Overreacting?

[T234]

Hi,

Since september I am experiencing ruq and yellow stool( comes and goes, one week i have it several times then a week normal). I finally got a fibroscan in february, f2 mild fibrosis due to alcohol according to my doctor. I've been completely sober since september and eating healthy, lost significant weight in a healthy manner.

My ruq has not improved and my stool still appears yellow from time to time. Itching has become a new problem though not certain if it's related my bloodwork, ct, ultra are normal).

My follow up is in august (fibro). I'm kinda worried, should I be calling my doctor about these symptoms that persist or should I give it more time?

[Worriesalot]

According to the nurse on here, stool has to be white or grey to be concerning. Still would let doc know just to reassure you.

[T234 in reply to Worriesalot]

Thanks. It just worries, confuses me that alot of 'medical' websites mention yellow as a liver problem( absence of bile). There are quite a few people on this forum with liver issues and yellow stool. My own doctor also says this has nothing to do with the liver.

I know I should trust a doctor but why the hell is this so often classified as a liver issue on the forums and websites.

[Worriesalot in reply to T234]

I know. I’m here at moment feeling weak and shaky, can’t go to loo without Lactulose and result is light stools. Yet according to medics, I’m fine. I’m never off here and there has people been on who have gone back to normal. At least you can pass yours! It’s the worst part of my life health wise. I know how you feel. Hope you’re soon feeling better.

[MaeWood in reply to Worriesalot]

Always best to mention to your doctor. Fast transit thru the colon can cause stool to appear yellow. Fun fact: Anxiety is linked to IBS, which can cause yellow stool.

[Worriesalot in reply to MaeWood]

I’m certainly very anxious!

[T234 in reply to Worriesalot]

Same

[Hidden]

Hi T234

I know it’s not the nicest of topics but when I was jaundice my poo was not yellow, more a grey colour.

[Tvlr112 in reply to Hidden]

Thank you for your honesty. I'd rather hear reality that doesn't sound the most pleasant than pleasant nonsense that doesn't teach me anything.

[Hidden]

If you have had any change in bowel habit, it is always a good idea to inform and discuss with your doctors.

[Worriesalot]

Always worth mentioning to doc, he could give you something to help.

[deinzbeanz]

From my experience, you may be able to wait it out although I am not a physician. I received an F1 and had really bad digestive issues; same as yours. Stool changes are going to persist for awhile. My advice, stop checking bathroom stuff ASAP unless your doctor spec requests it. (I told him I stopped checking). Severe anxiety seems to be a recurring theme with ALD and I found that it was the driving factor for all of it, especially at the worst point of the issues. I THINK it could be something to do with the autoimmune antibodies that are many times produced in fibro conditions. Anxiety shows to fuel autoimmune responses. I learned this thru research. Also the itching I’d confirm with the doctor if he thinks it’s from jaundice—your blood work should rule it out. My experience, when the liver is healing the fibrosis and casting out whatever junk buildup is in the liver, lungs, spleen it tends to produce some body odors and the itching could be part of that healing; or like a histaminic effect. My RUQ pain faded by 7-8 months in. I still get the slightest twitch sometimes but not the tearing sensations that float left and right which I think is from portal/hepatic vein turbulence. With healing of fibrosis, that diffuse pain subsides. Try long body stretches like torso twists and chest up only push-up position for a while and see if that stimulates blood flow to some neglected regions. I think optimal blood flow is key. Nerves are impacted in ALD so some of the stuff you are feeling could be miscommunications in your nervousness system which I found improves with abstinence, diet, exercise, stretching and of course anxiety management. I’m not a physician to say anything absolutely but you can research and find a wealth of scholarly articles and studies that may further explain what I am speculating.

[T234]

Thanks for the advice. Anxiety definetly doesn't help me, it's a personality trait of mine

Seems like you have healed a lot of the damage. If you don't mind me asking, how do you and perhaps your doctors think about the future. You feel like you will completely recover in the distant, near future? Did you have a follow up fibroscan?

