IBS, gall bladder problems, and everything in between.

hi. i just stumbled onto this site randomly. i think it's really great to have a forum like this where everyone can come together and share stories and help each other.



here's the gist of my story, i guess. bear with me, as i've never told anyone this. (aside from various drs at various times in my life).


i'm a 21 year old female. i started having stomach complications when i was 15. i started feeling anxious and then it would cause me to have cramps and diahhrea. nothing too serious. then the winter of 2004 i was really sick with a cold, and too weak to make anything to eat, so i went all night without eating and woke up to an intense pressure on my stomach. (it was strange, i don't know if it's related to anything.. but i would randomly feel this pressure for months).

i eventually went to the family doctor, who told me i had IBS-D. she put me on some medicine, and that was that. i guess it helped. i'm not really sure. i eventually stopped taking it.

ever since that pressure in my stomach, i would get random pain. it could be sharp, stabbing pain. a dull ache. cramps. in late 2005 i had an upper GI done, and was told i had a lot of acid in my stomach, and was given medication to help it. i took that for a while.

also, this is the first place i ever read about proctalgia fugax. in late 2004+ i started feeling this pain in my rectum. sometimes, i would even feel it in my vagina. it felt like it would spread or move between the two. there was nothing i could do. i thought i had hemorrhoids, but i knew that wasn't possible because i never strained. every time i had an attack like this, i would lay on my stomach and relax my butt until it passed. which was anywhere from 10 to 45 min. i didn't know what i did to cause it, and every time i got it, it would soon be gone, and like it never happened.

in 2006, i began to get diarrhea more frequently. there wouldn't really be much warning to it. i could have just ate something and my stomach/intestines would start gurgling, and it was as if my food was rushing through me, and i would have to race to the toilet. it was really sporadic, and i couldn't figure out if it was something i ate specifically or not.

i knew it wasn't food poisoning, because i never even felt nauseous, rarely had cramps/fever/vomiting/achiness.. and i felt fine afterward, except i got nervous/scared.

fall of 2006 i started having some tests done. i had an ultrasound which came back normal. then i had an MRI done (i think that's what it was-forgive me for not knowing!) and the doctor said my gallbladder wasn't working properly. in dec of 2006 i had my gallbladder removed. it was chronically inflamed.

after that, over the course of the past three years, i randomly get diarrhea. typically it occurs if:

-i eat too much
-i eat too much, too quickly
-i go to long without eating, and eat a decent sized meal
-i eat greasy food
-i drink too much water/soda
-increased stress/anxiety

typically with these episodes i feel the rushing of the food through me, and race to the bathroom, going anywhere from 1-5 times. it's usually watery, sometimes it will be frothy, sometimes yellow or green, sometimes just brown. sometimes it's real watery with solid bits (sorry if this is too much information.)

then i feel fine, just kinda gassy.


basically... i'm just wondering if anyone had any of this? or a combination of? i'm mainly interested in hearing stories, and i'm curious about any remedies or foods that helped.



i do have some things i do not eat, though. i don't eat much produce or and rarely any red meat.

my reasoning for this is that i have anxiety/panic attacks that are triggered from my fear of e coli and salmonella (which has lately been found in produce and always found in red meat and poultry). i have had this irrational fear since i was 12 years old. i had my first panic attack over it a few months ago. i stopped eating and sleeping, and lost weight (which i didn't need. i am 5'6' and 100 pounds-- so you can imagine i need all my weight. i started seeing a therapist until my insurance ran out. now i'm back to just dealing with it on my own. (i know this probably sounds really ridiculous).


anyway, it would be great to just hear from anyone. hear anyone's stories/experiences, tips. it's all greatly appreciated. i've been reading around a bit, too.

Ask your doc about cholestyramine, a drug specifically used for gallbladderless people with chronic diarrhea. It works for many.