IBS and steatorrhea?
Posted , 6 users are following.
Hello everyone. During this summer I was working on a stressful job and did not have much free time, so my diet was generally unhealthy, eating often junk food and sweets, and drinking too many carbonated drinks. Also, I was spending many hours sitting, without any physical exercise.
This brought changes to my bowel habits and made me have constipation and diarrhea a few times, but they did not last for more than one or two days so I did not pay much attention to it.
However one month ago I started having constipation and diarrhea more often. Sometimes I even had a combination of both. I also started to have a soft pain in different parts of my belly so I thought I got an outburst of IBS due to my eating habits and decided to change my diet. I stopped eating junk food and drinking carbonated drinks while I started eating less sugar. I also started eating slower and chewing more carefully.
About 2 weeks ago I stopped having constipation or diarrhea, but since then I have a form of steatorrhea almost every day: light brown to orange stools that are fatty and stain the toilet. Sometimes they float, but not always.
The pains I feel are not continuous, they usually come and go a few times a day, regardless if my stomach is empty or not. I wouldn’t say the pain is strong or annoying, but it is noticeable and it occurs in different parts of the belly, upper and lower, left and right. The last few days I also started feeling a soft “stabbing” and “stinging” in some parts of the belly, but this is possibly psychological, since I got stressful about the whole situation.
After various searches on the web, I found out that steatorrhea is usually not associated with IBS, but with pancreatic problems and other serious diseases, so I got worried. I am planning to have medical examinations soon but I decided to ask for your advice as well, since I am anxious.
Is steatorrhea experienced by other people with IBS or it is not common at all? Could it be related with some kind of food intolerance and how can I find out?
I have no nausea, vomiting tendencies, poor appetite or weight loss.
By the way I am 30, male and my family has no history of chronic diseases like pancreatitis or cancer. I am 209 pounds (95 kg) and I rarely drink alcohol. But as I said during the last few months I consumed a lot of fat and sugar without any exercise besides walking short distances.
Thank you for your time!
0 likes, 7 replies
heather38380 pyi63635
Posted
hi there. i wanted to reply to your as i have almost the exact symptoms you have. i have no gallbladder and was diagnosed with gastritis and GERD i've read online gatritis can cause steatorrhea occasionally. i am a stay at home mom so i am stationary almost all day. i have had my symptoms for over a year and have still convinced myself its something really bad. i've been to the drs several times and they wont even consider checking my pancreas they did an ultrasound once and ive had a ct scan but nothing ominous showed up i still worry though. basically im writing you to tell you you're not alone. go to the dr tell them all your symptoms (write them down so you remember) and ask for any tests they will give you.
heather38380 pyi63635
Posted
also to check for food intolerances cut the foods out of your diet for at least 3-4 weeks then slowly add them back in one at a time to see if you have a reaction.
heather38380 pyi63635
Posted
also to check for food intolerances cut the foods out of your diet for at least 3-4 weeks then slowly add them back in one at a time to see if you have a reaction.
pyi63635
Posted
Thank you for your replies! Could be some form of gastritis. Hope I get a clear answer after visiting a doctor. I thought IBS may be the case because I didn’t have any serious symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, poor appetite or weight loss. Did you have any of these symptoms during the past year?
heather38380 pyi63635
Posted
ive had mild nausea occasionally but thats it well that and pain and diarrhea sometimes steatorrhea.
pippa58442 pyi63635
Posted
Fatty stools can be a sign of malabsorption. This means your body either isn’t absorbing nutrients properly or isn’t making the enzymes or bile needed to digest food effectively. People with IBS sometimes see mucus in their stools but not fat. See your doctor for tests and diagnosis.
lakis76913 pyi63635
Posted
hey sorry to wake up an old thread but this description fits my symptoms nearly perfectly and its the only thing i can find that fits. did you ever get any answers?