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Floating stool, unintended weight loss, feel full relatively quickly
Hi. I have the above referenced issues, but feel relatively good…albeit losing 15 pounds in 4 months without trying. Have good appetite, but get full relatively quickly. Colonoscopy all good. Endoscopy just shows erosions, waiting for biopsy results. Gastro says it’s GERD, but I don’t have much more than mild stomach discomfort. Have CT with dye of chest, pelvis/abdomen scheduled, but thinking it’s aggressive and maybe should wait for endoscopic pathology. Stool always floats, but fecal fat stool test was negative. Blood work CBC normal. Any suggestions or thoughts would be greatly appreciated
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Hi Chuck,
My fecal elastase was 51, which demonstrated that I do have EPI. I am waiting on my pharmacy to deliver my Creon.
I’m relieved to know what I’m dealing with. I’ve lost 70 lbs in less than a year.
I also had a CT scan done which showed mild atrophy of the pancreas. An endoscopy with ultrasound saw no scarring to indicate chronic pancreatitis.
Sorry I forgot to update!
Susan
Thank you Susan for the reply. I don't know all of the 3 letter conditions but I think I will in a very short time.
Hi there. Sorry I haven’t posted. It’s been a medical roller coaster as symptoms morph. Now I still have appetite but no food appeal to me…but hungry. Poop still floats all the time, but it’s not oily/greasy. Bloating almost 24/7 without distention. Went on Rifaxinim antibiotic for SIBO and it’s only been a week but the last 24 hours (fingers crossed) have been good. Just had new blood work so waiting for those results. Recap of tests: CT a with dye-chest/abdomen/pelvis
Abdominal US, endoscopy, colonoscopy. Findings are minimal like gastritis, gerd, gallstones that are t blocking anything, nothing truly diagnostic but doctor concerned about floating poop. Fecal fat / Elastese came up normal. H Pylori, Celiac ruled out.
From my research it seems that EPI and SIBO seem to go hand in hand and are also more symtoms than actual syndromes themselves
All, please chime in so we can look for common denominators.
Best of luck to all!
CT scan stands for Cat Scan. EPI stands for Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency. Basically, my pancreas does not produce enzymes to digest fats and sugars. Ask your doctor for a fecal elastase test.
I read a long time ago that stools should float and be the size of a banana.
Have you been checked for pancreatic cancer? Fatigue, loss of weight, no appetite, pale stool, jaundice are some of the symptoms.
Thank you so much. I asked my doctor about that and he said that I don’t have symptoms of it…..for example, I’m not tired, jaundice or light colored stool. That being said, I am concerned about that.
My gastro said stools should float if you eat a healthy, very high fiber diet or a very unhealthy high fat diet. I don’t eat either of those….but I did think what you thought too!
I was going to suggest getting your pancreas looked at but by reading your test, that would have been done. Reduce your stress levels. Continue working with your doctors and good luck.
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The results are in. I do have EPI.