# pale stool



## nogo (Dec 18, 2006)

I never thought I would be upset about having diarrhea because heaven knows I suffer from horrible constipation on a regular basis. But, last week I had a bad GI issue that included vomiting and diarrhea for several days. Things have returned to relatively normal status, but my stools are very pale (light brownish gray) and I'm wondering if this is normal. I still have no appetite, but I make sure I eat my fiber one cereal. Is it OK to have pale stools for over a week after an illness?


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## baz22p (Dec 1, 2008)

My initial advice on all 'unknown' matters would be to consult your doctor - they can either put your mind at rest, or initiate more tests if they believe your concerns warrant it. However, saying that, I would say to you that lighter stools may be caused by an increase in the amount of mucus - mucus is produced to allow the smooth transit of waste to pass from the body without pain. As you report a bout of diarrhoea for several days, you would have had an excess. This excess may now be leaving your body - I doubt if you have recorded how many normal bowel movements you have had since your diarrhoea, so it may be that it hasn't yet all passed. But as I say, if you are concerned about it,especially if it ontinues for some time, then have a word with your doctor - that's what they are there for.Baz


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

Light gray may need to be checked up on.Did you have upper right abdominal pain with the vomiting?Usually the dark brown color in stool comes from the bile. without bile you can get a very pale grayish stool (like the clay color computers used to come in). The bile starts out a yellowish or greenish color and becomes dark brown as the bacteria in the colon act on the stool. So diarrhea that is a light yellow tan or brown or a light greenish color usually isn't a problem as that is just the stool not being in long enough to turn dark brown.I am concerned as it kind of sounds like maybe you aren't releasing enough bile to color the stool. Are you eating much other than the fiber cereal? We do release bile in proportion to the amount of fat we eat so an extremely low fat diet means a lot less bile released. Did the original vomiting come after a fatty meal? It sounds more like a GI virus than a gall bladder attack.Stools can be a bit odd after a GI infection when you aren't eating much of anything, but if this continues after you get back to normal eating (with at least some food with fat in it) or you get severe pain in the upper right quadrant I would see a doctor. Sooner if you get the severe pain or start vomiting again when you eat a high fat meal.


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## nogo (Dec 18, 2006)

Thanks for your responses. The stool is still pale, but darkening a bit. I don't eat much and as a result I am slightly underweight. The darned IBS changed my life and I just don't like to eat because of what it does to my bowels. I have no doubt that it was a GI infection since it spread through my family. I am back to eating my usual, prune juice, fiber one and benefiber morning meal and my stools are still rather loose, though the color is a bit better. This seems like TMI and I'm sorry. This is just such a miserable condition. I would rather have diarrhea than constipation, but the light color was worrisome. I did have gall bladder testing recently and was told that it was quite abnormal by one GI, yet the second opinion GI said that the test can be deceiving if the gall bladder is having an off day. I am not the least inclined to have my gall bladder removed (or any other surgery ever again) if I can avoid it and the second GI feels that it is unnecessary to have it removed. Kathleen, the lack of fat is a distinct possibility for me. The virus included vomiting and lower GI distress, so it put me off food altogether. I assume you are thinking gall bladder issues, but there was just a bit of right sided pain with the diarrhea. I always get pain in the upper right quadrant with any IBS issues. Geez, this condition has just taken over my life. It makes me so sad. I want to be able to travel again and be normal, but....dunno, I'm so discouraged.


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