stool colors

Yellow and green stools are just due to bile in different stages of digestion. Simple physiology. If you pick up a bug or have indigestion from food intolerances, your transit time picks up and stool will be more yellow than brown. If the transit is even faster, the stool will be green. How you feel is probably related to dehydration and/or the effects of what set this in motion.

Nothing really to worry about. Now, if there is NO bile and the stool is very pale, then your bile duct is obstructed and there is cause for concern. But, you'd be having biliary colic sending you to the doctor.

Jan

Jan - THANK you so much.  I really do try to hydrate.  Honestly, I probably do a worse job now that I am home more. When I was working, I had to talk so much at my job  - it forced me to drink water non stop.  I think I probably need to drink even more water -- I also drink propel and G2.  I hope these are ok.  My dad has been told to cut back on them - he is 79 with a pouch.  But, I always felt I was getting some electrolytes from them.  You are so informative and you help so many people - more than you will ever know. I'm so thankful for you.

Propel is fine, especially the electrolyte water. G2, I am not 100% sure about. Less sugar than Gatorade, but it still may be too much for you. If you feel better drinking it, then it should be fine.

I don't go in for hydration drinks, sodas, or most any other bottled drinks. I hydrate with water, coffee, tea, and soups. I also like my wine with dinner. But, that's just my preference. You can tell if you are hydrated by your urine output. You should void at least four times a day.

Your age may be a factor too, as our ability to sense thirst diminishes with age.

Jan

Hi Angie,

I agree that this seems to effect me more as time goes by...I don't seem to 'bounce back' as quickly as I used to...I also notice that when sick or suffering I eat more salt...I never used to eat salt...I avoided it (that may explain the constant 'dizzies' that I used to have)...

Yes, menopause is a b--ch...my muslces are melting, my ligaments are getting fragile, my sleep patterns come and go but I am resisting.

My new rules are almost no Sodas. (Diet coke occasionally in the summer months), no white bread (fine, the occasional cake or pastry but mostly only whole wheat) and no fake foods...I try to limit the chemical input because it seems to effect me negatively.

The more natural the food I eat the less tired I seem to be (duh?)...I am walking less because of some tendonitis but once it is over I will go back to my long walks...

My guts seem to hate menopause as much as I do.

They digest slower (not sure if that is menopause of something else) and less effectively so...A couple of runs on probiotics help a lot. Being more sedentary may be part of the problem...

Fight the good fight...and fight to win...my new mantra (even if it sounds stupid).

Hang in there...us 'older' girls need to band together!

Sharon

Thanks ladies - yes - I need you girls!  I agree about needing more salt as I've aged - total opposite of what most people are doing.  I guess I am doing fine on hydration - I definitely pee more than 4 times a day!  I don't drink much wine anymore - it makes me feel dehydrated - it may be in my head...not sure - my sister does not drink it anymore either.  Do so socially. 

You have both been thru it all and I feel like you both "get" me at this age/stage.  It really helps.

My menopause was sudden onset at 45 - last ovary and uterus had to go - all enmeshed in endometriosis.  that was the surgery where he perforated my small bowel...thus another surgery.  I bounced back after that for about a year and then crashed...have been doing better, but it took a long time - much longer than I care to admit.  By better, I mean accepting that things change and that it is ok if I'm not out there doing all the things I used to do - some of the reasons for that are also financial.  I know to be damn thankful if I have an ordinary day when I am not sick.  I have tons of hobbies (too many, really - a bit scattered) - and several friends...but, (and I think you get this) - I really have never been "the same" as I was before the menopause.  And, I'm no sure we are supposed to be...I do take 1 mg. of estrodial. 

Sharon - I am so sorry about all you are going thru right now - I feel so bad for you and I know you are giving it all you've got and then some.  Jan - thank you for all you do on here...and any guys or others who read this- thank you too.   You all have helped me more than you will ever know - mainly, I just feel heard and not so alone in this. Thanks all.

Thanks Angie,

You are right about the fact that we are not the same once we go through the 'change' (definitly well named!)...things just do not snap back the way that they used to.

I am slower to...everything...slower to heal, get well, get past things (physically)...and I need more of everything...rest, vitamins, water...it is a balancing act and I am very unhappy about some of this stuff but I know that I cannot do anything about it...so I guess that you are right about accepting things too...you need to accept the changes because fighting against them is just too darned exhausting!

Sharon

Yep - I fought against the post menopause thing - I was so angry and crazy - it was like going through puberty in reverse - and I have come out the other side - but yes, it's what you are saying - everything is slower - need more vitamins, more water, more rest, etc.  - which can be bad because then I rest too much - which leads to depression - so I got back out there and walk to help offset that.  I take some comfort in looking at my mother - she is not living with a j pouch or without a colon...so she is not fighting that battle.  But I do remember her post menopause and she was a wreck for a long time...and then she just got so much better.  She does pilates, travels, does volunteer work, gardens, has tons of friends, and is out and about every day at 78.  She was always very social and she loves all of it.  My Dad - who has the pouch - is much more of an introvert, but she helps keep him going out.  He likes being at home more. My point is that there was a time I thought she was going to sink and never swim again, and she just got so much better.  Part of it was a move  (and that is a huge part of my issue now - I live in the south and it's so hot here and I am very light skinned and not wired for this weather).  I have to stick it out here for husband's retirement money - 5 more years.  I have tried all the positive thinking and behavioral work in the world to like it here...and the fact is, I just don't like it.  There are no seasons - well - there are two - hellish hot, and mild winter - which is almost like a never ending spring.  I have mild nerve damage and I simply cannot be out in the heat much....it is what it is.  Thanks for listening to me.  There are people all over this earth who do not like where they live - you have to embrace it and look for the good in your situation.  I am thankful for my husband who has a job and let me quit mine early...and the job is here, so that's that.  He is really supportive and he does not particularly like the heat either.  But, he loves his job - and who can say that after 28 years at something - not many people - you and him! ha!

Just keep fighting the good fight...my moto.

I hate were I live (I did not move all the way across the Atlantic to live in a slum 2 miles outside of Paris with very bad Public transportation...takes forever to get there) but hubby loves it...compromise is the answer...he now picks me up at night because I cannot walk it...too far...yup, menopause seems to have made distances between 2 places longer too

My pouch hates it here...too far to go out and come back without needing to empty in a strange restroom (strange was not a euphemism...They are very strange here!).

This is not a pouch friendly country!

Just walked UP 2 flights of stairs in a national museum to get to the handicapped washroom...Sheesh

Sharon

Isn't that something - I've only visited Paris twice and I'm thinking...this lady is living in Paris!! But, living anywhere is totally different than visiting.  You are fantastic.

I did my walking today with a friend and it sure helps - I can get out now as it is not hot.  I usually have a good attitude about where I live - as in - "what can ya do" - how I ended up in Texas is a long story - but here I am and here I will be for foreseeable future.  I think as I age....I feel like time is running out and I just want to live in four seasons one last time...hopefully I will. That said, I know to be thankful for any good day here and now.  And, truly thankful for my husband - who had been through so much with me and this pouch/other health issues and does not bolt!

I cannot remember if it was you who mentioned this, but is grape juice supposed to be good for the pouch (I know it always depends on the person) - but this is one I have not heard of and I will try it...carry on the good fight, Sharon.  You do inspire me and so what if you have a God complex - somebody's gotta do it ha!

Grape juice is good for the pouch if you are looking for a laxative effect (similar to prune juice).

So, it all depends on what effect you want. Either way, it is safe.

Jan

thnx  Jan - you're the best