is there anybody else who has had their gall bladder removed and having probs

It is quite common for this sort of problem to happen after gallbladder removal and is known as bile salt diarrhea.

Metamucil, calcium supplements, acidophilus, bile salts and the statins can all help this.

Thank you for your response, are the symptons similar or could it be have ibs as well, could someone tell me what the symptons are ??????? fingers crossed, hopefully my doc might listen to me now. Thanks

It could be that you have IBS too, but if you have had no problems before GB removal then it seems likely that this is the cause.

Symptoms are probably diarrhea and some stomach pain. This is due to the fact that following GB removal you still have bile in your system that then just sits in your bowels causing this diarrhea and you can still react to fatty foods too.

Try the Metamucil, Acidophilus, Calcium and then Questran is good for bile salt diarrhea so I have heard. It is one of the statin medications for lowering cholesterol, but a lot of people with bile salt diarrhea following GB removal have found that this has helped them.

It could be that you have both IBS as well as the GB problems, but it just could be from the GB removal.

Good luck

Denbabes, the symptoms are constant or nearly constant diarrhea. The technical name for diarrhea after gallbladder removal is cholerheic enteropathy.

Between 5-10 percent of people who have their gallbladder out will have diarrhea for life.

There is no cure but Questran or Colestid are the drugs of choice. They're not statins. They are bile acid sequestrants. In short, they bind to excess bile in your intestines. As a result, your feces becomes less liquid. They're like a bile sponge.

Some people also have success with calcium supplements.

I wanted to add this link to another thread here where it's been discussed that might help you.
http://www.healthboards.com/ubb/Forum73/HTML/000784.html

thank you all for your advice i just need to convince my doctor now and hope he will give me the drugs instead of saying you just got ibs never mind, am keeping fingers crossed am looking forward to getting my life back and going back to work as mostly housebound the thought of not having the spasms/cramps and running to the loo is heaven, once again thanks, can i just ask one more question is that i have a yellow tongue is this part of the prob as well.

You shouldn't have to convince a reputable gastro doctor....

It's a well known side effect of gallbladder removal. If you have to convince him, he's not very bright. http://www.healthboards.com/ubb/smile.gif

Also, the Questran/Colestid is a treatment for IBS related diarrhea. So even if it were to turn out that you indeed have IBS, these drugs can/may stop the diarrhea.

Good luck. http://www.healthboards.com/ubb/wave.gif

Hey denbabes. See my response/post to you on the Bowel Disorders site. I think you'll find it helpful. I am a true believer in the power of Colestid!

Good luck,
Katie G

Hi all
Just to let u know just back from docs and they will not prescribe me questran as i asked, as they say it does not deal with what i have and does not deal with bile,i did remind them that i had gall bladder out but u know what they like they close down after you have stated symptons, so they have given me Mebeverine Hyrochloride, ummmm so not a happy bunny today, as pain real bad today, any suggestions.

Hmmm, does not deal with bile....I'd guess you'd need a new doctor because Questran is a BILE ACID SEQUESTRANT!! http://www.healthboards.com/ubb/biggrin.gif Dumb doctors.

Sorry you're having such a bad day. If I remember right, Katie had to go though many years and plenty of doctors before someone would take her seriously and get her on the Colestid.

I don't have faith in any doctor who will not let you try something or won't listen. I'd suggest that you call around to some local GI doctors and explain your prediciment to a nurse at the office. Ask them if they use cholestyramine(Questran) or Colestid as a treatment strategy for either IBS or gallbladder removal. If so, make an appointment.

I'd give you some websites to look at but we're not allowed per healthboards policy. Put "bile salt diarrhea" and "gallbladder IBS Questran" in a search engine and read up about it. Print out some pages that talk about it to take with you to the doctor.

Questran and Colestid both are not absorbed by your blood stream and cause virtually no side effects. It shouldn't be that hard to get a doctor to at least let you TRY it.

Good luck and keep on trying. I hope for the best for you.

I can't believe what you're going through with your doctor. I had IBS first, then worse diarrhea problems after the gallbladder came out. I went several years not getting anywhere either...then, finally, a GI doctor listened to my symptoms and prescribed Questran. I can truthfully say that I was crying as I left the clinic parking lot. Someone had listened, and given me hope. Within that first day of using Questran, I knew it was working. That was many years ago, and I'm still doing great with it.

As has been suggested, PLEASE seek out another doctor and go armed with information on this problem. This doctor may be an idiot, but there are ones out there that are fully aware that Questran can make a life-changing difference for you.

Good luck!! And don't give up on this because of this one doctor.

Hi denbabes. I responded to your post on the Bowel Disorders site so won't repeat here. It's a long post so please read. Ditto for what dennie and Lindarella say. It's pretty much what I said on my other post on the Bowel Disorders site.

Hang in there and find another doctor who will listen to you.

I'm pulling for you,
Katie G

Hi
Thank you all for your replies it has been great, i am keeping fingers crossed, please can anyone tell me if my yellow coated tongue is related to my bowel probs or something else. thanks den

In terms of Chinese Medicine, then a yellow coating on your tongue means that you have some Dampness. Is it swollen too? Dampness is related to the function of the Spleen and in Chinese medicine, the Spleen moves Qi or energy upwards and transforms what you eat into food Qi or energy. If you have constant diarrhea, then this is due to weak Spleen Qi that is unable to hold and tranform and transport the energy upwards, so you get diarrhea, so yes if you like a yellow tongue would indicate bowel problems.

You might like to try some acupuncture too that can be very helpful for both diarrhea and stomach pains.

Good luck.

Hi
Good news saw my own gp today as he been on hols, he prescribed Questran and appt with gastro man so fingers crossed, it tastes so awful but hey if it works, maybe can start getting confidence back and get out soon. thanks den

Questran.....ahhhhhhhhhhh, now that's the ticket