Gray/Pale Stools

[Elsiez 1]

Hey All,

I’m 12 weeks post gastric bypass and for the last couple of weeks have had gray/pale stools 😳 Not sure if it’s because I’m trying to give lots of new foods a go or something else. I had my gallbladder removed years ago and I’ve not got any pain or jaundice so I’m a bit confused! I’m waiting to hear back from my surgeon but just wondered if anyone else had experienced this?

[catwoman7 11,285]

Pale is usually due to fat malabsorption, I believe, and that's to be expected. I remember having those the first month or so post-op. Gray - Iron, maybe? Check with your surgeon, but multi-colored stools aren't that unusual the first few weeks after surgery, though. I think mine only lasted the first 4-6 weeks, though.

P.S. I just read that pale is the result of not enough bile salts in your stool - possibly due to an obstruction.. Although that article wasn't specific to bariatric patients. I'll see if I can find something specific to bariatric patients. Although again, weird stool colors arent' that uncommon early out - which makes sense when you consider they've re-arranged our digestive systems. But it's always good to check with a doctor just in case...

P.P.S. I just cut and pasted this from the UC-San Francisco's bariatric program Web page:

Bowel habits

Bowel movements vary greatly after bariatric surgery. Stools may be foul smelling, associated with flatulence, or a different color than normal. Taking iron supplements, for example, will make your stools dark or black. Until you're eating more solid food, your stools will be soft. Most of these changes resolve as the body heals and adapts to changes. Please call your bariatric surgery team if you have persistent diarrhea.

Edited May 8, 2023 by catwoman7

[kcuster83 1,505]

Mine was (pretty much still is) super pale. I asked my surgeon about it and he did some blood work to be sure but said it was likely nothing. But, it could be a sign of some other more serious things, so he did the blood work to be sure. All was good, so may be worth just letting your surgeon know.

[Elsiez 1]

Thanks @kcuster83 how far out are you post op?

[NP_WIP 274]

My stool changes depending on what I ate. Sometimes it tends to be lighter yellow or dark gray. I was told the gray was mainly due to the Iron in the Multivitamin. Usually when I have a lighter color I didn't digest too well. If you are concern ask your PC or surgeon team.

[Elsiez 1]

Thanks @NP_WIP good to have some reassurance before I get to speak to them 😊

[Arabesque 7,620]

12 hours ago, NP_WIP said:

My stool changes depending on what I ate…

This made me smile & remember when my brother bought his children that rainbow bread where they colour the bread dough with food dye before baking. His children told him never to buy it again as, as one niece whispered to me, it made their poop rainbow too. Lol!

Mine used to be pale if I ate yoghurt. I put it down to my then lactose sensitivity. While yoghurt didn’t give me the full gamut of lactose intolerance reactions, it would do this.

[SleeveToBypass2023 2,682]

I'm dealing with this right now. It never happened when I had my sleeve surgery, but since I had my bypass it's been pale and clay colored. It slowly started to get darker as I added more fat to my diet (the nurse practitioner told me it happens because of the fat malabsorption). Just in the last 2 or 3 days it's become completely grey. No pain, no jaundice, no nothing. Just weird, grey poop. So I have a call in to the surgeon's office to see what's going on.

[Elsiez 1]

20 hours ago, SleeveToBypass2023 said:

I'm dealing with this right now. It never happened when I had my sleeve surgery, but since I had my bypass it's been pale and clay colored. It slowly started to get darker as I added more fat to my diet (the nurse practitioner told me it happens because of the fat malabsorption). Just in the last 2 or 3 days it's become completely grey. No pain, no jaundice, no nothing. Just weird, grey poop. So I have a call in to the surgeon's office to see what's going on.

My surgeon wasn’t concerned when I explained and all my blood tests were fine. I am wondering if it’s because I have so much dairy now and all my supplements. I’m not as worried as I was as google scares the crap out of you when you put clay/pale stools in! Please can you let me know what your surgeon says, I’d be interested you know there view on it 😊

[SleeveToBypass2023 2,682]

1 hour ago, Elsiez said:

My surgeon wasn’t concerned when I explained and all my blood tests were fine. I am wondering if it’s because I have so much dairy now and all my supplements. I’m not as worried as I was as google scares the crap out of you when you put clay/pale stools in! Please can you let me know what your surgeon says, I’d be interested you know there view on it 😊

They said they weren't super worried because my blood work 2 weeks ago was perfect. But I was told to add more fat to my diet and repeat the blood work at 3 months post op. If it's still a problem, then we'll look into it further. I think, because I had so many complications, they are just being a little more careful.