questran

Hi all,

I took questran for the 1st time yesterday.  Besides it being gross to get down (being orange flavored and all) I dont know if it helped or made things worse.  I didnt take it today and I may try it again in a cpl days but take a smaller dose.  I took the 4g of it which is 1 traditional dose.  I still had D 2 times yesterday I normally have it 3 times post op and sometimes more.  I took it in the AM.  about 1:30 I was having severe pain on my L side (also had an increase in gas which I know is common).  I saw my surgeon yesterday and he felt around the area I was having pain and it was soft he said.  I took dilaudid 2 times yesterday and it did not relieve the pain at all.  I was in bed with the heating pad but after 15 mins of sleeping I awoke all sweaty even with the a/c on.  I turned the heating pad off and tried to get comfy.  Nothing helped until I finally had D this morning (2 times so far).  I still have the pain but it is bearable where as yesterday it wasnt. 

Could this be the questran considering I ate my typical foods yesterday that I normally would eat?  For dinner I went really bland with boston market chicken (removed the skin and only ate white meat) and mashed potatoes.  I think that pain was worse than having D.  My mom picked up my sample containers for the C diff (she works at a hospital in pathology so she has access to that type of stuff).  I am going to the hospital she works at tomorrow to eat lunch there with her and drop off the samples...I know ill have a cpl BMs before then.  I have to go to the store and get something to poop into, they suggest a trash can with a bag in it, newspaper etc....this is going to be messy.  I wish they would just give me a "hat" to at least poo into.  Glad I still have gloves from when I had my ostomy and abscess drain those will be worn in full force.

Ask your Doctor if you can switch from the Questran to Colestid.  Colestid is in pill form and MUCH MUCH easier to take.  The consistency of Questran is disgusting!  I believe that they both have the desired result.....

I would reduce the amount you are taking drastically and use it only after you have gone to the bathroom. So, after you have taken it, don't take it again until you use the washroom, then, take it. But really try to reduce the amount. I sometimes divide the 1 gram dose into as many as four doses. Your experience is very similar to mine. When I first tried to take it (using the dosage recommendation) I was in agony. But now that I've adjusted the dose to just meet my needs, it is working great. A real life saver.

I had to do the 36 hour stool sample to test for fat-malabsorption two years ago. It was truly disgusting. I was in hospital and it started with the nurses bringing me a commode and explaining that I was to be responsible for managing this collection and that under no circumstances could the sample be contaminated with urine. Ok, I've had three kids, you tell me how that is possible? Anyway I quickly realized that there was no way I was going to survive transferring between pottie and receptacle, so straight to the sealable receptacle I went. Luckily I was on a maternity ward at the time because the hospital was full, so I asked for sanitary napkins for the urine leakage and all was ok. And this only to prove what I already knew -- I wasn't absorbing fat.

I still laugh at the image of this. So ridiculous! but it worked. So hope you can find something to laugh at no matter how ridiculous and just get it over with. Hopefully they will rule out C. Difficile and you can re-focus on figuring out how to manage with your new streamlined bowel.

Cheers

I tried it once and couldn't get past the texture and taste. What I did get down didn't seem to do much of anything. :(

I mixed mine with apples sauce and it didnt mask the orange flavor. I bought some crushed pineapple, I havent had peinallple since my Sxs but I was able to tolerate it before hand. I know I like pineapple orange juice so it may have a better taste.

I have been onn Questran(4grams) for over 10 years now, and if I miss just one dose I am guaranteed to be up during the night with severe cramping and having to go to the bathroom a number of times, hard to get any sleep. I do find it hard to take the Questran brand of the stuff, it made me gag, since it doesn't disolve very well, but the light generic brands dissolve much better and easier to take. I find cholestyramine light and novo cholamine light both dissolve much better than Questran and have a better texture. I put it in apple juice which ends up tasting kind of like orange juice, but it is no too bad, just don't use water with it, it tastes terrible.