White specks in stool

Since c-diff is a disease of the "lower half", so to speak, we find that many of our members cannot refrain from discussing what comes out the bottom end. If you must do it, please do it here.
KathyS
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White specks in stool

Postby KathyS » Wed Aug 01, 2012 12:16 pm

I planned to ask my dr about this next week but curiosity is killing me...

Several days after starting Vanco in the hospital, I started seeing little bright white specks in my stool. I asked my infectious disease doc what it was and he said c-diff. I didn't know enough at the time to ask more questions, but now I know c-diff has a vegetative state and a spore state. I suspect that I started seeing the white specks when the Vanco started working and the c-diff was dying off or changing to a spore state. Can someone here help me understand what the white specks are and what they mean? None of the medical sites even mention such a thing (of course).

Thanks!
Kathy

beth22
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Re: White specks in stool

Postby beth22 » Wed Aug 01, 2012 12:37 pm

I have seen specks of undigested food in stool before. Maybe it is food, or if you had those c diff "plaques" on the intestines - they are white or yellow patches, perhaps they are sloughing off as you are now on medication. Ask your doctor if it could be that - I'm just taking a guess here. But, if you had the plaques, they have to go somewhere and that somewhere would be out...

KathyS
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Re: White specks in stool

Postby KathyS » Wed Aug 01, 2012 3:27 pm

Plaques? Hmm. I had huge white bumps (LOTS of them) show up in the sigmoidoscopy (I have the pics but they're gross!). They looked kind of like bad pimples or something. Is that what you're calling plaques? What exactly are plaques?

getwellsoon
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Re: White specks in stool

Postby getwellsoon » Wed Aug 01, 2012 3:40 pm

I had the white tissue in my stools also but mostly before I started Vanco. I think they are like dead skin or scabs from the colon coming off. I would get very bad pain and would pass just water and those tissuey things. I did that in hospital and thats when they finally started treating me for CDiff. I had a neg. stool specimen so my Dr. and a GI and 3 ER visits just went by that and let me suffer for 6 weeks. It was the last time I was admitted that Ihad that attack and the nurse got the Hospitalist to come and look at the tissue and they sent it to the lab. Finally I was treated after that. Ask the Dr. but I think it is just what it looks like, pieces of tissues sloughing off the lining of the colon. Hope this helps. Carol
CAROL

KathyS
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Re: White specks in stool

Postby KathyS » Wed Aug 01, 2012 3:46 pm

something like scabs maybe?? Dunno. They were small - about the size of a sesame seed - and a very bright clean pearly white color. The color is what struck me as so odd, how could they be so white given where they were located ( and where they came from ). It must be something with a very hard smooth surface that won't absorb any of the "colorful" stuff surrounding it.

getwellsoon
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Re: White specks in stool

Postby getwellsoon » Wed Aug 01, 2012 4:47 pm

That sounds like some undigested food or medicine not like the tissue plagues I was passing. Good question for Dr. Please let us know what he says, I"m curious.
CAROL

bback12
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Re: White specks in stool

Postby bback12 » Wed Aug 01, 2012 5:24 pm

It really sounds like undigested Medication that hasn't broken down all the way, or possibly some kind of food? I have little white spots in my stool and I know it's from the Pentasa I take for my Crohns. Ask your doctor if it could be food or medication. Oh the things we look for in stool :)

AThurston
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Re: White specks in stool

Postby AThurston » Wed Aug 01, 2012 6:19 pm

I agree w/ Brittany, but I had just the opposite black specks/flecks, always while on tx. Little bigger than a piece of pepper. My GI said it was the colon sloughing off infected/diseased areas. Since the transfusions I have not seen any. It's always best to ask your dr.
Alletta

bback12
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Re: White specks in stool

Postby bback12 » Wed Aug 01, 2012 10:53 pm

Yes Alletta, My doctor told me the same thing about the black specks. I had those back earlier in the year. I haven't seen any since.

KathyS
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Re: White specks in stool

Postby KathyS » Wed Aug 01, 2012 11:11 pm

"Best advice is to flush before you stand up" LOL - Thanks Roy.

Actually I first noticed it when using a potty chair they brought in my room so I couldn't flush - why they brought it is another story in itself, I'll get to that in a minute.

I asked the Infectious Disease doc what those white specks were and he said c.diff. I can ask my other doctors, but I got that answer from the expert on c.diff in my case, so I had no reason to doubt his answer. I doubt my other docs would have a clue. I couldn't help but look after that - I wanted to know what this thing was that had made me so sick, I wanted to know everything I could about it. I wanted to know I was beating it. I saw the numbers first increase a little, then started decreasing. The last time I saw any was last Friday. I cannot relate that timeline to any food that I had started then stopped eating around that time, nor to any medication I had started and stopped. But it DID seem to correlate to me feeling less c.diff pain in my lower bowel (altho other symptoms have been a roller coaster of better then worse).

