Fatty foods

pializ

Since  having treatment (started just over 3 years ago), I have had the occasional bout of having diarrhoea after eating fatty foods (always when eating out). I had wondered about malabsorption because it is a similar reaction to the way it was during treatment. However, between last December and February of this year, I had excruciating pain in my back around the bra line. The first happened in work and admin called an ambulance. However, after about half an hour I recovered. Now this happened also within a month of finishing treatment when I had a bowl of cereal and some milk. So when it happened in work I was a bit confused. The only thing that had recently changed was that I had started taking vit D3 which is fat soluble and should be taken when eating your fattiest meal. As I rarely ate anything fatty (not avoiding, it's my preferred way of eating), I introduced a small measure of fat to take the D3. It continued to happen. I eventually stopped the D3 Wondering if it was that. I then had my worse attack in February. The pain lasted for 6 hours. When I had my daughter labour only lasted for 3 hours, and this pain was so much worse. My husband wanted me to go to hospital, but with a 4 hour wait in A&E, I couldn't think of anything worse. Well eventually  it stopped. I saw my GP who ordered an ultrasound scan. I had that in March and it showed gallstones & a dilated common bile duct. GP said that normally that result would just be filed! I asked for a referral to a general surgeon for his opinion. I had an appointment in July which was cancelled, but eventually saw general surgeon who reordered an ultrasound scan & I was asked a lot of questions about stools etc. I explained, that having radiotherapy for AC means that my stools are very variable Anyway. But he asked about the greasy stools. His questioning was not about my intestines, but gallbladder and pancreas. The ultrasound showed that my common bile duct was dilated to 13mm. Normally it should be no more than 4mm, so now I am waiting for an MRCP scan to further explore the cause. As far as D3 is concerned, I asked for it in injection form as I felt that that was the trigger for these episodes (I have continued to eat my small portion of fat ever since), but that wasn't permitted. So, I did some research and found a spray for under the tongue where there are a lot of blood vessels. This means that it is absorbed into the blood stream and bypassing the digestive tract. The good news is that my D3 levels are now perfect. But, I still wonder about malabsorption issues. But for me, is it that, or is it the biliary tree issue? I just wish that there was holistic care for people. Everything is dealt with in isolation, & no one making any connections. Before my next appointment with the general surgeon, I will give him a copy of the document I linked here recently, on how our needs are different.

anyway, sorry for the ramble. I don't know if it's different in US for holistic care, but in the UK it is sadly lacking. Plus, my follow up which should have been 4th November will now not happen until 11th January. I have my MRCP on 27th January, & skin cancer follow up appointment on the same day (another thing thrown into the mix this year). I should have had MRCP a couple of weeks ago, but have been laid low by a virus. I guess all the stress of the last year has taken a toll on my body. (Oh, & forgot to mention that in April my oncologist told me that AC had returned. It hadn't at that point, but it took 6 stressful weeks to establish that! Hoping for an easier 2016

Phoebesnow

Issues

I'm sorry to hear that some new issues have popped up for you.  My system has never settled into routine. But I will say upon reaching the five year mark it is if I have come out of the dark and into the light.  I have energy, I want to do more...I'm excited about the future.  I hope these issues can be easily solved for you with minimal down time and frustration.

 

Happy new year, may your blessings be many.

 

 

 

 

mp327

pializ

Greasy stools can definitely be one of the symptoms of malabsorption.  I often have that happen to me.  Also, I do not gain weight that I can keep on, no matter what I eat.  If I eat a lot, say over a weekend, I might gain a pound or two, but it is gone in a couple of days.  When I eat a lot of fatty foods, my stools are like peanut butter, both in color and greasiness.  I truly believe it is malabsorption.  However, if you have pain after consuming milk, then you might also want to be tested for allergy to dairy.  I do not know anything about biliary tree issues or how gallbladder or pancreas issues might play into this. 

About the pain, this could be related to a partial obstruction.  Usually when I experience that, the pain is right below my breast bone and not in my back.  But pain can be referred sometimes to other locations.  You didn't mention anything about vomiting, which usually happens with an obstruction.

I hope you can get this all sorted out.  I agree that having to see several different doctors for the issues we experience can be very complicated and frustrating!  May you get some answers!  I wish you all the very best with your upcoming appts. and I hope you'll keep us posted.

Martha