Green Poo

[little d]

Ok I know this is a little gross to talk about but I going there anyway. When your poo is green is it a sign of an infection. I did read somewhere that it meant that your intestines did not have time to digest and it went too fast through the intestines and the gall bladder has not had time to do its thing. The color is Pea green to dark green. could it be a symptom of having stones in my gall bladder or something else.

donna

[ravenwoodglass]

Most of the time this is a response to a food you have eaten. Are you having other severe symptoms? Have you recently added a new supplement or tea? One of the most common sources is licorice. I am sure others will have some other info for you but ususally it isn't something to be concerned about.

[debmidge]

Donna

As someone who just went thru gallbladder disease and surgery I can tell you that it sounds like you are passing undigested bile. Undigested bile can trigger diarrhea. Yes, it can be related to gallbladder disease/stones/polyps. All are serious and the first test you should get is a right upper abdominal sonogram to check it out. I was passing bile in my stool before and then after my gallbladder was removed. My gallbladder has been out 10 weeks now and I no longer see green bile in my stool.

Do you have other symptoms of indigestion (similar to being glutened) , diarrhea, pain in right back or in right front abdomen? Crushing right side chest pain?

[momandgirls]

If you had gallbladder disease, you would be in severe pain. If you aren't, it is probably due to something you ate. Purple and blue food coloring will also give you green poop (artificially colored drinks and candy, colored medicine, etc.).

[Nyxie63]

Are you taking iron supplements? Believe it or not, iron supplements do that to me. In most people, I guess it turns their stools black. Mine turn dark green. Gives me D too. When I stop the iron supplements, everything goes back to normal (or as normal as things tend to be in that department).

[VioletBlue]

Umm, yeah, me too. Before I was diagnosed I was taking large doses of iron because the doc said I was anemic, well duh. But I wasn't able to digest the iron and it passed pretty much right through and turned my poop a lovely dark florescent green color. Once I started to heal and was able to digest iron again the supplements didn't have nearly as profound an effect on me.

Are you taking iron supplements? Believe it or not, iron supplements do that to me. In most people, I guess it turns their stools black. Mine turn dark green. Gives me D too. When I stop the iron supplements, everything goes back to normal (or as normal as things tend to be in that department).

[little d]

Yes I have been having pain in my right and left sides of my upper back sometimes so bad that I can't breath and then I will try to stretch it out and it somewhat goes away. Little tringes in my abdomin sometimes does hurt. I do have a family history of gallbladder issues with my mom and grandmother and possible sister too. I did have D last night I think what may have triggered it was the Yohoo chocolate drink that I drank I forgot about the milk in it I'm kinda thinking that could have been it but it could have been other food that I ate that was not gluten free. So thanks ya'll for your input.

donna

[debmidge]

If you had gallbladder disease, you would be in severe pain.

I have to interject here and say as someone who just went through gallbladder disease for several months I was not in severe pain. That was part of the problem: I wanted to go to the E.R. and the doctor kept telling me to wait until my scheduled surgery date as I was not in severe pain - just uncomfortable with gas, indigestion and nauseas. However, Gallstones, when stuck in the bile duct, will give you severe pain, but if the organ itself is diseased (gall bladder disease) and there's no stones stuck in the bile duct -- at the moment -- you may not be in servere pain.

No one else in my family - parents/grandparents - ever had gallstones or gallbaldder disease. And food colorings should be considered but then here's that end of it: is the poop entirely green or are there just pockets of green mucus? Food coloring and iron would probaby make the stool colored throughout, while the bile, I noticed, comes out in pockets of it and it doesn't happen with every bowel movement. Even with diarrhea, the bile was not blended with the fecal matter - you could see it was separate.

For more info check out this gallbladder doctor's website: Open Original Shared Link

He has been on TV show Medical Mysteries and knows about green poop and gallbaldder disease. He is published in JAMA and he treats people who are passing bile as their gallbladder is "misfiring."

[Daxin]

Just to add a third option here, my daughter had green poo for a while, and it turns out that sometimes, purple drink crystals can make your poop turn green. I'd love to be able to quote my source right now, but can not remember...if I can find it, i'll make another post with the link.

Just though that might be something else to consider.

[debmidge]

My husband (celiac) once ate a cake with red food coloring in the icing and the next movement he had was a dark pink; but it was pink throughout the whole stool; blended in evenly.

The purple would give you a green tinge too as green coloring is used to drab down a red. At least when you color your hair with an 'ash' product.

But if you are seeing green in your poo more than once in a while and you can't connect the dots & figure out a cause for it, then see your doctor to have the doctor send you for a sonogram (ultrasound) of your right upper abdominal quadrant. I'd rather you get checked out and find that there's nothing wrong than you have a gallbladder problem.

I wish I knew sooner that I had a gallbladder problem; I wouldn't have gotten so sick towards the end.

