Dark Green Bile

[Tracie2244]

My son has regular stomach problems about ever 4-6 weeks.  His "attacks" hit suddenly, he becomes nauseous then projectile vomits a few times then wretches for a few hours with a severe headache; he's then weak and nauseous for the next few days.

Today was a usual case of one of his "attacks" except he is vomiting dark green bile, almost the color of Nyquil - he has never done this before, plus his last "attack" was only 7 days ago.  Should I be concerned abut the dark green bile?  This is NOT a stomach bug, virus, etc.

[Tracie2244]

Thanks so much for the info.  His bile is usually pale yellow but the Nyquil colored bile was very scary looking.  I did push to get into the Gastrointerologist next week so hopefully we'll get to the bottom of this.  Thanks again for your info.

[CalGal]

Yes, you should be concerned as he's refluxing bile into his stomach and that's as caustic a substance as acid is. I'd suggest he be seen by a doc and be evaluated for possible gallbladder issues - depending on what his medical history is. Two tests that can be used to evaluate the state of his biliary system are a gallbladder ultrasound and a HIDA scan with CCK injection. In most cases having 'just' an ultrasound done is not sufficient - it only shows whether or not there are stones or sludge present. In many, stones/sludge may not cause a problem - in others they're a big problem. That's why it's important to do the HIDA scan. It will measure the ejection fraction of bile put out by the gallbladder in response to the natural hormone CCK.

In the meantime your son may want to follow a low fat diet.