Bloating stomach and pale stools, please help!

[Leslie735]

I posted a few weeks ago about frequent urination. Went to the Dr. had a in office dip test that came back negative for infection. Dr. put me on antibiotics (Cipro) anyways. The symptoms subsided but my anxiety was through the roof because the Dr. brought up interstitial cystiti when the urine test was negative. She said she didn't think it was that since I wasn't in pain just having frequency. I literally freaked out for a good week 1/2 afterwards. Completely let Christmas slip right by I was so consumed with anxiety. My anxiety was so strong I kept having symptoms on and off. I have since calmed down quite a bit, still have some anxiety but not like I did mid to end of December. Anyways, about a week 1/2 ago I started having yellow stools out of the blue. I didn't think much of it at first because I had my gallbladder out back in 2009 so yellowish diarrhea is not out of the norm for me but these are formed yellow stools. I was also constipated a bit too. A few days passes by and it started to concern me a little but I really chose not to stress over it. Fast forward to this week, yesterday I had a stomach ache off and on all day and 2 bouts of yellow diarrhea and a gurgly, bubbly stomach all day. I could hardly get to sleep last night because of it. I was also really bloated, like I looked 5 or 6 months pregnant bloated. It was uncomfortable no doubt. Today during the day it was better mostly then after dinner I felt yucky again so I went to the bathroom and I had more formed but still soft stool and again they were yellow. I'm also really bloated again and just feel yucky in my stomach. This is starting to worry me some. Could this be related to my anxiety that I had by chance? That or the only thing I can think of is I've been eating ice cream every night which I don't usually do and I thought maybe too much lactose? Usually the only time I get yellow stools is when I eat overly fatty foods and my lack of gallbladder decides to act up but it's usually just a one or two time occurrence over a day period then things go back to normal. Could this be a lasting effect from the antibiotics or could something be wrong? Thanks!!!!

[Leslie735]

Anyone? I'm really getting worried. :(

[dani1984]

Hi Leslie, I feel your anxiety just by reading your post.
I had blood in my stools about 2 months ago and convinced myself I had bowel cancer. my stomach bloated, I was constipated and I lived like I was dying up until the day I had the colonoscopy. Turns out it was just a tear and the constipation was anxiety. I think Yellow stools are more than likely to do with your diet. Unless your stools are Black like tar or have blood then i doubt very much it is serious. Stop with the ice cream for a few days and see what happens. If you are still worried in a few days go back to the GP and ask for a check. I know it's hard I really do

[Leslie735]

Hi Leslie, I feel your anxiety just by reading your post.
I had blood in my stools about 2 months ago and convinced myself I had bowel cancer. my stomach bloated, I was constipated and I lived like I was dying up until the day I had the colonoscopy. Turns out it was just a tear and the constipation was anxiety. I think Yellow stools are more than likely to do with your diet. Unless your stools are Black like tar or have blood then i doubt very much it is serious. Stop with the ice cream for a few days and see what happens. If you are still worried in a few days go back to the GP and ask for a check. I know it's hard I really do]

Thank you for your reply! It's reassuring to know that it could be diet related. I did recently change my diet to more bladder friendly foods b/c of my other problem to see if it helps. I did stop the ice cream, haven't had any in 2 days but still bloated, gassy today. Haven't had a (sorry TMI) bowel movement today yet so not sure if they are still yellow or not. I just want to go back to normal, like I was a month 1/2 ago. :weep:

---------- Post added at 17:24 ---------- Previous post was at 14:13 ----------

Does anyone else have any ideas?

[dani1984]

found this on the net
Anxiety may contribute to yellow stool color in a variety of ways. What yellow stool traditionally means is that food passed through your digestive tract too quickly. Yellow is often the color of diarrhea, because diarrhea often (although not always) implies that the digestive system was "too quick" in passing the food through.
The yellow color itself is due to a combination of bilirubin (a chemical inside the body created by the liver) and fat. Undigested fat and bilirubin that hasn't been adequately altered through the natural digestive process both increase the risk of feces becoming a type of yellow or yellowish green. Bilirubin colors your urine and your bruises as well, and is responsible for the brown pigment in stool – but only after it is converted to stercoblin – a process that doesn't occur fully if food passes through the digestive system too quickly.
Numerous studies have shown that those with anxiety and stress suffer from faster intestinal transit.
The most likely cause is the distribution of fluids during anxiety, and the activation of the fight or flight response. It's likely that stress also changes metabolism and hormone balance in a way that makes the intensities function erratically. In addition, studies have shown that the part of the brain that controls digestion slows down during anxiety, so that mental resources can be used elsewhere.
All of these problems will speed up digestion and possibly lead to yellow stool.

[Leslie735]

Wow, thank you SO much for posting that!!!! :yesyes:

[Worriedwellornot]

I think Poo needs it's own thread, so to speak!