Survey for People Taking Welchol or Questran or Colestaid

I have a theory that I'm working on to explain some health problems that I am having, and would like other people on Welchol, Questran, or Colestaid to give me a few answers to see if my health problems are just mine, or if they may be linked to my medicine (Welchol).

1.  Which do you take: Welchol, Questran, or Colestaid?

2.  Do you take your primary dose (not including any doses you might take for breakthrough D): in the morning, in the evening/night, regularly throughout the day, or irreguarly/just as needed?

3.  Do you take any sort of vitamins?  Please list what you take--eg. multi, Vitamin C, iron, etc.

4.  Have you ever been told, either by a doctor or product information booklet or website, that your medicine (Welchol, Questran, or Colestaid) interferes with the absorption of any vitamins?

5.  Have you been diagnosed with any low vitamin or mineral levels since taking your medicine?

6.  Have you noticed that you seem run down (tired, lethargic, sleepy, lacking energy/motivation) more often than you think you should for your age, diet, weight, etc.?

7.  Do you seem to catch every bug (and then some) that's going around?  In short, are you sick a lot (with non-stomach issues)? 

8.  If you take vitamins, did you begin to do so either because you were feeling bad/getting stick frequently, or because a doctor recommend that you take them while on your medicine? 

Thank you to all who participate.

Fluffy, what are your thoughts on questions 5-8?  I'm beginning to wonder if I don't have low vitamin levels because the Welchol interferes with full vitamin absorption, and maybe that's why I seem to be sick all of the time. 

The other theory that I have (and that other people at work have), is that this general area is bad to make people sick frequently because it sits in just enough of a depression that the smog and grass pollen (and boy, is there a lot of grass around here!) get stuck in this depression and we just keep breathing this stagnant air over and over again.  We're also in the middle of a severe drought and heat wave, so there's been no rain to clear the air any. 

But because I have two theories, I thought I would ask around on the board to see if others on these medicines (because they all work the same way) also have problems with continual illnesses or even outright vitamin deficiencies. 

Yes. I seem to get sick every month to three months. I had a cold for a week at the 4th of July, then I came down with one three weeks ago. It lasted a week, then turned into bronchitis for a week, then I got some sort of stomach thing (different from my normal stomach thing). The doctor even commented that I was noticably sick a lot (I've seen her three times now, and her nurse once, in less than two years--and I only go when I'm so sick I can't take it anymore; I get sick in between visits that I get over).

Since I've been living here--three years in November--I've lost count of the number of colds I've had, plus strep throat (never had that before, wasn't even working or out and about so I have no idea how I caught it), viral arthritis (my mother hadn't even ever heard of that before, but Stuart ended up getting it too), stomach flu, and all sorts of other odd things. I've never been this sick before in my life, not even when I was in elementary school. I get sick as much in the summer as in the winter.

The people at work all seem to agree that it's just living here; a lot of them say that when they first moved here they were sick or their sinuses were messed up all the time. That's why I'm not really sure where to pin the blame. Although on the Welchol website, it says it can interfere with the absorption of certain fat-soluable vitamins, like vitamin K. And that you need to time other medicines, like vitamin supplements, an hour before or four hours after taking the Welchol. That's what's got me to wondering if it can interfere with any and/or all vitamin absorption.

When she drew blood last week, she was going to check my iron levels. Do they routinely check everything else too when they give you the basic blood workup?