Strange Stools

[kim26 0]

hi everyone,

my daughter was recently diagnosed, and doing sooo much better! my question today is about my 4 year old son. he's been having green and orange stools, sometimes normal in consistency, sometimes loose but not what i would call diarrhea, and lately some pellet like stool mixed in.....almost always green and orange in color, his appetite has definitely decreased and he complains of tummy aches at least once a day. this has been going on for a while but has gotten worse in the past 2 months. his pcp ordered a celiac panel and we had his blood taken today so we will see what the results are soon, hopefully...although i know they aren't hugely reliable in young children. does this sound familiar to anyone, or does anyone know if this has anything to do with celiac? or something entirely different? these symptoms are different than my daughter's so im just not sure. any help would be appreciated.... thx ~K

[shayesmom 1]

my question today is about my 4 year old son. he's been having green and orange stools, sometimes normal in consistency, sometimes loose but not what i would call diarrhea, and lately some pellet like stool mixed in.....almost always green and orange in color, his appetite has definitely decreased and he complains of tummy aches at least once a day. this has been going on for a while but has gotten worse in the past 2 months. his pcp ordered a celiac panel and we had his blood taken today so we will see what the results are soon, hopefully...although i know they aren't hugely reliable in young children. does this sound familiar to anyone, or does anyone know if this has anything to do with celiac? or something entirely different? these symptoms are different than my daughter's so im just not sure. any help would be appreciated.... thx ~K

It has been my experience wth my dd that different colored/textured stools are often due to a food allergen or intolerance going on. For my dd, dairy gives yellowish stools, soy and egg give orange stools, gluten gives a clay colored one. Food colorings or artificial sweeteners give the pellet-like stool. (How sad is it that I've recognized what goes with what???).

Hopefully testing will help determine some of what is behind this. Otherwise, I would keep a food journal and start keeping track of what went in and what came out.

Also, I've found this site to be helpful in explaining some of what you've described: http://www.enzymestuff.com/rtstools.htm

[feedmykids 0]

It's a strange question to ask but - Do his Poops float? That is a sign tht he is not digesting his fats. My DN has Cystic Fibrosis and that it if how they found out is that she had orange greasy poop that floated, and got tested for it. There is such a similarity between cystic fibrosis and celiac. The doctors at our childrens hospital say the only real big difference is the salt the body makes. If he tastes salty or his poop floats get him tested for Cystic fibrosis too.

[RiceGuy 55]

Given the unreliability of the tests for young children, and you've already gotten the blood work ordered, I'd be inclined to put him an a gluten-free diet even before the blood test results are in. That would be far more accurate anyway.

[kim26 0]

thanks everyone for the replies! i have considered putting him on the gluten-free diet since my daughter and i are on it anyway(i tested negative for celiac, but have been "diagnosed" with IBS and duodenitis and hypothyroidism), but he is a very picky eater and i think i would have a hard time keeping him on it unless i know in my own head its necessary. he was a preemie by just a few weeks and his stay in the nicu broke my heart so im the first to admit that im a bit a of a sucker when it comes to giving in to him lol! i am just wondering if i should even be worried, sometimes his poop is normal, and im not sure if it floats....i think I've been so distracted by the color i haven't paid attention to much else lol any suggestions or helpful hints, things to look into would be helpful in addition to the replies I've already gotten :-)~K