"Floaters" could signal something bad

Q: I read your column about floating poop. When I experienced this about seven years ago, I ignored it because there were no other symptoms. Luckily for me, I ended up in the emergency room with a kidney stone. When they performed a CT scan to find the stone, they found the cause of my floating poop — pancreatic cancer.

One of the reasons the survival rate for pancreatic cancer is so low is that it is rarely found early. By the time most people are symptomatic, it has metastasized. The tumor had blocked the bile duct just enough to cause the floating-poop symptom.

I had a Whipple procedure and am one of the very few survivors of pancreatic cancer. Please tell the person with floating poop to see a doctor.

A: You are not the only reader who made a connection between "floaters" and pancreatic cancer. Several readers remembered a televised interview with the late Randy Pausch, author of "The Last Lecture," in which he talked about this as a symptom of his pancreatic cancer.

There are other causes of floating poop, and many are not serious. Just the same, it makes sense to discuss this symptom with a physician.

Q: I struggled for years with hair loss, dry skin and constant fatigue. I was finally sent to an endocrinologist, who discovered I have Hashimoto's disease and prescribed Armour Thyroid.

Now that I take this natural hormone, my hair is not falling out, my fingernails and toenails grow, my skin is not as dry, my monthly cycle is not as heavy and, to my amazement, I have much better mental clarity. I used to feel like I was in a haze sometimes. I never understood why, but that is one of the symptoms of low thyroid as well.

A: We're glad you were finally diagnosed correctly. Thyroid disorders are common, and your symptoms were classic. Armour Thyroid is an old-fashioned treatment for hypothyroidism, and many doctors no longer prescribe it. Some readers report, however, that they feel better on this than on synthetic levothyroxine (Synthroid, Levothroid, Levoxyl) that contains only T4.

Q: I was recently traveling in France and ran out of the acetaminophen I brought from home for my painful arthritic knee. When I attempted to buy more acetaminophen from a French pharmacy, the pharmacist said acetaminophen is not sold in France. The pharmacist advised me to take a product named paracetamol. What is paracetamol, and is it safe to use?

A: Acetaminophen (Tylenol, etc.) is sold throughout the world as paracetamol. The two are identical.

In their column, Joe and Teresa Graedon answer letters from readers. Write to them c/o King Features Syndicate, 888 Seventh Ave., New York, NY 10019, or via their Web site: www.peoplespharmacy.org