Diet and Health FAQ

Tagged As: White Bowel Movement

Question:
I was diagnosed with IBS several months ago and started to notice lots of white bits or pieces of material in my stool. This is not mucus. The first time I noticed this was when I first started to get abdominal cramping. I passed mucus before and this is entirely different. I am wondering if this is a normal symptom of IBS or if I should go to see a doctor. I am an 18 year old male. Could this possibly be not fully digested food because of the konsyl I'm taking or could it be because of the bentyl?  Or could it possibly be indicative of something serious that I need to get checked out? I don't have health insurance and would like to avoid paying out of pocket if it’s likely that these bits of white in my stool are harmless.

Answer:
Try to write down what you eat every day and check your stool every day for those white bits. If it is undigested food the problem isn't that bad. I also have weird bits in my stool, I found out it's usually from something I ate that hasn't digested all the way. This is a common problem with IBS. If this is not the case it's wise to have a stool sample checked out by the doctor. You may be eating too much fat for your body to handle, and it is coming out as globules. I would advise you to at least speak with your dr. about this. I eat very healthy though.  My diet is very clean and can't be more than 15 or 20 percent fat. And I can't just talk to my doctor. I have none and have no insurance.  Until I do, I can't just go to the doctor every time I have a concern.  I won't be able to pay my rent and buy food if I do that. A glaring example of why we need National Health Care, Germany has had some form of nationalized health care for over a hundred years, they are some of the healthiest most productive people on earth. When I got really sick last year and had to take three busses each way to go to the surgeon, I became quite annoyed with him playing with his Ferrari key while he blew off my weak condition and sent me back to work to save my employer a few dollars. I wound up being seriously injured a few weeks later as I was so wiped out trying to work while still healing from surgery. Sadly, the wealthy doctors have the Congress in their pocket, while the rest of us struggle to have food and shelter. If you live in or near a city, there are often free or nearly free health care clinics, they will make you feel like dirt, but, at least you may be able to see a doctor. Another problem is that many of them feel that a disease they do not understand is just malingering. We are rapidly becoming a Third World country with the rich doling out a few crumbs to the rest of us. As we export our manufacturing to countries like China and Korea, who uses what amounts to slave labor, America becomes more and more like Sudan. Eventually we will all be selling each other hamburgers which we can't afford ourselves. My latest bowel movement showed reduced signs of the white bits, but something else alarming is happened.  While over the past few months, my stool has sometimes been brown running into parts that were much paler, this entire movement was very pale tanish green.  I started taking prilosec a few days ago for what I think is my ulcer flaring up and also quit taking bentyl just yesterday so I'm not running to the doctor yet, nor could I if I wanted to.  I had a feeling that the bentyl may have been causing pain, so I quit taking, fearing my IBS would rage out of control or the pain would stop.  Well, the pain has stopped. I will finish the fourteen day course of prilosec and stay off the bentyl unless I start getting horrible cramps again. I think my stopping drinking coffee when I started getting stomach pains thinking it was an ulcer may have something to do with the IBS symptoms subsiding. I had an abdominal US done several months ago when I still had health insurance for an unrelated problem and everything showed up fine. Hopefully, it’s either the medication or the stopping of medication that is causing this new problem. If not, there goes the few savings I had. Sorry to hear about your dilemma.  Sometimes I wish I could just quit my job and go on welfare. At least then I could have some health insurance. I am sorry for your health care situation.  I agree with the other poster that said to look for clinics for the poor. Also, there is the other thing of what the poster said about doctors not understanding and malingering.  This is something you should keep in the back of your mind while you wait this situation out. Considering that you are dealing with starting and stopping medications, I would seriously look at the 'side effects' list to see if your symptoms may be from the meds.  Also, it is a good idea to keep a diary of everything you eat and all meds for the next few weeks.  This will help your doctor (should you go to one) and you. Lastly, this may sound strange, but taking a pic, the next time you 'go' and see the stuff in the toilet will help you (again, if you go to see a doctor) they can look at it and it may help them to decide if further testing is needed. I hope it is just a temporary med. issue, but if not, at least you will have some pictures and documentation (diary) to help out and maybe make any visits shorter, saving you some $. Unless you're sick, don't give it a second thought. It's just whatever we ate a couple days ago. Look at your dinner plate. Your digestive system decides what it wants and lets the rest pass on by. Don't even bother to look(unless you're sick, of course).