# can IBS cause fluctuations in stool color?



## 13540 (Aug 18, 2005)

What is always on my mind is the stool color my stool color changes alot from very light to very dark brown to yellow to green i wonder if anyone else suffers from crazy color changes with there ibs?I always here pale stools are bad and almost black are bad i do see that my stool when they are more formed they are normal brown and when they are loose they can be normal brown and somtimes yellow are very light in color so i take this as rapid trasit from ibs!


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## 20250 (Jul 14, 2005)

Hey forrest, unless you see red or black, I wouldn't worry too much. I had some fresh spinach a few weeks back and the next day thought I swallowed a martian.LOL, my stool was dark green.


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## 13540 (Aug 18, 2005)

yeah i hear ya its pretty much you are what you eat just like that barium i drank made my stools white for three days kinda crazy


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## flux (Dec 13, 1998)

> quote:I always here pale stools are bad and almost black are bad i do see that my stool when they are more formed they are normal brown and when they are loose they can be normal brown and


Pale stools just means there's less bile or less bile processed by bacteria. We can't really know the cause without further investigation. It doesn't necessarily mean something is wrong.Black stools _could_ mean there is bleeding in the upper GI tract, but it could also mean you just ate something black (e.g. Oreos).


> quote:somtimes yellow are very light in color so i take this as rapid trasit from ibs!


 Transit is normal in IBS.


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## 13540 (Aug 18, 2005)

> quoteale stools just means there's less bile or less bile processed by bacteria. We can't really know the cause without further investigation. It doesn't necessarily mean something is wrong.


so why do they say pale stools are liver are gallbladder problems mine are pale sometimes but my liver and gallbladder are working fine so they say from my labs and hidascan and ultrasounds.


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

Because sometimes you release less bile that others depending on what is needed for the meals you are eating so some stool may have less bile than others. Lower fat diets mean less bile produced/released.Most of the color is dependent on the bacteria processing the bile not how much is released, and there is no disease caused by having lower bacterial processing of bile. Sometimes if you have diarrhea they just do not have the time to get the job done.You can see these in people with problems but that does not mean that is the only reason you see them.Many symptoms are like that, most of the time it means nothing, but some symptoms do show up more regularly in certain people with particular problems than in the healthy population. Does not mean you never ever see the exact same thing in healthy people, just you see it more often in people with a particular health issue.K.


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## Prudy (Jan 21, 2006)

Hey.... You really need to stop focusing on your stool color.. I agree with Brett.. Unless it is black or RED.. don't get so absorbed into it.. Heck.. mine can be orange with green striades in it from eating carrots and broccoli.. You need to have confidence in your doctors and the tests results. IMHO, you are causing yourself more anxiety by manufacturing things to worry about. You have had about every imaginable test done, and all are negative.. Be Happy Dude....!!!!


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## Twocups424 (Mar 26, 2002)

I get alot of bile in mine from time to time and when mine is green with bile............my guts hurt for days afterward from the caustic nature of it. I think I am extra senstitive to it.


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## onyx (Jan 13, 2006)

> quote:Originally posted by Prudy:Hey.... You really need to stop focusing on your stool color


Don't feel so bad Forrest, I'm the same way. I've become obsessed with my stool colour too (pale yellow every single day). Since the colour change happened along with the onset of all my other ibs symptoms, I've been convinced there's some clue in there that I'm missing. But no good has come of that so I'm trying to just forget about it these days.


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## 13540 (Aug 18, 2005)

no iam not worried anymore iam just trying to justify the changes in my body from this onset of ibs that i have are what my gi doc tells me my guilt of drinking acl heavy for six years makes me worry alot even though i havnt drank in almost two years but like prudy says i have had more test then pretty much everyone on this board and all is normal but still waiting on my camera pill test to come back that iam pretty sure will be normal as well


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## Jackmat (Jun 13, 2005)

Personally, I place a great emphasis on stools and look at them everyday to understand how I'm going.When they're a nice" brown, bulky, well formed, odourless, and result in a dry wipe, it tells me my gut has been enjoying what I've been feeding it. Any time the description deviates from the above, means my gut reacted to something it didnt like.The comes the difficult part of tracing the offending food - usually something with fructose.


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## Prudy (Jan 21, 2006)

Forrest... I think one thing you have to realize is.. stool color can change from day to day.. depending on what you have eaten...how much bile is needed to digest it all.. mine changes as well the same way.. Along with other s/s and stool color changes... this would indicate other diseases may be present. Liver disease has other s/s beside stool color changes.. so does gallbladder disease.. Plus LFT's will be elevated...etc.. Since all your tests R/O anything...Be Happy... What I am trying to say is.. enjoy that fact.. Some people aren't so fortunate.. So why make yourself worry about something you don't have to at this time... If it ain't broke don't fix it... that type of thing..or Don't go looking for trouble... Maybe ceasing to worry, and putting your energy into enjoying life will help you to not worry so much,you will feel better, things will look better, life will be better. Then you can take all the energy you use worrying and put it elsewhere...I know easier said then done.. Do I check my stool color... of course I do.. do I worry about it...??? Not unless I have to.. I just do what I have to do to keep myself well and Pray every single day...


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