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Anyone else taking Questran?

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Crohn's Disease
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Posted 12/16/2008 1:02 PM (GMT 0)
Just wondering if anyone has tried Questran Lite for treatment of diarrhoea due to bile salt malabsorption? If so can you let me know if it has made any difference to you. My GI has just recently started me on that as well as the many other drugs im on in a last ditch effort to prevent removing my whole colon for my next surgery.. Any input would be appreciated. thanks in advance , take care andorable
Posted 12/17/2008 11:20 AM (GMT 0)
Anyone at all?

bump
Posted 12/17/2008 12:06 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Andorable,

I am taking Questran for the reason you stated. I have been taking it everyday since my surgery 9 years ago. It has been a lifesaver for me. I thought my surgery hadn't been successful until i tried Questran. That stopped the D and some pain also. So if i don't take it now i suffer pains and D. I don't know what the difference is between Questran Lite & Questran but i take Questran. It's be worth a try for you. If you are having D due to bile salt malabsorption then this will work for you. If you don't feel any difference after a month then it's something else that's cusing the D.

Best of luck,
Lila
Posted 12/17/2008 12:44 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks heaps LiLa for your help, I have read a bit about it but its much better to hear how it has worked for others. I am happy to hear something positive about it and hope it will make a huge difference to my pain and D as well, if I dont have significant improvement by early next year my GI wants me to go ahead with more surgery, this time to remove the rest of my colon and have an ostomy which Im not too sure about. Fingers crossed it doesnt happen. take care and thanks again
andorable
Posted 12/17/2008 1:10 PM (GMT 0)
sorry andorable, they tried it on me twice, both times I had a bad reaction so I cant say it would help. Hope it works for you.
Posted 12/17/2008 7:51 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Andorable,
I've been taking first Questran and then Questran Lite successfully for many years. I believe Questran is flavored with sugar while Questran Lite has Nutrasweet, otherwise they are the same. It made a magical difference in reducing the D. I learned early on that I didn't need to take the amount specified on the container since this product's main use is for lowering cholesterol. A smaller amount worked well in my case for D. I've had 3 resections and am missing a few feet of terminal ileum--makes me a good candidate for Questran. I think it can't hurt to try it. Hope you have success.
Moodindigo
Posted 12/17/2008 7:51 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Andorable,
I've been taking first Questran and then Questran Lite successfully for many years. I believe Questran is flavored with sugar while Questran Lite has Nutrasweet, otherwise they are the same. It made a magical difference in reducing the D. I learned early on that I didn't need to take the amount specified on the container since this product's main use is for lowering cholesterol. A smaller amount worked well in my case for D. I've had 3 resections and am missing a few feet of terminal ileum--makes me a good candidate for Questran. I think it can't hurt to try it. Hope you have success.
Moodindigo
Posted 12/17/2008 8:11 PM (GMT 0)
I took the lite. I also needed a much lower dose to get the results I needed, but I don't like the side effects I get from it. Mainly bloating and cramping. It comes in a pill form too that I have now. Its not as easy to tailor the dose in the pill form though. I do still take it but only if I will be someplace where bathroom availability is questionable or if I will be on a plane or on a long car trip. I just don't like the side effects, but it works great for the D.
Posted 12/17/2008 8:48 PM (GMT 0)
Zanne,
I think you're referring to Colestid--- the pill. I used a hammer in an attempt to crush it into a powder, and also tried a mortar and pestle without success. That's one really hard pill!
Moodindigo
Posted 12/17/2008 9:48 PM (GMT 0)
I used questran, then questran lite before my surgery. It helped tremendously with the D. I reccomend taking it before you eat in the morning. I found if I took it after eating that I got bloating and such, and it sometimes didn't work as well. I did gain a lot of weight within the first 2 months of starting questran. My dr says it wasn't the questran but it is the only thing that changed for me at the time.
That is my experience.
Posted 12/18/2008 1:06 AM (GMT 0)
Hi, I've taken Questran since 2004. Works beautifully for me, and gave me my life back. Now it doesn't stop the big D for me when I'm flaring. It only stops the D that I have from too much bile in my system (I have no gallbladder to control it). Before I was living on Immodium, was not able to eat out or really have much of a life. I take one scoop every morning.
Posted 12/18/2008 1:07 AM (GMT 0)
Thanks everyone so much for sharing your experiences with Questran with me. I needed to know how it was working for you all. So far for me not a lot of change but hoping. I have'nt had any side effects but it could be because its early days. My GI said not to take it with other meds as it would decrease the effectiveness of the other meds so I take the Questran in the middle of the day and all my other meds first thing in the morning and then again at night. Im sure I am rattling, I know u are all the same. thanks heaps for your help
andorable
Posted 12/18/2008 3:13 AM (GMT 0)
I tried Questran Lite a few weeks after my surgery but it caused a ton of gas and bloating. I thought it might be the Nutrasweet, so I switched to Questran with much better results. I experimented with the amount and now take 1/2 teaspoon one hour after I take my pills in the morning. I believe you can take the Questran one hour after meds or four hours before meds. So my routine every morning is: take my meds at about 6:15, get ready for work, take the questran one hour later, then have breakfast. It works great for me.
Posted 12/18/2008 6:58 PM (GMT 0)
Andorable,
I found that it is important to take Questran before eating any foods containing fat because when fat enters the stomach it triggers the release of bile. Without the presense of Questran the bile will wind up causing diarrhea in some people. So it might help if you figure out a way to take Questran in the morning or at least before you eat any fatty foods. I know it's complicated trying to figure out when to take all the meds so that they don't conflict with each other. Others may have a different experience.
Hope it works for you.
Moodindigo
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