What Causes Persistent White Bowel Movements, Headache And Intestinal Problems?

Posted on Wed, 2 Mar 2016

Question: Continuous white bowls, headaches, and intestinal problems.

Answered by Dr. Saad Sultan (2 hours later)

Brief Answer:
need to elaborate symptoms

Detailed Answer:
Welcome to HCM
I have gone through your query and being your physician I completely understand your health concerns.

WHITE BOWELS with dark urine specially at your age, is worrisome. what is the color of your urine? for how long you are having white bowels? have you suffered from it before? Can you elaborate your intestinal problems? like is it diarrhea , constipation, blood in stools or painful defecation?

If there is no dark urine and no diarrhea then you should not be worried much. You may expect changes in bowels after the major resection , but it is always wiser to remove any new etiology like infection.recurrence of tumor.

If I was your attending physician , keeping in view your previous surgical record, I will definitely do your ABDOMINAL ULTRASOUND SCAN to look for any pathology. Apart from it , I really want to get your serum CEA levels. its a tumor marker for GASTROINTESTINAL TUMOR. Raised levels need workup like CT ABDOMEN AND PELVIS.

If there is diarrhea and no dark urine , then stool analysis is very appropriate in this setting . it may be due to infection. In that case you may need antibiotics.

Meanwhile stay calm and meet your attending doctor.

Get well soon
Hope your query is adequately addressed if you still have any feel free to ask
Regards
Dr Saad Sultan

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

Follow up: Dr. Saad Sultan (2 hours later)

My urine is dark yellow and sometimes stinks. I have had these white stools for over one month straight now. However I have been having them on and off for close to a year now. Usually they last for several weeks. My stomach has always been an issue with me. Keeping me low in energy and painful. When my Bezoar is breaking up and bothering me my stools are usually very dark and sometimes bloody. I have almost constant Diarrhea, sometimes having to go to the toilet 4-5 times per hour. I never have hard stools. My stools cause me to have constant and severe hemorrhoid itching. It drives me nuts. Yet I don't seem to have hemorrhoids.
Thank You

Answered by Dr. Saad Sultan (6 hours later)

Brief Answer:
need to fo dietry modifications and Gastroentrologist opinion

Detailed Answer:
Welcome at HCM
I appreciate your follow up.
After major gut resection these issues are common. There are relapses and remissions.
Your symptoms are due to increased gastric acid secretion, inadequate absorption from the gut of vitamins and mostly fat soluble ones and bacterial overgrowth.
If I am your physician I will start Omeprazole 40 mg daily to reduce the gastric secretion. In addition to it, if there is facility of giving you intravenous vitamins , it would be very helpful.

Stool culture should be done to rule out any infective cause of diarrhea.

Stay calm and consume food with decreased fat content and see if that makes any changes.

It would be worthwhile to visit a gastroenterologist and discuss my views with them.

Hope it helps
Regards
Dr Saad Sultan

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Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Prasad