New and worried. Please read.

Welcome to the forum. A member here named "inape"/Linda has been invaluable helping people who suffer like you from having their gall bladders removed. I had mine removed as well but do not experience the yellow bile or mucous discharge. Look back through her previous posts, she gives excellent details on how to take chewable calcium supplements with each meal. I tried them but they ended up being too hard on my system, not that I went from going too much to being suddenly constipated. Sometimes I think I should try them again but in half doses. But for now if you read old posts, you'll begin to see that calcium supplements (Caltrate with Vitamin D, purple bottle) are all that you may need for for formed stool again.

Wishing you better days ahead.

This by far is a the nicest, most supportive medical forum I've ever encountered in 11 years. You have landed in a wonderful place! So please take advantage of all this website has to offer. And it's important to note that sometimes all post-gall bladder removal patients need are the chewable calcium pills, chewed with a meal. Not before or after, but during. Chewing it with food helps bind the food together but inape/Linda can explain better than I can. Also not consuming large amounts of beverages with a meal is recommended. Just a few sips of water during a meal is what I've also read here works well. In between meals you can consume your daily liquids (water, juice, etc.).

Hi Dave,

Good to hear you have a plan of action, I hope that the CT scan comes back a-okay for you. It does sound as though you may have bile salt diarrhea as a side effect of having your gall bladder out, ask the specialist what his official diagnosis is for you after you've completed the testing. Your diagnosis will help give you a proper direction with a treatment. The not knowing is the scariest part. Gallbladders may be small, but they are more important than I ever realized until I experienced the daily diarrhea.

The two typical prescription meds out there for trying to eliminate or decrease the bile salt diarrhea are Questran or Welchol. Both meds are cholesterol lowering meds but also are a bile sequestrant. Welchol also can lower a person's A1C which is a lab value picture for blood sugar levels over a period of months. Both Questran and Welchol can lower your fat soluable vitamin levels. Be good to know what your vitamin D levels are before venturing into taking either one or at least make sure you get plenty of sunshine to compensate for this potential depletion. Both meds can bind with certain other meds. I have never tried the Questran as my OB/gyn said no to it in case I would ever become pregnant again. Questran is a powder form and some people have gas side effects from it. Welchol is a pill form. Welchol is tolerated quite well by some ,however I had numerous side effects (abdomen pain, fatigue, weakness & muscle twitches) from it taking only one pill a day. Some people can take up to 6 pills over the course of the day and swear by it. As soon as I went off the Welchol, all the side effects went away and with only having taken one pill a day, it didn't stop the diarrhea for me.

Others take Calcium Caltrate with Vitamin D as it is a natural constipator. I tried it and the only thing it did for me is give me gas, the diarrhea continued. Again, some people say that works awesome. I have been taking "Align" a specific probiotic over the course of a month and it has helped me by about 50% with only temporary side effect of gas for the first couple of weeks. I figured after a year and half of diarrhea, my good gut bacteria is probably all wiped out. I also have been taking one TUMS which is plain old Calcium Carbonate without the added vitamin D, I take it before bed with a snack to try to give the dripping bile off my liver something to bind with at night since my diarrhea is the worst in the morning. It has helped somewhat. I am also interested in possible trying some digestive enzymes as I've read some people have found good success with that in addition to the Align probioitic. So you can see, I'm still trying to figure it all out as well. What works for one may not work for the next person.

Good luck with your CT scan!

Dave a lot of the symptoms you posted are consistent with IBS.

You should look over the IBS 101 thread and look at how they diagnoses IBS.

ask as many questions as you want.

was the "telescope" a colonoscopy?

sorry but they should be looking at your entire colon.  hope you feel better.  since you have private coverage, get a complete colonoscopy because this does not sound good

to me.  i have the kind with constipation so maybe i am over-reacting.  by the way colonoscopy is no fun but the partial kind is no fun either.

take care. 

Shawn

Thank you for remembering me!! I'll copy this post to the other one entitled "updated- new and worried"

I had the 3d CT scan (virtual colonscopy)... Everything was clear of contentious issues, so extremely relieved. Its now about managing the IBS, for which i know i'm in the right place!!!

So, i'll be asking a few questions and asking for some advice from you guys. I;m seeing the consultant tomoorow again to discuss a way forward... I'm going to suggest to him the medication you suggested the other day on your post re. bile salt trouble.

Thank you Shawn for your interest and help.

Dave.