Picked up something in cuba

A week ago i got back from Cuba, 4 days after arriving in Cuba i started getting the runs, 3 days after that i was on my way home to Canada with no relief, ive been home for 5 days now and still no relief other than imodieum. Before i went to Cuba regular bowel movements, 2 min aday, healthy color, large 6, 8 or more inches, not hard but healthy (perfect), so in 12 days ive gone from feeling good about my daily trips to the can, to what the hell. This was my first trip out of Canada and US on a vacation. My wife says it will pass as it was my first trip and she has taken my temp and blood pressure and all normal, fact is i feel great, everything is as before normal but with Diarrhea (yellow)?


This discussion is related to Diarrhea, loose stool for over 6 weeks.  What is wrong with me?.

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Yellow diarrhea (in doctors medical advice this is called steatorrhea) normally indicates fat malabsorption in the small bowel and is one of several types of abnormal bowel movements. The diarrhea has numerous causes and can be anything from bright yellow diarrhea to a thick, soup-like and pale bowel movement. Steatorrhea has fat droplets within it and can be seen floating in the toilet pan. It is quite obvious that they are abnormal bowel movements to the sufferer! On this page we will discuss causes, diarrhea diet options (examples include colon diet and gallbladder diet), diarrhea treatments, diarrhea remedies and diarrhea medicines. You can also ask for medical advice too.
When looking at causes of this bright yellow diarrhea, these can be split into intra luminal causes (within the bowel itself), small bowel causes (problems within the small bowel lining) or extra-luminal causes (outside the small bowel). If you have any more questions or concerns about this, you might like to use the medical advice service or online doctor for more information.

Small bowel bacterial overgrowth - excessive 'bad' bacteria growing in the small bowel which interferes with absorption of fat and other nutrients. Can result in nutrient deficiencies such as B12, folate, iron, Vitamins D,E,A and K.

Diet - Certain diet products interfere with fat absorption in the small bowel eg excessive Benecol use that reduces fat absorption in the small bowel

Drugs - many drugs can interfere with fat absorption eg Xenical, Cholestyramine

Small bowel Crohns disease - a form of inflammatory bowel disease

Celiac (Coeliac) disease - a condition of the small bowel where the individual is sensitive to gluten, a protein in wheat, rye and barley with resultant damage to the bowel lining Click Here For More Details

Lymphoma - a form of cancer of the lymph glands

Small bowel malignancy - cancers arising from the small bowel eg adenocarcinomas, stromal tumours

Pancreatic insufficiency - condition where the pancreas gland fails to produce the pancreatic enzymes needed to aid absorption of fat. Examples of this include pancreatitis, cancer

Biliary obstruction - conditions where the bile draining tubes (biliary tree) are blocked eg gallstones, strictures which can be benign or malignant, infections


Various investigations can be undertaken looking for a causes of these abnormal bowel movements including blood tests, stool culture, stool examination for fat, fecal (faecal) elastase testing, glucose-hydrogen breath testing, endoscopy and small bowel biopsy, small bowel meal and follow through, enteroscopy and capsular endoscopy. These will need discussion with your Gastroenterologist .If you would like further details, you can always ask for medical advice with the online doctor.