IBS or Gallbladder?

Loni,
Have you had a scope of your stomach and upper intestine, by any chance?

One, an ultrasound is far from conclusive; you need a HIDA scan to actualy test for gall bladder function to see if it's working right.

But the fact that you were having spasms lower down in your intestines does sound more like IBS; you shouldn't have that problem with a bad gall bladder (or, you could have both--never know). Anyways, did he or anyone else give you any sort of anti-spasmodic to take when you're having that problem? Also, did they do a stool sample to see if that yellow discharge is bile acid? While bile in the stools is often linked to a bad gall bladder, people whose intestines are working too fast can have bile in their stools because there's no time for the body to reabsorb it properly. If you are having bile, with or without a bad gall bladder, you can try taking the medicine that I'm on, which is Welchol; it soaks up bile in the intestines. However, that will not stop the cramping/spasaming that you have.

As you have probably figured out, coffee--even decaf--is pretty well a no-no. Caffeine was my gall bladder's worst trigger, and many, many people with IBS can't tolerate it either (decaf coffee has less caffeine, but is not caffeine-free).

IBS and Gallbladder

Came across this topic and thought i might share my experience. I had lower abdominal pains some 6 months ago that wouldnt go away, had constipation and irregular bowel movements, it was extremely frustrating, i went to a GP who said I have IBS I then went to a gastroenterologist and he did an endoscopy and a colonscopy and a ultrasound and a full blood count and found nothing and said its IBS. I changed my diet , exercised , pretty much tried everything but the problem still persisted. 5 months later i went back to the gastroenterologist with similar pain but more in the upper abdominal region and a bit to the right hand side but also the lower abdominal pain. He sent me to do a CT Scan and full blood count and a food allergy test. All came back normal. The gastroenterologist was a bit dumbfounded and so referred me to a surgeon. The surgeon asked me about 20 questions , said I need to go do a Isotope test to check the gallbladder as they would not be able to pick a problem up necessaraly on a CT scan. So 30 minutes later I was doing a isotope test and sure enough my gallbladder was completely dysfunctional, it just didnt work at all, following day i had a laproscopic surgery to remove my gallbladder and out of hospital in 24 hours. SUDDENLY my IBS has disappeared. So what does that tell you? The surgeon said something very interesting, he said that alot of doctors are very quick to say that you have IBS but in alot of cases there is an underlying problem that may mimic IBS such as mine. Also IBS is common but so is gallbladder removal, so best do an isotope test and see if your gallbladder is not maybe the underlying problem. Its generally not an expensive test. They put the isotope into your vein, and watch the tracer  move through your liver, gallbladder, small intestine and finally bowel. Mine didnt enter the gall bladder at all it was completely dysfunctional.

Hope someone can maybe cure their IBS from this info, also my bowel movements are normal now and I can eat any food as well