basis only. Therefore, any help you can give is truly appreciated! Thank You!

Hundtoft

antoinettev3 · 09-26-2004, 02:52 PM

Stool color is greatly effected by what you eat. If you eat a lot of green veggies you'll find your stool will be greenish in color, blueberries will also make for some interesting color changes.

If you're eating a bland diet, taking antiacids, little or no dark vegetables, fruits, etc. You're stool will be light in color.

Typically clay colored stools are what tend to raise a red flag.

You mention that because the bilirubin is high in your urine that you're jaundiced. Is your skin or the whites of your eyes actually yelllow? Jaundice means yellowing of the skin, eyes or mucous membranes and it's caused by bilirubin accumulating in the skin not from it only being secreted in the urine.

Light colored stools can be a sign of gallbladder trouble but you would have other symptoms.

Stress can cause numerous problems and changes with bowel habits. It's possible that you are dealing with Irritable Bowel Syndrome. Other then the color of your stools has anything else changed about them?

I hope this has been helpful.

Antoinette

Yommy · 09-26-2004, 04:02 PM

Hi Antoinette!

I've done lots of research into the bilirubin thing. In June, after having a lot of pain in the right side of my back, I went to the ER thinking it was a kidney infection I had let go too far. The tests for infection came back normal, but they said I had bilirubin in my urine which is never normal. After doing much research, I found that the only two causes of this are liver trouble and gallstones, but when I went for a follow up with my doc, he said Gilbert's Syndrome without a single test for gallstones. If you know about bilirubin, then you know there are two types- direct and indirect. With Gilbert's, the indirect is abnormally high. But indirect can never be found in the urine. Direct bilirubin can be found in the urine when it is in abnormally large amounts and is not being excreted properly, as well as in the skin, causing jaundice. When jaundice is severe,(due to blockage by a gallstone, etc.) it can cause very dark (possibly even black) urine and very light, even white colored stools. However, lately, I have not been having any pain that can be attributed to gallstones, and I'm not showing any physical signs of jaundice (other than the stools). My eyes, skin, and fingernail beds do not look yellow, not even a little. I have had some other trouble with my stools as well. They are always soft, frequently runny. About eighty percent of the time, it would be classified as diarrhea. Many times lately, they've been a little more solid, but very narrow. (Not more than the width of two pencils.) I do eat a very bland diet, so that could definitely be part of the trouble. I've noticed that chili makes them darker and even red tinted. But today's were much lighter than normal. Like I said, almost white. I'd actually call it gray I guess. I don't know a whole lot about IBS, do you have anymore information on that? I'm a 21 year old female, 5'0", 99 lbs, in relatively good physical condition, if that may rule anything out. Again, thank you for your help, all advice is appreciated!

Thanks,
Hundtoft

P.S. Do you ever go by Toni? That's my first name and I'm constantly being asked if it's short for Antoinette!

antoinettev3 · 09-26-2004, 06:41 PM

I use to go by Toni when I was in college and some members of my husband's family still call me by that name.

I've had a LOT of G-I trouble over the years. I had my gallbladder out 14 years ago and back then I use to complain to my doctor that my stools were very pale, soft, sometimes thin, pretty much everything you've mentioned. They were always at their palest when I was living on rice, toast, bananas and Gaviscon.

In addition to these symptoms I did have gallbaldder attacks that were at first far and few between and eventually became so bad that all I could eat was cream of rice cereal and banana, but only in the morning. If I ate anything solid after 4:00 I was guaranteed a nasty attack.

I was 28 at the time and weighed 97 pounds (5'2"). I had lost 12 pounds in 2 weeks. It wasn't much fun. Even after I had the gallbladder taken out I still suffered with G-I troubles. Since they couldn't find anything else wrong with me they concluded it was IBS.

Basically IBS is a motility problem whose most common symptoms is alternating diarehha and constipation but it can also effect the stomach, esophagus and cause a myriad of complaints. There are all sorts of treatments for it from drugs that try to normalize the motility of the colon to stress management and hypnosis.

Thankfully mine has never been that bad and it only flares up in the most stressful situations.

Gilbert's Syndrome sounds like a reasonable diagnosis except you say that it's the bilirubin that's found in blood that will be elevated and not the type found in urine. Were you ever given a blood test for the bilirubin levels? Did you question your doctor about his diagnosis considering where the bilirubin was found?

Usually tests for the gallbladder are not done unless someone is complaining of symptoms. The first test they did on me was a gallbladder ultrasound after I presented to my local ER with excrutiating pain (crampy spastic pain in my upper right quadrant). It lasted 12 hours that time.

Since you seem to be in good health and this problem with the light colored stools has been an on and off thing for several years it's unlikely anything very serious. Now if you're still experiencing pain in your back or develop other symptoms/pains, unexplained fever, etc. then you'll want to consider getting another work up done by a doctor and don't let it go too long.

I know it must be hard to deal with health issues when you don't have insurance. A friend of mine had the same problems. Even after he was in a car accident he didn't want to go get checked out because he knew how much it would end up costing. I made him go.

You're lucky that you are SO young. Unless you've engaged in risky behaviour your risk of having something seriously wrong with your liver at 21 is unlikely.

Antoinette

Yommy · 09-27-2004, 10:25 AM

Thank you so much for your response. It's appreciated more than you know. Do you know if it's possible to have a gallstone blocking a bile duct that passes on its own? I had all the symptoms, but they seem to have faded away. The pain I was having in my back was on the upper right side and frequently in my shoulder blade. It also seemed to wrap around to my side and a little in the front under the rib cage. I was running an unexplainable fever. As a matter of fact, I was monitoring it closely (thinking it was from a kidney infection) for about two weeks, and it would run anywhere from normal to 99.8. Then, when I went to the Dr. for the follow up, they took my temp. and it was 102.1, the highest it had been. About a week later, my mom had to go to the hospital for routine surgery (it ended up not being so routine, but that's a much longer story....) and during the first couple weeks I was visiting her there, it hurt badly and frequently, but I wasn't paying much attention to it because I was caring for her. However, now I only have an occasional ache in that area and no fever. I do have an abnormal amount of gas, though. I say abnormal because I've never been one to have stomach problems (thank God) until the last few months. Now I'm constantly full of gas, I have no appetite, I have to force myself to eat. I've lost 30 lbs in the last year, 10 of them in the last month or two. I should mention that the Dr. I went to for the follow up is the first time I've ever seen him before. My husband and I moved to a new place about a year ago or so, and this was my first serious problem that needed attention. Therefore, he's not familiar w/my medical history, and I feel his diagnosis was inaccurate. He wanted me to come back this month for more testing (he seemed really concerned w/my thyroid- another really long story) but I haven't even been able to pay off the first bill to his office, and now, with no job, don't see being able to pay it off, much less another. He did do a liver test which showed normal other than the raised bilirubin level, but I'm more concerned that it could be gallstones, due to the fact that I don't consume any alcohol, have never had hepatitis, etc. Is it possible I could have had a gallstone blocking a bile duct causing those symptoms that passed or went away on its own? Otherwise, I guess I'll just chalk it up to stress or IBS until I can afford to get a real diagnosis. Again, thanks for your help and support!

Toni