question about stools?

[hersheygirl9]

i know this is kind of a gross topic but any help would be great. 

i have generally smooth stools now that do come with a little difficulty still but once they start it gets easier. my stools are really smooth where one long piece will have no cracks of any sort just completely smooth and very very soft. They aren't always like this though. Sometimes it's round pieces all put together in one lump. There is an oily film in the water when I pass stools. My stools are generally brown and don't float. I'm not really sure what's happening. My blood tests were normal, TtG and IgA tests, (I'm visiting the GI later this week and will request the full panel), and so were my biopsies (two were taken and I will talk to the GI about that too). Calprotectin to look for inflammation and Occult test to see hidden blood were also negative/normal. I am on PPI's and I'm about to start my third month on them. I'm really struggling to understand what's causing all the issues IF it's not celiac. I noticed the film a few weeks ago after doing extensive research so I'm worried that the issue might have been there before and I just never noticed it. I'm also taking a teaspoon of Citrucel every day, twice a day. It's really nerve-wracking so any advice and tips would be appreciated. Thank you!

[GFinDC]

Hi HersheyGirl,

I hope you feel better soon!  Not getting a positive on the standard celiac disease tests doesn't mean you are not having symptoms from eating gluten.  It could be the antibodies were not detected for some reason, or maybe you have NCGS.  There is no testing for NCGS, so the thing to do is trial the gluten-free diet for 6 months after all your celiac testing is complete.

[hersheygirl9]

48 minutes ago, GFinDC said:

Hi HersheyGirl,

I hope you feel better soon!  Not getting a positive on the standard celiac disease tests doesn't mean you are not having symptoms from eating gluten.  It could be the antibodies were not detected for some reason, or maybe you have NCGS.  There is no testing for NCGS, so the thing to do is trial the gluten-free diet for 6 months after all your celiac testing is complete.

Okay, thank you so much! What is all the testing that is done for celiacs? I've had half the blood panel, and a biopsy. 

[GFinDC]

16 minutes ago, hersheygirl9 said:

Okay, thank you so much! What is all the testing that is done for celiacs? I've had half the blood panel, and a biopsy. 

Hi HG,

The celiac disease blood antibodies panel is usually the first test.  Then an endoscopy to check to take villi biopsy samples for review.  Four to 6 biopsy samples from different areas are recommended.  Sometimes a doctor does only the ttg IgA test at first, but here are also several other antibody tests that can be done.

There's more info at this site:

Open Original Shared Link

[Ennis-TX]

Your stools sound about normal and healthy. The film/mucus can either be excess fats, the gel from the citrocel your taking as it does form one, or it could be a mucus from intestinal irritation. Now I really do suggest not taking that citracel all the time on a consistent bases. It is very abrasive to the intestines, good for a few week cycle but not constant use. Look to using a different fiber on rotation and more natural ones like flax seeds, chia seeds, gluten-free Hemp seeds, coconut flour/shreds are all very good sources of add fiber. I love using whole hemp or pumpkin seeds from Gerbs. (10g of fiber a serving) 

I also love cooking with and using Glucomannan flour in stuff, it thickens like crazy when heated and then let to chill a bit, or blended into foods. I use a bit in eggs, stews, sauces, puddings. A little goes a long way and works wonders for making porridge sometimes in combination with other ingredients. Really does get you moving once your system gets used to it.

[hersheygirl9]

On 4/2/2017 at 10:09 AM, Ennis_TX said:

Your stools sound about normal and healthy. The film/mucus can either be excess fats, the gel from the citrocel your taking as it does form one, or it could be a mucus from intestinal irritation. Now I really do suggest not taking that citracel all the time on a consistent bases. It is very abrasive to the intestines, good for a few week cycle but not constant use. Look to using a different fiber on rotation and more natural ones like flax seeds, chia seeds, gluten-free Hemp seeds, coconut flour/shreds are all very good sources of add fiber. I love using whole hemp or pumpkin seeds from Gerbs. (10g of fiber a serving) 

I also love cooking with and using Glucomannan flour in stuff, it thickens like crazy when heated and then let to chill a bit, or blended into foods. I use a bit in eggs, stews, sauces, puddings. A little goes a long way and works wonders for making porridge sometimes in combination with other ingredients. Really does get you moving once your system gets used to it.

Thank you very much for the advice. I'll look into including high fiber foods in my diet without the supplement. The doctor has decided to run blood and stool tests to evaluate pancreatic function with a Pancreatic Elactase Fecal test as well as B-12 and Folate levels. Hopefully this will give me some answers. They have also ordered a 48 hour fecal fat test.