I will ask my surgeon when I see him next week and let you all know what he says, but again, I doubt he'll have a clue. I don't plan to see the ID doc again - no appointment, and I really didn't like him much. If I have to see an ID again, I'll probably try to find another one.

Now about the potty chair: I have an unusual last name - rarely run across another person with it, but I was in a 700 bed hospital. I was taken (in my bed) for a CAT scan and there was another woman with my last name getting a CAT scan at the same time. She appeared to be about my age too!

Two young guys took me back to my room after the scan, talking about video games or girls or something, and some nonsensical stuff that I'm sure was code to keep me from understanding them (like I understood any of the non-coded stuff). They get me in my room, then start acting confused and talking about two patients with the same name, and start to wheel me out saying "Oops we took you to the wrong room!" After I informed them they had the right room, they realized they must have switched the charts instead, and left me. I then took a nap.

When I awoke 2 hours later, I had to pee really bad. I started to get up, but the side rails were still up. There was a nurse call built-in to the bed and I already knew it didn't work but I tried it anyway. The one I normally used (corded) was hanging on the wall far out of my reach. I tried calling out but I'm in an isolation room - at the end of a hallway, with another room between me and the hallway (for gowning, washing hands, etc.) so nobody heard me. (Maybe I could have mustered a scream, but I just didn't think the situation warranted such dramatics yet.)

I decided I could climb the rail (this decision may have been affected by morphine). I somehow got over the rail and on my feet and went to grab my IV pole, then noticed my IVs weren't on it - they were still hanging on the bed!! I grabbed the nurse call off the wall and told them I had to pee really really bad and I couldn't get to the bathroom. I was about to burst. A nurse and a tech arrived almost immediately and started trying to get the IVs moved over for me. There must have been a problem with getting them off the bed quickly, because the nurse ran out and came right back with a potty chair (if he ever reads this: you know you're still my favorite nurse of all). I used it immediately.

I had a brief moment of thinking "where were you guys? why haven't you checked on me for 2 hours?" then realized they probably had looked in, saw me sleeping peacefully, and didn't want to disturb my rest.

They left me the potty chair "just in case..." and during my worst times over the next few days I did use it. All of the nurses and techs were great to me throughout my stay, but these two went above and beyond the call.

By the way, within a few hours of me climbing over the rail, a technician of some sort arrived and fixed the nurse call on my bed. Better late than never, I guess.

PS. Yes, I would have seen the specks even if I'd never had a potty chair (how can you not want to see what your enemy has done to you?) but this gave me an opportunity to tell about the day I climbed the rail.

getwellsoon
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Re: White specks in stool

Postby getwellsoon » Thu Aug 02, 2012 6:26 am

Great story Kathy, but scary how they mixed up patients. When I was in the hospital everytime they came into your room and did anything for you, gave you a med, brought in your meal etc. they scanned your bracelet which has a unique code on it that makes sure it is you. I guess your hospital didn't have this technology. It could really keep horrible mistakes from happening and I'm glad I had mine on because I was out of it a lot of times when they came in.
CAROL

AThurston
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Re: White specks in stool

Postby AThurston » Thu Aug 02, 2012 8:01 am

Kathy, Geez that could have been disastarous for you & staff. Like Beth said, hospitals in Indiana have a wristband that they scan for pt's ID and before they start a procedure or give any tx's, meds, etc, have you state name & dob. Being in the heathcare field for many years that is one of my worst fears, mixing up pt's or their meds. It happens everyday tho, that said when I was reading your pm, it stunned me call light didn't work, then nurses call light not in reach, IV's. This would be an excellent inservice for the hospital staff for safety.
Alletta

KathyS
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Re: White specks in stool

Postby KathyS » Thu Aug 02, 2012 11:18 am

Actually they did do the wristband scan and ask my name and dob every time I got meds, but they didn't do this for transporting to/from CAT scans.

Trisha
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Re: White specks in stool

Postby Trisha » Wed Nov 07, 2012 5:42 pm

So did you ever figure out what the white specks are? I'm having the same thing and noticed it the day my c diff symptoms started returning.

mka
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Re: White specks in stool

Postby mka » Wed Jun 21, 2017 10:34 am

I realize that this thread was started several years ago but I am having similar symptoms and was hoping to get some help/reassurance. Have been treated with 10 days of Flagyl followed by 2 weeks of Vancomycin which I just completed yesterday. Before taking any of the previously mentioned antibiotics I noticed that each stool (loose in consistency to D) contained multiple white seed like specks. They decreased somewhat during the course of the Vancomycin but never went away. Now that I have completed my course of the antibiotics I am concerned because the seed-like objects are still there (with continued loose, but not diarrhea, stools 3-4x/day). I am having no abdominal cramp, fever, or any other symptoms. Should I be concerned that the C Diff is still present OR could this possibly be spores simply exiting via stool? I would appreciate any and all advice! Thank you so very much!!!


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