What Causes Black Stools After Alcohol Intake?

Posted on Fri, 29 Jul 2016

Question: sometimes especially after I drink alcohol my stool will be black also I have noticed little red blood clots in the stool when it returns to normal color, what can this mean? My stomach also gets severally bloated after I eat.

Answered by Dr. Baranidharan Kuselan (26 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
GI bleed, Post prandial distress syndrome.

Detailed Answer:
Hi there,
Thanks for posting in HCM.
I am Dr.Barani and I am pleased to assist you.

I presume you are not on pepto bismol or iron supplements.
Black stool indicate bleeding in the upper GI tract.
An upper GI endoscopy should be done to look for the bleeding source.

Red blood clots indicate bleeding from the lower GI tract. Some of the common causes are hemorrhoids, colitis , angiodysplasia and malignancy.

Severe bloating after eating indicates post prandial distress syndrome. Gastroparesis ( slow functioning of the stomach) could be one possibility. You need to check your blood glucose level as diabetes is one of the common causes.

I would advise you to consult your Gastroenterologist for endoscopy.
Till then you can take Nexium once daily before breakfast for relief.

Regards,
Dr.Barani

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Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Arnab Banerjee