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Suffer Loose Stools, Took Imodium. Feeling Gassy. Been On Stress And Taking Tums Ultra. Concerned?
Question: Last week my wife and I ate P.F. Chang's Chicken and Broccoli from the frozen section at the grocery store. I had some loos stools so I took some Imodium and it stopped. After the Imodium I was passing more gas than normal but didn't think much of it. And my stools were well formed but yellow in color. This past weekend after eating steak out at XXXXXXX Chris's (with butter) I was extremely gassy and took some more Imodium. The gas stopped but all this week my bile movements have been formed but that yellow color (including this morning). I read this may be a blockage of my bile duct but could also be due to too much Kapoectate / Pepto. I have also been under a lot of stress at work and have taken Tums Ultra 1000. I am very concerned - can you help ?
Hello!
Thank you for the query.
Some explanation first.
Bile is produced by a liver and secreted to the bile ducts. It flows through this ducts to the gallbladder. When a food appears in the stomach, gallbladder is releasing a bile and secrets it to the intestine(duodenum). Bile is yellow because it contains bilirubin. When a bile travels through the small and large intestine, the most part of bile is absorbed to the blood. Some part of bile is left in the intestines. Due to intestines bacteria bilirubin is digested to stercobili. Stercobilin is brown.
So in case of bile ducts obstruction, there is no bile in the stool and it becomes white.
Lac of intestines bacteria causes yellow stool (as bilirubin is not digested to stercobilin). Every intestinal infection causes some intestines bacteria destruction.
So I suggest you to do not worry. Please start with intestine bacteria supplementation (probiotic) and have mild diet (no fatty foods, no fried foods, no spicy food, no coffee, no alcohol). If it wont help in few days, please visit your doctor and have stool tests done.
For stress relief please try Magnesium 400 mg supplementation.
Hope this will help. Feel free to ask further questions.
Regards.
Thank you for the query.
Some explanation first.
Bile is produced by a liver and secreted to the bile ducts. It flows through this ducts to the gallbladder. When a food appears in the stomach, gallbladder is releasing a bile and secrets it to the intestine(duodenum). Bile is yellow because it contains bilirubin. When a bile travels through the small and large intestine, the most part of bile is absorbed to the blood. Some part of bile is left in the intestines. Due to intestines bacteria bilirubin is digested to stercobili. Stercobilin is brown.
So in case of bile ducts obstruction, there is no bile in the stool and it becomes white.
Lac of intestines bacteria causes yellow stool (as bilirubin is not digested to stercobilin). Every intestinal infection causes some intestines bacteria destruction.
So I suggest you to do not worry. Please start with intestine bacteria supplementation (probiotic) and have mild diet (no fatty foods, no fried foods, no spicy food, no coffee, no alcohol). If it wont help in few days, please visit your doctor and have stool tests done.
For stress relief please try Magnesium 400 mg supplementation.
Hope this will help. Feel free to ask further questions.
Regards.
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Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Answered by
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