Sign-in to Ask A Doctor - 24x7
OR
Sign in with Google
What Causes Soft Clay Coloured Stools While On Ketogenic Diet?
Question: I am on a ketogenic diet to control metabolic syndrome/prediabetes. After a couple weeks, my stools turned pale (clay color) and very soft. Is this normal?
Brief Answer:
Clay colored stools can mean biliary obstruction.
Detailed Answer:
In the bile that the liver produces and the gall bladder stores, there is a pigment called bilirubin which contributes to the normal color of the stool. Without it, stools will appear clay colored. So you likely have obstruction going on somewhere in the path of where the bile enters the first part of the small intestine.
I advise that you go to your doctor for evaluation of what is likely biliary obstruction. Your doctor will probably want to get some blood tests (bilirubin, liver enzymes) and may want to do an abdominal ultrasound.
Sometimes rapid weight loss can trigger some gall bladder sludge or stone build up. This might be what is going on.
Please let me know if I can provide further information or clarification.
Clay colored stools can mean biliary obstruction.
Detailed Answer:
In the bile that the liver produces and the gall bladder stores, there is a pigment called bilirubin which contributes to the normal color of the stool. Without it, stools will appear clay colored. So you likely have obstruction going on somewhere in the path of where the bile enters the first part of the small intestine.
I advise that you go to your doctor for evaluation of what is likely biliary obstruction. Your doctor will probably want to get some blood tests (bilirubin, liver enzymes) and may want to do an abdominal ultrasound.
Sometimes rapid weight loss can trigger some gall bladder sludge or stone build up. This might be what is going on.
Please let me know if I can provide further information or clarification.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Would an abdominal ultrasound reveal whether the potential obstruction is sludge vs stones or something else?
Brief Answer:
Yes, ultrasound likely would be able to reveal this.
Detailed Answer:
Ultrasound is the procedure of choice for identifying gall stones. US can identify gallstones as small as 2 mm (that's really small), with a sensitivity (rate of revealing a problem) greater than 95%. The sensitivity is diminished somewhat when people are markedly obese which can sometimes prevent the ultrasound from adequately visualizing the gall bladder, but it generally does a pretty good job regardless.
There are other tests that can be used for follow up but the ultrasound (and blood tests) are the first place to start.
Yes, ultrasound likely would be able to reveal this.
Detailed Answer:
Ultrasound is the procedure of choice for identifying gall stones. US can identify gallstones as small as 2 mm (that's really small), with a sensitivity (rate of revealing a problem) greater than 95%. The sensitivity is diminished somewhat when people are markedly obese which can sometimes prevent the ultrasound from adequately visualizing the gall bladder, but it generally does a pretty good job regardless.
There are other tests that can be used for follow up but the ultrasound (and blood tests) are the first place to start.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Answered by
Get personalised answers from verified doctor in minutes across 80+ specialties
