What does large bulky stools mean?

[anonymous]

Ok, I am confused. My son's CF doctor and all the literature I read talks about pancreas insufficient and large bulky stools. This is confusing to me as I am unclear what this means. My son is 3, so far is pancreas sufficient and has 2 really rare mutuations that they don't know much about because they are so rare. Every doctors visit they ask about his stools and I can never seem to get a clear answer. Large and bulky to me means, large, solid stool which may be hard for a youngster to pass but I have heard people referring to large amounts of stool which isnalot of cases are really loose. Can someone clear this up for me. I want to make sure I know what I am checking for.

Thanks all.

 

[anonymous]

You are looking for unusually large, as in the amount not the actual size of the stool. They are often greasey, and not well formed. They will not look "normal" or solid and usually smell worse. I notice a change in mine if I forget to take my enzymes. You son will also most likley complain that his tummy hurts more.
Hope this helps
Debbie
24 w/ CF

 

[anonymous]

Other signs - abdominal bloating. Also, when you look at his stools do they float or sink to the bottom? If they float, it is a sign that he may need enzymes to help digest his fats and protein.

He should really only be going (pooping) once a day (when my son was diagnosed at age 3 he was going 4-5 times a day). It is quite obvious when his stools are abnormal.

Doctors can also get a sign of how well the pancreas is working based on your son's growth chart - his height and weight percentiles. When my son was diagnosed at age 3, he was 5% weight and 10% height. Once he started using enzymes he shot up to 60% weight and 40% height.

Hope this helps!
Jena
4 yr old son with cf
1 yr old daughter no cf

 

[anonymous]

A couple of comments. I thought CFers poop floated, regardless of whether enzymes are used or not.
And, for a healthy person, one a day is normal & I've also heard this from doctors that one a day is normal for CFs, but I wonder how many CFers really only have one poop in a 24 hour period?
I, too have wondered what "bulky" meant and assumed that that meant huge, as in pickle/cucumber sized poop, but from what Debbie described, bulky must mean poop that looks like a bunch of fried chicken skin floating around??? (I know, bad, but the only description I could think of)
<img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif" border="0">

 

[CFHockeyMom]

I used to get concerned that my CFer was pooping more than once a day and thought for sure this meant he needed his enzymes adjusted. Conventional wisdom suggests that pooping once a day is normal for healthy people. I've done some digging on this issue and it seems that pooping only once a day is in fact not normal. It seems that our western diets have "forced" this. It is actually more normal to poop 2-3 times a day if you are eating properly (i.e. drinking enough and eating enough of the "right" foods).

 

[anonymous]

My sons poop was terrible!! I literally tried every diaper on the market and nothing could hold it in. "normal" stools should not overflow out of the diaper. His stool was difficult to clean up because it was so greasy and I had to use a million diaper wipes. Once he started enzymes things got a little better (he was diagnosed at 18 months). For the first week or so his little butt was raw, I'm not sure why.
Now he still poops several times a day and it is somewhat bulky but he is growing and gaining weight.

 

[anonymous]

Are you watching his grease intake? I know a lot of Dr's say to add butter, etc, but I just wonder if you cut a lot of the grease (not all) out of his diet for a few days, if that would cause his stools to be less greasy and hopefully he is still able to maintain his weight (just as an experiment)?
What are doctors telling new parents these days, a lot of fat/greasy foods or do the Dr's really mention anything about it?

 

[gretzky711]

In order to cut down on gas and greasy stools my doctor suggested using more enzymes if I know I'm gonna eat a really fatty meal such as pizza or some kind of meat. The other option is to limit your fat intake. I find it easier to take more enzymes, just one or two. Consult your dietician or doctor. Not only is it beneficial for you to know, but it helps them in their CF research.

dave

 

[anonymous]

Despite the many different enzymes my son has tried he still has bulky stools. He does take more with certain foods. He currently takes 4 pancreacarb enzymes with his food and two with snacks. Has anyone else had this problem?

 

[gretzky711]

Is there a difference besides brand name in certain pancreatic enzymes such as creon, ultrase, and whatever your son is on. I know there are different levels of ultrase that I take. For instance, I'm on Ultrase MT20 6 for meals/3snack. Consult your doctor about going on a higher strength enzyme. Make sure and mention the bulky stools. As I got older they switched me from Creaon to Ultrase.

David

 

[anonymous]

He was on regular Ultrase and then up to four Ultrase MT12 with meals, they combined it with Maalox and then Zantac. Now he is on four Pancreacarb with meals. They are worried about giving him too many enzymes and want to hold off for a while because he is growing and gaining weight. If it persists then they are going to send him to a gastroenterologist, hopefully the same one I went to (I have Crohn's disease), he's awesome!

 

[NoDayButToday]

What about Pancrease? My whole life, they've worked best for me. Also, I'm figuring the doctors are leery of giving too many enzymes because of the info on colonic strictures that came out about 12 years ago? Let me tell you this- I've had doctors basically say to me that the medical community overreacted when they made the new guidelines and that strictures were a rare problem to begin with. So putting him on a higher dose of enzyme for a year so he stops having unpleasant stools (and probably grows more), likely won't cause any real problems.

 

[anonymous]

Thanks for the advice Coll! I hate watching my son be in pain from the tummy aches and the frequent stools. I would much rather up his enzyme dose and have him feeling good than worry about what "might" happen if he takes too many.

 

[NoDayButToday]

You're welcome- and really there isn't much to worry about. I spent the first five or so years of my life on a higher dose of enzymes, and don't have any problems.