HealingWell
Search Close Search
☰

Gallbladder Removal and ?Bile Salt Diarrhea?

Support Forums
>
Irritable Bowel Syndrome
✚ New Topic ✚ Reply
❬ ❬ Previous Thread |Next Thread ❭ ❭
Posted 11/27/2009 10:19 PM (GMT 0)
I just had my gallbladder out 8 days ago and started having multiple bowel movements that are bright yellow about 5 days ago. Needless to say, this has me worn out and a bit freaked out as well. I had to go back to work today and I am having a difficult time at it. Just wondering, is it too soon to ask to the Doctor for meds to control this? Immodium does nothing to stop it. After reading other old posts I have started to try calcium but thus far it hasn't helped.

Any ideas would be appreciated...I really do want my gallbladder back.

Posted 11/28/2009 3:48 PM (GMT 0)
You could also try chewing Caltrate Calcium supplements with Vitamin D (you want the large purple bottle, chewable type in berry flavors).

Some here have had a lot of success with calcium after they had their gall bladders out. Perform a search, there are many topics about how to go about this.

But the easiest thing you could try today is to have someone run out and buy this product for you. Then take a sharp knife and cut a handful of pills in half. I keep my half pills in a small zip lock bag. For each meal, chew one half pill during that meal, preferably 3 half pills a day. While you are eating this meal, sip very small amounts of water with it. Don't consume a large beverage with this meal. If you notice the calcium binding your stool and helping, then eventually you would work your way towards a full pill with each meal (3 pills a day).

I've had my GB removed as well but have never experienced the yellow bile D as many like you have described. What I have experienced is multiple bm's each day but my doctors swear that's because they removed almost all of my sigmoid/reservoir area. I have tried calcium a few times in the past, I notice it helping me some but it does seem to really help those of you having the yellow bile D. I have found that eating a low residue diet has greatly helped me. That's something that could also try. Just google it, you'll find a lot of links - the foods on this diet are low fiber and very plain. But very calming to an inflamed and irritated GI tract.

I hope you find relief soon.

Mary/Marsky
Posted 11/28/2009 4:02 PM (GMT 0)
Thank you both very much... I have been on the calcium and this is day 3. I think that I made a mistake and uppped the fiber in my diet thinking that that would help but it only made things worse. I am now just basically eating the bratty diet and a bit of chicken breast as well. I am losing weight do the the d and lack of calories and am getting concerned. Someone at work told me that I was looking gaunt this morning. Not exactly what you want to hear.

Posted 11/28/2009 4:26 PM (GMT 0)
Fiber isn't helpful to me either. In fact, simple white rice, bananas, plain white bread (your local bakery might be a good place to start, just their basic white bread), plain english muffins (I prefer Bay's found in the chilled section of your grocery, near yogurt and cream cheese), plain yogurt (vanilla or plain is best, skip fruit), small applesauce cups, instant mashed potatoes (instead from scratch), club crackers (my favorite saltine by far, their regular variety with salt), cottage cheese, etc. all work well with my touchy gut. My husband often jokes I am on the white diet. Because so many of the foods I eat now are white. But they do seem to really agree with my system.

If you think about it, the inside of your tract is irritated and probably swollen. By eating these easy to digest foods, your gut is soothed and calmed down. It makes sense when you think about it like this. I had to explain it all in detail to my colon surgeon but he said when he thought about it a LRD makes sense to him. I don't know they always suggest high fiber. Fiber wreaks havoc on my gut!
Posted 11/28/2009 4:30 PM (GMT 0)
Funny that you call it the white diet as I do as well.. I am a bit more limited in my choices as I have Celiac Disease too but I get what you are saying. I am sure that this is going to take quite a bit of trial and error until I get it figured out and if I can't then I am going to have to see if I can get a bile acid sequestrant..

Posted 11/28/2009 4:43 PM (GMT 0)
Just a little reminder/advice - If you go on to a sequestrant for any length of time then remember it can interfere with Vitamin D, E, A and K absorption so you may need to take supplements. Your Celiac disease will increase this risk too and remember the "white diet" won't be 'white' for you unless its gluten free!

