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Floating stools, upper right and left abdominal ache, Mid back pain... Need help...

Posted , 14 users are following.

Bravekhan
Bravekhan

Dear all,

I am a 35yrs male overweight. Since the last 5-6 months i started to experience abdominal discomfort that started around the navel area but has now shifted to upper right and left quadrant. I have floating yellow stools since 2 months and middle back discomfort that sometimes is painful but at others just feels like a discomfort. I have been to the GP several times was given an Ultrasound and blood works that showed a slight fatty liver but LFT was fine. Lipase level was at 16 U/L which also falls in the the reference range. Most of my symptoms worry me of pancreas Cancer but my GP laughs and thinks i am hypochondriac..please suggest what to do as the everyday overthinking is taking over my life and social circle.. I sometimes think it can be celiac? But not sure.. Any help is welcomed...

0 likes, 53 replies

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  • scottio19
    scottio19 Bravekhan

    Posted

    Sounds like me. Been around 6 months for me. I'm 31 and convinced I have cancer

    Got nausea and stomache pain, back pain, loose floating stools which are tan colour (go twice a day used to be every other day). Started with low tummy pain discomfort which has risen higher and goes to the back

    My results of the below show I can't absorb fat and celiac has been ruled out so I'm at a loss and pushing for more tests on pancreas 

    Abdominal CT w contrast normal 

    Ultrasound normal (didn't see pancreas because of gas)

    Liver and kidney function normal

    Total and indirect bilirubin normal

    Endoscopy normal

    faecel fat abnormal (confirmed steatorreah)

    Faecel Elastase normal

  • wendy68446
    wendy68446 Bravekhan

    Posted

    Hi, your symptoms are similar in some ways to mine. I had loose yellow stools, pain in upper left quadrant, back pain in central area. They thought maybe I wasn’t absorbing nutrients but my stool sample came back normal. I’m currently on iron tablets (turned my stools brown again) and folic acid. They will be monitoring my B12 levels too. 

    In order to get rid of my abdomen pain I changed my diet, no fatty foods, smaller portion size and nothing to eat 3 hours before I went to bed. My pains are currently unexplained and I now have tingling hands and arms. Good luck 

  • Bravekhan
    Bravekhan

    Posted

    Thanks for sharing your situation with me. Today i am going for a fecal Fat test. Pancreatic Cancers seem very rare in our age group but you never know it can happen to anyone.

    I just go once a day and stools float initially but startbto sink after a minute. If not the pancreas then what are the other possibilities? My Iron was on the low border line of normal and so was Vitamin B12 at 177.

    Regards

    A

    • pippa58442
      pippa58442 Bravekhan

      Posted

      I am lucky to go once or twice to the loo a day.   Going once or twice doesn’t sound excessive.
    • wendy68446
      wendy68446 Bravekhan

      Posted

      Maybe you need another blood test to see if any of your levels have dropped further, possible it may be malabsorption issues.
    • Bravekhan
      Bravekhan pippa58442

      Posted

      Does going once or twice rule out Steathorea and Malabsorption? Since for those i am sure one has to go more often
    • scottio19
      scottio19 Bravekhan

      Posted

      No.

      I sometime go just once a day but have confirmed fat malabsorption. I've never went more than twice a day with it.

      My levels are double normal level of fat in stool. 

    • pippa58442
      pippa58442 Bravekhan

      Posted

      I don’t have these conditions and I only go once or twice a day.  I would ask your doctor to rule in/out malabsorption or steathorrea.  I’m sorry, I don’t know the answer because I have never experienced it.
    • scottio19
      scottio19 Bravekhan

      Posted

      Yes and I can't seem to put any weight on. It's not a big loss but maybe half a stone (7 pounds) 

  • heather38380
    heather38380 Bravekhan

    Posted

    Hi! Do you still have your gallbladder? I had mine removed in my early 20s and am now 30 I’m having a lot of the same symptoms as you and I’ve learned that having no gallbladder can make your stools float because the gallbladder helps with fat digestion. The pain I’m still at a loss with mine and it is so frustrating I’ve had an endoscopy and upper and Lower abdominal ultrasound and the only things that showed up were gastritis and a cyst on my right ovary. I’m still waiting to hear if I have H. Pylori. I know that when I stress out about what I think it might be (pan can) my symptoms get way worse. But I also think it might be a number of other things but I think that’s just me hoping and praying it is. I have 3 beautiful little kids and I would be devastated if I had to leave them. 
    • Bravekhan
      Bravekhan heather38380

      Posted

      Yes i have a gallbladder which is fully functioning as per the recent Ultrasound and Blood works. Its is the upper left and Middle back pain that worries me the most along with Stools that float. I have been researching this online since 4 months and most of the information leads to Pancreatic issues. If your was just gastritis then its treatable. I have tested negative for H Pylori both in Stool and Blood.

