So first some background info:
Current Symptoms:
Mild LUQ pain that lasts for seconds at a time. Comes and goes sometimes I don't experience it for weeks at a time. Not really dependent on food and is sometimes worse on empty stomach. I can say that the more "normal" ( not loose ) my bowel movements the more I experience the pain.
Loose sometimes floating stools ( 1/8th of the time ) that are not as dark as they used to be. More like a light cardboard tan color. My bowel movements rarely stink beyond normal ( Unless I eat something with sulfur like garlic or onions this really seems to make them stink ). They do not stick to the bowl. I have had 1 or 2 bowel movements that have been very light in the past year as well as a few normal bowel movements in the past year.
I have gained 50 pounds from last year at this time. I now weigh 215 lbs ( I am 6' male with muscular build ). I carry a fair amount of belly fat and I have always had trouble with losing my belly even at 165 lbs. I am eating approx 2500 calories a day.
I am a Male 32 Years old.
1 year ago I started a diet to lower my blood pressure ( It was the Ornish Diet which consists of max 5 grams fat / day ). I was on the diet for a little over a month and I lost a tremendous amount of weight on this diet ( 20 + lbs ) bringing my weight to 165 lbs.
I was feeling pretty great on the diet but I was spooked as my WBC came back as having a low Neutrophil count and high monocyte count. I discontinued the diet and began to eat a normal western diet. Immediately after discontinuing the diet I started to notice some GI issues such as a very mild pain on my left side ( Oblique ) as well as looser than normal stools. This continued for a month so I contacted both my regular GP as well as a Naturopath.
The GP insisted I was having a food intolerance and did no testing but agreed to do a checkup in 6 weeks. The naturopath ordered a fecal test which showed normal Elastase above 500 but elevated Triglycerides. The fecal test also showed severe disbyosis. I was also given an antibody food allergy test as well as a candida antibody test. I had a mild reaction to a number of different foods and I had antibodies for candida. I tried the prescribed diet that I was given to control the candida and food allergies for a little over a week but it was very restrictive and I was not able to continue.
My mother-in-law is the head of ultrasound for a local hospital so we were able to look at my liver, pancreas, spleen & gallbladder. The only remarkable thing to note was a good amount of sludge in my gallbladder to which my mother in law responded " You will be having your gallbladder removed soon "
I was resceduled to see the GP in March and she palpated my LUQ and I reiterated my symptoms ( mild pain, loose ribbon shaped stools, gas, bloating ). I let her know about my gallbladder sludge as well. She again insisted it was a food allergy / intolerance and refused to refer me to a gastrointerologist.
I felt defeated after the lack of cooperation from my GP and pretty much gave up hope on the subject. Since then I have just been trying to self treat my GI issues which have not resolved. Currently I am taking Digestive Advantage Intensive Bowel Support and IBGard ( Peppermint ). This has definitely given me some relief and thickened my stools some ( I very rarely have floating stools when using these products ).
I have more information and can post all of my test results if that would be helpful. I am just wondering what direction I should try and push my GP in so I can get a proper diagnosis. I have an appointment scheduled next week.
I am sure if I should pursue chronic panceatitis or possible gallbladder dysfunction or any other ailments.