Peter
Posted 11/28/2009 4:47 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks Peter. Always gluten free as I get ridiculously sick if I don't. I am pretty sure that the years of undiagnosed Celiac wore out the gallbladder too. I had almost forgotten just how fun the bile d was smhair . I am doing what I can to aboid the binders if possible but if it helps and I can't work it out on my own then better that than being tied to the toilet smhair
Posted 12/10/2009 2:01 AM (GMT 0)
Marsky and others,

I just recently joined this forum. My name is "radiated." I had uterine cancer 7 years ago and my intestines got quite the radiation. Now after 3 blocked bowel visits to the ER, my Doctor has put me on the low residue diet. However, I have only been able to find some online sites that only give a minimal amount of info. Could you share some of the sites/sources that you have found helpful?
This will be a lifetime diet for me unless my intestines are healed miraculously! The hospital gave me a 3 page handout which is really not much info for a lifetime situation.
Thanks for anyhelp you can give!

Radiated
Posted 12/11/2009 5:17 PM (GMT 0)
I just performed online searches and tried to find links that I know must be long-gone. This was 10 years ago!

Here's one from the Mayo Clinic:
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/low-residue-diet/MY00745

But you are correct, after some google searches I can't find anything like I found 10 years ago. What I found was a specific LRD/foods guide. It broke the diet down to produce, grains, meats, dairy.

If I had to provide a typical list of what I eat it would be:

- White bread (not Wonder, but Sara Lee or your local bakery white bread)
- Plain english muffins (Bay's) or plain bagels
- White rice
- Cottage cheese
- Applesauce
- Plain cereals (Cheerios, Fruit Loops, Rice K., Special K, Corn Flakes)
- Salads made with iceberg lettuce. You can add minimal veggies such as shredded carrot, sliced celery, etc. Avoid salads with baby greens, nuts, seeds, dried fruit.
- Bananas (I eat one daily)
- Canned fruits (peaches, pears, buy the small can sizes with pull top tabs, this serving size is ideal, not the size children pack in lunches, it's in between that size and the large 15 oz can size)
- Canned or frozen vegetables (carrots, peas, green beans) Over time, you can have fresh cooked vegetables but in the beginning I ate only canned or frozen.
- Potatoes, mashed or baked. Plain instant mashed potatoes are VERY soothing to a touchy gut. Don't ask me why but they are. I add more water/milk to make them creamier
- Plain noodles or pasta - buttered noodles, mac and cheese, etc.
- Baked chicken, turkey, white fish, salmon


On occasion I had a small portion of candy or 1 cookie (in the beginning). But overall you want to stay away from nuts, seeds, chocolate, candy, etc.

Sherbert is good though. If you're missing something sweet in your diet.

I wish I could help you more than I have. I can't seem to find a link for what I read years ago. It was very specific. Some of these links can be vague.

Wishing you better days ahead.

Mary
-
Posted 12/22/2009 6:58 PM (GMT 0)
Ask your Dr. about a drug called Colestid (generic: Colestipol).

It was originally made to help lower colesterol but is also used to prevent Bile Salt Diarrhea. I was given it because of an overactive gallbladder.

This drug binds to excess bile and passes in a more solid form. The only side effect is typically constipation, but I have not seen any side effects. Get the pills as I hear the powder is horrible.
Posted 1/6/2010 5:42 PM (GMT 0)

I struggled with bile salt diarrhea for several years after gall bladder surgery.  Ran to the bathroom 8 to 10 times before I left for work in the morning and prayed it didn't happen again on my 35 mi trip to my office.  Rx from my doctor had no effect on my abdominal urgency.

I tried aloe vera juice mixed with water (and ice) and that really helped to calm down my intestinal tract.  But, then I discovered calcium citrate (not regular calcium) and it has given me a total new lease on life with results nearly immediately.  Hopefully, it will work for you as it did for me.

Posted 3/23/2011 2:27 PM (GMT 0)
Cholestipol does the trick for me. My digestive system is the closest to normal it has been since I had my gallbladder removed in 07.
Posted 3/29/2013 2:22 AM (GMT 0)
I new to this site and had my gall bladder out in Feb 2011 and was ok for 3 months then suffered loose bm's and diarrhea and had abdo pain similar to gall stone attack which resulted in another bout of Pancreatitis one of the times. I was generally OK last year other then abdo pain most days. This year I have suffered diarrhea which reading a forum on this site I am not alone in having this following gall bladder removal. I have started on Colestid (generic: Colestipol), it tastes horrid but seems to help lessen the d. I was just wondering how often I should take it, every day or every second day or what. It seems if I don't take it at least every 2-3 days the d.. comes back. I am worried that I will end up getting constipated if I take too often?
✚ New Topic ✚ Reply