Help! stool dark brown - not black, definitely, but dark. bits of food in it. dullpain in lower right quadrant that i think is muscular, but not sure.

Don't panic, but...: Dark-colored stools may result from iron supplements, foods you eat (like a lot of spinach), substances (like peptobismol), but most significantly suggests bleeding. When blood is denatured by acid in your stomach, as from ulcers, stools will turn tarry ("melena"). Blood may also be ingested from nose bleeds, bleeding gums. Silver-colored stool suggests bleeding from the biliary tree. Get checked.