My problems

Hi Trickey,
I'm sorry you've been getting the "reduce your stress" talk from your docs. I am studying to be a doctor and I get infuriated when I hear people tell me about their experiences with docs telling them their symptoms are caused by stress. Yes, many symptoms can be caused by stress - but no doc ever explains WHY, or how to reduce stress, etc. So I understand how frustrated you must feel.

The hormonal changes that women go through during and after pregnancy are pretty profound, and lots of things can crop up during these times, health-wise. How often do you have migraines? Did they ever figure out what was causing your pancreatitis? Did you have a HIDA scan to check your gallbladder functionality? Have you ever had a history of GI problems before your children were born?

Stay with us and keep us updated...

Pregnancy actually increases your chances of having your gall bladder go bad. In fact, it's common to have it go bad while pregnant, although they have to wait until you have the baby to take it out.

I take Welchol to help with my bile-induced diarrhea post-gall bladder removal. It works very well (even though there are still some foods I have to avoid). You could get your GI to try you on some of it BUT you have to be careful if you are also prone to C because it is naturally constipating. As soon as you start getting constipated, you would have to stop taking it, and not resume it until you started to get a loose stool again. You can use it that way--on an as-needed basis.

I found that diet does play a role in what sort of bowel movements you have. The standard American diet gives me D. But, if I go on a low-fat diet, I immediately get C. There's not happy medium that I can find with diet alone. So I eat a fairly standard diet and take the Welchol.

Your acid reflux may also be caused by your lack of a gall bladder; your bile may be reflexing up. I don't know what you can do about that but eat antacids (which won't do anything to stop the bile, but may either absorb and neutralize some of it or may reduce your stomach acid so there's not so much acid all together in there). You might try Questran, though. It's in the same family as the Welchol in terms of soaking up your bile, but it comes in a powdered form (as opposed to pill) and you mix it with water and drink it. So it might start absorbing excess bile in your stomach. I don't know if it will work that way, because, as far as I know, no one has prescribed it for bile acid reflux, but it'd be worth a shot. Questran usually causes gas, though, in people; something that's not complained about with the Welchol as far as I know.

The things I can't eat: caffeine, apple juice, raw apples. Things I can only have every great once in a while: deep fried foods, fast food. Things I have to be a bit sparing with: dairy, pizza.

* Yellow or green-colored poops, especially if they set your butt on fire.
* Pain on the upper right side, up under the rib cage, especially if it feels like there is a lump there. Pain can also manifest down the right side or across the diaphram, or maybe even in the upper back. Aching pain in the right arm, shoulder and/or elbow.
* Vomiting. Yellow or green vomit that burns very badly (as in worse than normal when you vomit) is a big sign.
* Random and unexplained nausea. Nausea after eating foods that you've eaten for years without a problem.
* A sudden feeling of being stuffed to the gills--so stuffed you might vomit--even though you've not even finished a normal-size meal (this is a very common sign).
* "Attacks", some of which like to come on in the middle of the night. These include intense, nearly unbearable pain, nausea, and an inability to lie flat on one's back (this makes the pain and nausea worse). The pain usually peaks and then you either have explosive diarrhea or vomit, and then the pain slowly begins to subside. You may experience sweats and/or chills and cold sweat while this is going on.