[diapason05]

Yes I have been having pain in my right and left sides of my upper back sometimes so bad that I can't breath and then I will try to stretch it out and it somewhat goes away. Little tringes in my abdomin sometimes does hurt. I do have a family history of gallbladder issues with my mom and grandmother and possible sister too. I did have D last night I think what may have triggered it was the Yohoo chocolate drink that I drank I forgot about the milk in it I'm kinda thinking that could have been it but it could have been other food that I ate that was not gluten free. So thanks ya'll for your input.

donna

Well, if you are having pain, you should definitely get that checked out whenever possible. Its not normal. (of course could the pain be a reaction to a food you shouldnt be eating or something maybe??)

My husband had green poo once.. but it was after he ate a HUGE amount of vegetables for a few days straight, when normally he barely eats any. It didnt happen again,

[Nuala]

Having been around my sisters and their babies - we often talk about the florescent green poo we have seen over the years. My one sister's husband is a physician, so when my sister and I were talking about her new baby and I asked if he had had any green poo, she said no and went on to tell me that he husband had solved the mystery for her informing her that the conidtion is due to the rotavirus.

Apparently it can affect anyone of any age, tho must commonly infants and young children. If you know what I am talking about with babies and their green poo, maybe this is the answer.

[little d]

My pain that I have is more in my upper left side of my back below my shoulder blade, and wraps around almost to the front of my ribs and it does alternate to the right side as well. I am passing alot of gas too. My stomach is not hurting anywhere, I did have some gas pains with some real bad smelling poo my husband complained about the smell afterwards. I think that I would have a gall bladder issue here because I have a family history for one and most of the symptoms fit. Is it possible that I don't have a problem with gluten and it is just a gall bladder issue, but that would not explain why I feel the way I do when I eat gluten tired (lathargic), brainfoggy, lack of concentration, the weight gain that I have had, but have lost 10lbs since going gluten free, D alternating with C, bloating, gassy, heartburn, stomachburn, tooth enamel discoloration for as long as I can remember. I know that I have seen that if you are Celiac that you could have problems with gallbladder issues.

donna

[NoGluGirl]

Dear Donna,

You are right. Celiac tends to cause gallbladder problems. I lost mine at 20! Although I did not have green poo, I was in pain like you describe. I often had difficulty breathing until I could belch, and sometimes felt as if I was having a heart attack. Get that sucker out! Tests do not always show anything, but the ones normally used for diagnostics are abdominal CT, gallbladder ultrasound, and HIDA scans.

The CT is done with Barium and/or iodine. Low density stones normally are the only kind that show up in this procedure. It is known to be the least useful for finding gallstones, but apparently low density was the type I had. Unfortunately, the idiot doctor I had at the time missed it. She was convinced from day one I was crazy. I still hate her. She ruined my life.

So you know, several years later, while I was getting a gallbladder ultrasound done, I found out from the technician I had a gallstone show up in that CT! I swear to you, honest to God, if I ever see that doctor I had that missed the stone again, I might very well squeeze her neck until her head pops off! Incidentally, the ultrasound showed nothing. I had a HIDA scan done as well, and nothing showed in it either. This is the procedure that will best show if there is a blockage in your bile duct.

Well, my PCP decided that there is no way it was gallbladder disease, because the tests showed nothing. Meanwhile, months went by, and I got worse. I did some research and discovered that those tests are only about 33 percent accurate at best! I told my doctor about that, and he finally let me see a surgeon. Thank God he did! Due to having a stone in the past and the severe symptoms, the surgeon decided I was a candidate for operation.

My intuition told me to do the surgery. At my ten day post-op check-up, the surgeon said my gallbladder was very inflamed, irritated, and nearly ruptured! Talk about the nick of time! There are some things about gallbladder problems many people do not know. First, gallstones can pass between tests, and not show up. Mine marred the inside of my gallbladder.

Something else is, there are some interesting ways to tell if your gallbladder is the trouble. For instance, if ginger aggravates the indigestion more than helps. For some reason, ginger will irritate it. Also, if the PPIs (Prilosec, Aciphex, etc.) do not help much after a while of being on them, that is another sign the gallbladder is having issues. I hope this helps you.

Dear debmidge,

I had those exact same symptoms! It was horrible! I am glad I got mine out before it was too late. My cousin was stuffed with stones, and developed an infection. Last year, my grandfather had to have his out. He did not feel the pain due to neuropathy from his Diabetes. As a result, pus began leaking from his gallbladder after a small rupture occurred. By the way, thank you for the Web site link!

Sincerely,

NoGluGirl

[Centa]

Little d,

Pains like that suggest that you ought to get to a good doctor. I hope you make an appointment.

As a rule-out, something to check that would give you that green stool but wouldn't give you those pains are lots of vegetables, as someone said. Especially raw green ones.

Spinach, because of its high iron, is guaranteed to produce a green stool.