[deinzbeanz in reply to T234]

My doctor did not seem concerned. He I’ll have a normal life and it’s not even clinically significant. Just don’t drink. He couldn’t even formally diagnose Hep when I got to him. On symptoms alone, I’m certain it was a “milder” form of it, but it was still the most frightening experience. Like others on here, I thought it was the end. I do not have a follow up scan although I’d like one. From everything I’ve seen, AL HEP is reversible. There are videos from Mayo Clinic and the American Liver Foundation on YouTube that support this. It’s a big problem for those with co-morbidities like Cirrhosis and if it’s severe. One would be in the ER if it was severe and bloodwork would be very telling. I planned on a year for healing. I’m past a year from first symptoms but I’m going with a year from when I noticed the storm had passed which is around early June. I had a script for a statin which I found important early in the process. I also had Klonopin for 4-5 months, which one needs to stop as soon as the anxiety is manageable but it’s a savior.

[gnillo]

Hi, I may be a little late but I’ve had a fair share of yellow stool over the past few months. I was diagnosed with Gilbert’s Syndrome in December 2020, was jaundice at the time of ER admission and bilirubin (indirect) was close to 5 mg/dL. After speaking with the hep doc he said it can be norm in my case from time to time if my bilirubin is on the higher end of normal, but it’s been out of range only slightly since January. Hope u get this sorted out. All my best. 🙏🏾

[NailedIt]

T234,

I'm in the exact same boat as you. Diagnosed with fatty liver in 2013 after years of heavy binge drinking. Diagnosed with F2 fibrosis by elastography and FibroSpect in June. I was F0 four years ago (2017) and unfortunately took that as a sign that my moderate drinking and obesity wasn't a problem...oops. I've had the RUQ pain and yellow stool for about 8 years now, so I'm not counting on it going away, but I'm only in month 3 of abstinence so we'll see. I've lost about 75 lbs over the last year, so I'm looking forward to seeing if these changes will reflect positively on my next fibroscan.

You said you were scheduled to have another scan in August and I'm curious how that went.

Hope you're feeling better.

[T234 in reply to NailedIt]

Hey,Things have been moving in the right direction for me. My latest elastography (fibroscan) in august showed a significant reduction in fibrosis, went from f2 to f0-1.

My kpa is at 6.6 and my cap is at 260.

My ultrasound doesn't show any abnormalities and the size of my spleen went down to normal size. Bloodwork is all normal ( always has been ).

Yellow stool appears to be gone ( occasionaly, once a month, it returns).

My doctor attributes the yellow stool to my gut flora, apparently alcohol can disturb the normal gut flora balance and it takes time to heal.

I keep on eating very healthy ( meditaranian diet), no alcohol whatsoever, exercise frequently ( weight lifting, running, boxing hitt training), losing weight at a healtht/slow rate.

My next ultra/fibroscan/bloodwork is scheduled for august next year.

I hope that the amount of fat in the liver will have gone down further by then.

I feel good and i've let my fear go

[T234 in reply to T234]

One more thing about my ruq.At first, when I had my crisis, i experienced severe ruq pain which went from the middle to my right sidee.

This paint went away after a few weeks. After that I experienced somewhat permanent ruq pain at my lower ribs, my sportdoctor diagnosed this as 'flying rib symptom' where the lower rib is to flexible and starts to ache, traininh my abs and working out resolved this pain completely for me.

[NailedIt in reply to T234]

Wow, that's all great to hear. Happy your health is headed in the right direction! I'm on what sounds like a very similar program to yours, so it's great to know there's real hope for me. The flying rib syndrome is interesting, especially since my bottom rib is quite flexible. Perhaps I'll look into that.

[T234 in reply to NailedIt]

Good luck.Be happy you caught it at F2, this is your chance to turn it around