      Health is wealth and we only realise this once we start geting health issues.

      Awaiting results from a Fecal Fat test.

      Regards

    • heather38380
      heather38380 Bravekhan

      Posted

      That is so true Health is wealth and most of the time we realize it too late unfortunately but there have been vegetarians and vegans who have gotten pancreatic cancer so try not to dwell on the fact that you did this to yourself or beat yourself up because you’re not considered healthy or what not just keep pushing for a diagnosis because you won’t feel better until you have one and there are lots of benign things it could be. Just hold onto hope it’s all we have in the end. 
    • Bravekhan
      Bravekhan heather38380

      Posted

      Yes Pancreatic Cancer runs in Families. My Father passed away from it last year at age 68. I might be too young for it but not that someone at my age cant get it. As you said lets hope its something benign which can be cured with easy treatment.

      Thanks

    • heather38380
      heather38380 Bravekhan

      Posted

      Have you told your drs your father passed away from it? That should be enough to warrant a yearly ct scan for preventative measures. 
    • Bravekhan
      Bravekhan heather38380

      Posted

      Yes i told my Doctor about this. But he says i am too young for it. The Ultrasound was clear and the Lipase level was within range. Dont know if these are any good signs
    • pippa58442
      pippa58442 Bravekhan

      Posted

      These sound like good signs.  Negative test results are always good news!   Accept your test results and what your doctor is telling you.   If your pancreas was diseased, the enzymes would not have shown up as normal.  A family friend had pancreatic cancer and her ultrasound picked it up.  These scans are accurate.  If your scan was clear, relax!

      I had pancreas worries and my doctor reassured me that it was unlikely at my age.  I accepted this. I was diagnosed with IBS after negative tests including an ultrasound.

    • heather38380
      heather38380 Bravekhan

      Posted

      They are good signs. But I’m a major hypochondriac myself so I won’t be much help. There’s no such thing as too young but if you’ve had these signs for a couple of months and it’s not gotten worse I think you can rest easy but I would definitely talk to a gastroenterologist about getting a yearly ct scan just to watch for changes in the pancreas. I don’t think you have it now but you are at a higher risk because of your dad unfortunately so I would push for yearly’s until someone listens and if they say you’re too young tell them that is unacceptable and you deserve quality care at the very least they should do ultrasounds and bloods yearly. 
    • Bravekhan
      Bravekhan pippa58442

      Posted

      I remember the Ultrasound was a very detailed one as they took atleast 30mins looking at all my organs. I remember them placing the instrument several times in the middle of my abdomen just under my breastbone to look at the Pancreas. The report said the Pancreas is Unremarkable with the Tail not very well seen. So i am sure they still saw some bit of the tail of the pancreas too.

      My Fecal Test report is back in the Clinic but i have not received a call from my Doctor yet so it seems like a good sign ruling out Fat malabsorption.

      Lets see how things go.

      Will keep you all posted

    • heather38380
      heather38380 Bravekhan

      Posted

      That’s good about the ultrasound mine said my pancreas was unremarkable too the portion that was seen. I’m not sure which portion they saw though lol. I’m in the US so everything here costs an arm and a leg even with insurance. 
    • Bravekhan
      Bravekhan pippa58442

      Posted

      What were the symptoms you experienced that were causing you to think of pancreatic problems
    • heather38380
      heather38380 Bravekhan

      Posted

      Upper left abdominal pain that goes to the right side when it’s that time of the month, middle upper abdominal pain and floating stools for over 2 months and now I have widespread back pain that comes and goes but most of abdominal pain is gone. 
    • Bravekhan
      Bravekhan heather38380

      Posted

      Atleast some relief for you which is good. My Upper left abdominal and middle left back are always there. The only time i cant feel them is when i am asleep or standing upright.
    • heather38380
      heather38380 Bravekhan

      Posted

      I think my back pain has a lot to do with my anxiety as I wake up in a full blown panic attack almost every morning and then later on I develop the back pain. It’s frustrating because I don’t know if it is for sure from my anxiety or something more sinister. 
    • pippa58442
      pippa58442 Bravekhan

      Posted

      I had constant abdominal pain.  I heard that abdominal pain was a sign of pancreas problems and I made the mistake of googling which made everything worse.  They couldn’t see my pancreas on ultrasound so I began to wonder had they missed something.  As a whole my ultrasound was unremarkable too which is a vague way of saying that nothing of concern was found.
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