chronic diarrhea pre and post gall bladder removal

I take the Walgreens generic version of Caltrate 600 w/vitamin D and it works for me.  I should say that, in addition to the Welchol, it works for me.  But Inape takes nothing but the calcium for her post-gall bladder diarrhea, so that may be all that you need too.  Certainly is cheaper than a prescription!  And you can go it right now. 

    Pookerpug, that is great news!!

Welcome to HealingWell! I'm glad you got the help you needed.
Take care.

The calcium did not work for me. I actually had to go with the high cholesterol medication but from the day I took it my system has been "right' for the first time in 12 years.  I forgot what it was like to be normal and not to have to worry about what was to come after I had a fatty or big meal.  I have tried a variety of things over this past week to test out the medication and nothing has triggered the diarrhea.  I want to scream to the world but I know that no one can appreciate or understand.  LOL

My doctor put me on the cholestyramine (or however you spell it) and it's the powder so I just mix it with water...i'm tired of pills anyway. Have you thought about powder form?  But speaking of doctors -- I guess I'm shocked at how little is known about the after effects of the gall bladder surgery for some people.  It's been 12 years and no one could tell me a thing. I had to find my answers on this board and report them to my doctor.  Thank god for the internet!

Yes, I agree.  My surgeon told me following surgery I could eat anything I want and wouldn't have any problems.  I am ashamed to admit that I never pinpointed my diarhhea to the gall bladder removal..I just knew it occured around the same time period.  But still, one would think my doctors would have picked up on that...neither GI ever put it together, nor did my couple doctors. I know now that I'm not the only one who went for a very long time without a diagnosis and I want to take out an ad so no one else has to go thru this. I don't mind that I have this problem now that it's corrected but I do mind that physicians are not aware of it and how easily it can be corrected (at least thru medicine) so that others don't live like this.  I read somewhere that some doctors don't even believe in this occurence.

So the cholestryamine that I am on is Questran? I just started so what do I know? LOL

The diarrhea began 12 years ago and is about 4 or more times daily..actually, i dont' think i've ever had a solid stool in that time. And yes, it's always been a yellowish color and burned like the ****ens. Now I understand why. The cholestyramine has totally cured that..solid stools now, no burning..no constipation.

My cholesterol was just tested and is actually great so the only reason I'm on the medication is to reduce the daily diarrhea...and it's definitely done that.

Linda

Sure, send me the info on the calcium...i take it as a supplement but not sure about that magensium addition -- i know that is in my daily vitamim...send to [email protected].

Keriamon said...
WELCHOL!!! Hie thee to a G.I. doctor and beat him about the head until he gives you a presciption for Welchol. It will cure that bile diarrhea in a thrice. (Man, the medieval is coming out of me today, lol.)

I have had my gall bladder out three years. I got the Welchol about a year afterwards when I went to my g.i. complaining of getting diarrhea after eating. The Welchol is a cholesterol medicine, but with an interesting side affect: it soaks up your bile.

How many pills you need to take will depend on how severe the diarrhea is. My doctor told me to start with one a day and work my way up. When you start to get constipated, back off a little. I liken it to having diabetes. Everything a diabetic eats and does affects his blood sugar for the day. The same is true of us. Everything we eat and, to some degree, our stress levels, affect our gut function. So just like a diabetic has to adjust his insulin everyday, so we have to adjust our Welchol as needed. I usually only need one a day, but if I've eaten something I shouldn't or have picked up some stomach bug or gotten really stressed out, then I need to take two. I have taken as many as 4 in one day, but that was when I ate some sausage gravy, so I don't eat that anymore. Some people here take as many as 6 a day. Whatever it takes to stop you up (without really stopping you up). If you develop a normal daily dose, but then have a bad day, go ahead and pop another one; you can take them as a preventative and as a reactive treatment.

I've been on the Welchol two years and my m-i-l has been on it a year or so now too. I told her about it; I think she does two or three pills a day. It's given her her life back. She used to not be able to eat all day if she was giving an afternoon lecture because eating would make her stay in the bathroom all the rest of the day, but now she takes her medicine and is fine to do her lectures and travel and everything. I can eat just about anything I want too--even pizza. The only things I have to avoid are the gravy, caffeine and raw apples. And even then I can tolerate all of those things in small portions when my stomach is not aggrevated. I can even do fried food, although I generally avoid it just in case. Some friend foods--my grandmother's, Chick-fil-A's--are much better on me than other's.

The other thing you can try is calcium. One lady on here uses it exclusively for her bile diarrhea, but I don't have so much luck with it taking full care of my problems. Also, I know the Welchol will work pretty well instantly. Take one and 30 minutes later you should be better. If not perfect, take another one. I haven't tried just popping a calcium pill to see if it works in 30 minutes, but I kind of doubt it. It's a supplement, not a medicine, so I don't think it would react as fully. But I do use calcium in conjunction with the Welchol because, unfortunately, you can't halve Welchol pills (because they are too big to fit in a pill cutter), and sometimes I need a Welchol and a half. So I take one calcium pill to substitute for the half I need. Inape on this forum did all the research for the calcium supplements and came up with Caltrate 600 w/ vitamin D as the supplement you should take for diarrhea. Other calcium supplements put magnesium in their mixes to keep people from getting constipated, but the Caltrate 600 has low amounts of magnesium and it has a constipating effect. A lot of women are already on calcium supplements, but it has to be that kind with the right balance of magnesium to calcium in order to absorb the excess water in the intestines. Otherwise your calcium will have little to no effect on your bowel movements.

