Malabsorption syndrome?

[Evan925]

Hi,
I have a severe weight loss problem that from my symptoms seems like a malabsorption syndrome, but all of my tests so far have looked normal.

My questions is if you are losing weight due to a malabsorption, are there only certain nutrients that could cause this, or are there many?

[Evan925]

Hi,
No GI issue in family, no blood in stool.  I had a colonoscopy/upper endoscopy done, and since I moved I have a new doctor that is planning a lower bowel biopsy I believe.  I'm not sure what he is using for the procedure.  It does seem like from my negative test results, and elevated WBC that it could be an infection.  

I'm not sure what 'inkling' is though.  I do have other health concerns, but they could or could not be related, I really don't know.  One is that my hair seems to fall out and be thinning pretty good My muscles are very achey all of the time (but that could be from the weight loss I was told) and I do seem to have a painful urination issue.  I think I mentioned also that my stomach is very gassy and 'bubbly' all the time.  Thanks for your time.

[CalGal]

That elevated WBC says 'something' is going on and it sounds like the docs are doing quite a lot to try to find out what's happening, and that's good. I'm glad they're following up on the small intestine to see if there's something going on there.

Does any form of GI issue run in your family? I'm assuming that you're not experiencing any blood in your stool? What test are they going to use to obtain the biopsy because I would have thought they would have biopsied when they did the upper endoscopy. Will the biopsy be done using a double balloon enteroscopy? Or?

The loss of weight could be due to the fact that you're fighting 'some kind' of infection. Surprisingly enough, it takes quite a few calories to support both the 'infection process' (which 'steals' a lot of your normal resources), and to help supply the energy for your body to continue it's normal function and repair any damage the infection is doing.

Evan, they didn't find an 'inkling' of anything, anywhere???? Are you having any symptoms at all - however small - that you haven't mentioned?

[Evan925]

First off thank you so much for replying.  Yes I eat even more than I used to and I am losing a great deal of weight.  I don't seem to really see fatty/oily film on the surface, but my stool seems generally looser than normal.  

My health issues that may or may not be related, are that over a year now I have been losing a great deal of weight for no apparent reason, my stomach seems to always be gassy or upset, and loose stool.

I have had a colonoscopy, upper endoscopy, blood work from a GI doctor,  two parasite and ova tests, CT scan and x-rays.  I think the only thing that looked abnormal was an elevated white blood cell count.  The GI doctor said that could be a sign there is an infection.  

I am scheduled to have a small bowel biopsy next.  Do you think there could be some sort of malabsorption occuring, or what are your thoughts?  Thank you,

Evan  

[CalGal]

Some parts of the small intestine are specialized to absorb certain nutrients that other parts can't, so in many cases if tests are run and you're having problems picking up some 'things' those might show up on tests.

Are you finding undigested foood in your stools? Or a fatty/oily film on the surface of the toilet water?

Is is that you're eating, but you're losing weight? There are several 'definitions' of what constitutes malabsorption.