# Soft yellowish/light brown stools x 6 years



## DWalla

I was diagnosed with IBS about 6 years ago. They first noticed when doing an X-ray and saw I had a lot of stool in my colon. Funny thing is... I don't have the hard-constipation (rarely anyway) that others on here have. Instead my stools tend to be soft, almost always more ribbon-like, and have been mostly light in color for years. The doctor (6 years ago) did two CT-scans as well loads of bloodwork and a stool analysis. All of which came up normal. During this time I also had a colonoscopy which came up negative. As well as an endoscopy years later... and the doctor looked at my pancreatic ducts in addition to my stomach (as I was suffering from GERD and a hiatal hernia as well). So far nothing. Over the past few weeks I've had weird visceral pain of about 2 (from 1-10) just below my lower left rib that sometimes is in the center. On top of this about half the time it feels like my meal takes 3-4 hours to digest. And about 1/2 of the time I have some pretty serious discomfort in that left region an hour or so after eating. I had an endoscopy last Thursday and it didn't show anything remarkable outside of a small ulcer.Anyway.... to back up to my original question (yes... I'm ADHD and became distracted)..... is there any other IBS-D sufferers who have this lighter color/softer stool like I do?Just trying to sort through this mess.Thanks for taking the time to read this....DougAge 44


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## Korga

Yes, I often have light colored and yellowish stools. Like you I have had Pancreatic enzyme tests, Pancreatic x-ray, Liver function tests. Everything is normal.


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## DWalla

Korga said:


> Yes, I often have light colored and yellowish stools. Like you I have had Pancreatic enzyme tests, Pancreatic x-ray, Liver function tests. Everything is normal.


OK... glad to hear that.... Trying to sort out the new pains I've been having as of late. Including this pain that sits under my left rib which is usually a dull "full" feeling..... with it occasionally covering to the center of my abdomen under my xiphoid process. Occasional sharp pains there as well.Just had a colonoscopy today and everything was clear. They did get a small stool sample to test for infection as well as took a biopsy of my small intestine to check for Crohn's. Now that I've had an endoscopy (which revealed a small ulcer at the esophageal/stomach junction) and a colonoscopy they now want to give me another week on prevacid to see if it solves anything.... then the big stuff starts... CT scans, sonograms, etc. :-(Thanks for your post!


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## DWalla

So.... odd fact after the colonoscopy.As I noted before I have had pretty much yellowish soft stools for going on 6 years. However, after having my full bowel prep and colonoscopy, I decided to really get my gut flora back to a happy place and started consuming a good amount of Kefir, yogurt, and other probiotic drinks. Plus I've been eating a lot of salad to build up roughage in my gut. Guess what?... nearly completely normal stools now in both color and consistency.... bizarre. Makes me wonder if my flora has been off all of this time. Doctor did take some stool samples and is testing for a myriad of bacteria and parasites. So we shall see what the results say soon enough.


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## DWalla

I should also add that I'm taking a spoonful of 16+ Manuka honey every morning and every night. Oh, and 50,000 UI of cayenne daily. No idea if that's making a difference or not as I'm taking all of the probiotics as well.I've taken probiotics occasionally over the past few years. But not like clockwork. I've also taken cayenne daily (50,000-100,000 UI) for a very long time. But this is the first time I've ever tried Manuka honey.


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## TIGRITSA

Yup, my stools are yellow mostly. Changes from D to normal stools durin week. But my gollblader had been removed 10 years agoy, firstly I had constipation but since 2009 D started... I would like to adk u did anyone loose weight


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## Doug G.

I am SO relieved after having read this thread. I've recently been having some yellowish-brown stools recently. They've mostly been mixed with some slightly dark brown parts (never black/tarry or red). Usually, it's either well-defined portions of the stool that have the varying colours (almost like multiple stools combining before expulsion), but other times it's random swirls or occasional spots. I started freaking out because when you try looking this stuff up online, the colour guides are kind of vague about what they mean when they say things like "pale" or "yellow". My mind was racing back and forth across everything from pancreatitis, to cirrhosis (as I have been drinking a bit more than usual lately, though I've cut that out), and so on. I have bad anxiety that I inherited from my mother, as well as my IBS, so I was having a really hard time coping with everything. It's kind of an awful cycle, since the drugs that help me control my anxiety also cause a certain amount of GI issues, which piques my anxiety and so on. I find myself examining every single bowel movement with a fine-toothed comb and thinking "Oh God" about every little nuance.Reading this thread, as well as another one from a different website, have helped me calm down and piece together what's going on. I was recently on a 10-day prescription for an antibiotic to treat sinusitis, which apparently can also cause the yellowing of the stool. That, plus my IBS, are basically just combining to cause this to happen. Then, the anxiety hits and I start swallowing air and what have you, which then causes gas and all that fun stuff.So, seeing all of this now, I'm going to try some probiotics, upping my intake of roughage like lettuce (though "cloaking" it with other foods as my mother taught me, so it doesn't cause loose green stool), upping my fiber, and quitting smoking (which is just good for me all around).


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## Jmlh1

DWalla said:


> I should also add that I'm taking a spoonful of 16+ Manuka honey every morning and every night. Oh, and 50,000 UI of cayenne daily. No idea if that's making a difference or not as I'm taking all of the probiotics as well.I've taken probiotics occasionally over the past few years. But not like clockwork. I've also taken cayenne daily (50,000-100,000 UI) for a very long time. But this is the first time I've ever tried Manuka honey.


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## Jmlh1

I've just started on the manuka honey too. Not so easy as a diabetic. Fingers crossed


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## LNAPE

TIGRITSA said:


> Yup, my stools are yellow mostly. Changes from D to normal stools durin week. But my gollblader had been removed 10 years agoy, firstly I had constipation but since 2009 D started... I would like to adk u did anyone loose weight


Since you have had your gall bladder removed this could cause you to have bile salts diarrhea and it can be controlled by taking calcium carbonate tablet with your meals. Look at the topic at the top of the board and contact me if you have questions.Linda


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