Oh, and you don't need to take an anti-diarrheal pill with the Welchol; it works all on its own. And my doctor told me that it stays almost exclusively in the gut and doesn't really get absorbed into the bloodstream, so there was little to no worry about it interacting with any other medicines, no concern about taking it long term and it doesn't have any side affects that I'm aware of, other than making you constipated if you take too much. Just watch yourself and if you go to eat something you know will aggrevate your guts, take a pill beforehand. And if you are a little constipated today, skip tomorrow's dose or just take one calcium pill instead. Feeling like you have diarrhea coming on? Take one before it gets full-blown. You just have to listen to your body and learn to adjust to suit it and, when need be, head it off at the pass.

Hi
I am not sure how to reply to your post. First of all I have to say that your certainly a up and good person to share your experience with WELCHOL, as I have read many posts from you about it. I am the one that was on QUESTRAN. It worked but bound the Synthroid and negated the effect of it. I had to stop the Questran recently to get my thyroid numbers back to normal. I asked my Doctor about Welchol and he said it does the same thing as Questran. It can bind the Sythroid so that it is not absorbing. I wanted to ask you if you take any other meds with the Welchol??? I keep meaning to ask you. Thankyou for your thoughts and suggestions. Everyone on this site is so supportive and I feel not alone when I share with everyone and I read their struggles as well....

Thanks for your thoughts about the mixture of Welchol and other Medications. I have learned the hard way by experiment. I KNOW now that Welchol, Questran, etc. CANNOT be taken without at least a four hour window. That makes it IMPOSSIBLE for me as I have to take other meds throughout the day so therefore it binds all of them. I have been off the questran for 4 weeks now, and will find out in two more whether my thyroid hormone alone has brought me back or at least close to where I was. I have to have that to live, as I have no thyroid. Also in answer to your question about injectable Synthroid, they won't allow that it is used only in emergency situations. Bummer....I have had a lot of problems with the Synthroid (and others) since I had Radio Active Iodine (for Graves Disease) in 1989. It did not cause D to begin with but as the years have gone on every time I get a refill I get some D to begin with as it is stronger at that time. There is no patch, unfortunately.

I tried Metamusil on Friday and I went into agony within 3 or 4 hours, I blew up and thought I was having another attack. I had D all night and had to take lomital to stop it finally. Immodium did not do beans. So everytime I go out I have to come back within a certain window as it start to cramp and then gas, and D. What a mess...I even had a little problem on Friday thinking I was letting out some gas and it turned out to be the other thing. I am to young for depends.

I am going to start the calcium within 2 hours after dinner tonight, as it also binds other meds and you have to be careful. Oh, I wish I was you and could get it under control with one pill. At the moment it is ruining my life. I am a designer and cannot take jobs because I never know when this will hit, I just know it will.

So anyone that is on other meds needs to keep in mind that many of these drugs to help us stop D also affect our other meds, so it is necessary to space them and find your right time.

I always thankyou and find all of these posts valuable. And most important you all give me hope!!! Hopeful I can share some of my knowledge to help others here as well.

Warmest Regards to all of you!!!!

Post Edited (Sheree) : 4/23/2007 3:39:37 PM (GMT-6)

Hi Sarita
I know so much about Graves disease. I was misdiagnosed for 3 years. They thought something was wrong with my heart. NO ONE ever thought to do a thyroid panel. By the time they diagnosed me I was to far gone, they gave me 2 days to make a choice between Tapizole or RAI. They said the RAI was better and that I would only have to take one pill for the rest of my life! WRONG......I wish they had given me more options. I really have a lot of knowlege about this disease. I would do everything possible to keep my thyroid gland. I hope the Tapizole works I wish I had been more informed at the time but it was in the late 80's no computer at home during that time.

You Said:
I also have a chronic diarrhea issue that my endocrinologist insists has nothing to do with my thyroid (hmm) but even that seems to be improving somewhat. Which is a miracle in itself. I wonder if taking my multivitamin (with calcium) interferes with my Tapazole...I didn't really think about that yet. I'll have to check it out.

The chronic diarrhea you have IS INDEED FROM THE GRAVES DISEASE, I would guess. It is one of the classic symptoms along with sever weight loss, severe hot flashes, heart papitations, etc. Watch your eyes and email me if you want more info. I would definitely wait at least two hours after your Tapazole before taking anything in the vitamin family. Especially calcium....also stay away from Soy products, they are death on the thyroid due to a enzyme in it. All these mothers that are giving their babies soy formula are putting them at risk for thyroid disease later on.

Hi and thanks for all suggestions. No, you cannot take the Questran or any of these drugs this way. You have to take them at least 4 to 6 hours before any other meds or they negate the other medicines. I take meds at dinner and before bedtime that I must take, so I am dead with Questran or any other bile absorbing drug under those circumstances. I was hoping that taking it before the Questran (trying the 2 1/2 hour time frame) would solve this problem, but Questran and all these drugs are meant for those that do not have to take any other meds during the day. If anyone does need other medications than they really cannot take Welcohl and Questran as they block them. Last night I started with the calcium within 2 hours after eating, so I am hoping that will help. I am beside myself, but will find something to work I hope.

Some meds get absorbed in the stomach or very quickly, so Welchol/Questran probably doesn't interfere with them. Antibiotics, for instance, aren't meant to be absorbed at all, so it shouldn't affect them either (I've never noticed that they didn't work while I was on Welchol). You may want to make it a point to ask your doctor if it might interfere with something else you are on; since Welchol/Questran isn't supposed to react with anything, that may make some doctors lax in thinking that you can take it with anything, but as Sheree and some others have found out, it can make some meds not work properly, even though it doesn't cause an "adverse reaction" per say.

I think you should ask about the Welchol. Several people on here have switched and like it better because Questran seems to cause gas in a lot of people and the Welchol doesn't. I'd hate to have to take a powder too. How are you supposed to take that when you're in the car? I can just pop out a pill and chug some liquid and 30 minutes later my guts are usually good to go.