Diarrhea after gall bladder removal _{Page 2 of 2}

I unfortunately had no choice when having my gall bladder removed. it was so infected that it could have burst like an appendix and killed me because of the bacteria. along with an infected gall bladder, i had gall stones and pancreatitis. i'm aware this is my fault, i'm only 18 and obese :'(


i can't go a day without diarrhea.. and the fact that i'm living on a college campus and not really having healthy choices for dinner it's hard to eat right.

if i tried to stick to a lowfat diet, and stay away from dairy products should my problem improve? i'm not to keen on taking medications right now, so i'm hoping to steer away from that.


thanks!

Colleen - I too had mine out early. I was 21. I'm now 47. Other than medications helping me, I have no answer. I'm on Questran and Lomotil. Some others have recommended Welchol which they say is the fix for this. Bananas help me too. I've dealt with this for 26 years - it is very difficult. Accidents have happened and it is most embarrassing. Keep watching here, the people have good advice. Don't lose hope. IT may take time, but you'll find a way to deal with this.. Good luck!

I have read several people say
that different thins have helped with the diarrhea. I have just started on the Questran. For those that have gotten results from any remedy, I have a question.
Was your diarrhea as severe as
watery stools multiple times a day? nd when yu got some results, di you start having normally formed stools again?

I ask because my internist has insisted for years that I have GI tract infections and has wanted me on long term antibiotics. It has been 4 months after my gall bladder removal and I have had chronic severe diarrhea starting about 3 weeks after surgery. The surgeon put me on Questar. but my internist still thinks there is infection. My movements are extremely smelly, making me think infection also. Do others have particularly smelly stool as well before getting some remedy?

i use to have gall bladder attachs. i still have my gall bladder and what helped me was lycopodium and podo.. have not had an attach in 7 years.

if at all possible for those having problems with there gall bladder...do not get it removed!

Welchol is the answer, my friends. After my gall bladder was removed, I searched for years to find a remedy for my diarrhea. It was bad. Cramps, urgency, explosiveness, etc. I take 3 Welchol pills in the morning and 3 before bed and I never have a problem. It truly is a miracle drug.

Questran should help you. It has helped me and others. If it is not helping you then I would imagine there is something more wrong than Bile Salt Diarrhea. I also take Lomotil. My stools were just as bluefoxmark described. I just got a new prescription for Welchol, and I'm going to try it very soon. I'll keep you posted.

This is in response to many replys I have seen about not having your gallbladder removed and to use homeopathic remedies and that surgeons are 'overzealous'. I had my gallbladder removed in 2006. The 'medical advice' being given on this site is very scary to me. Reason being in November of 2005 I started having gallbladder attacks, severe pain, went to the hospital and it was determined I had gall stones. Scheduled to have it removed at a later date. 2 days before Christmas, I was back in the hospital because I woke up freezing and could not get warm. Doctor said I had an infection, I had two choices they could do emergency surgery and I would be home for Christmas but they would have to cut me open instead of doing the preplanned lapriscopic surgery or could do a round of antibiotics and then do the surgery as planned. I chose the anibiotics. Went in to have the surgery in mid January, my surgeon went in through my bellybutton and could not even find my gallbladder due to puss inside my body. So he had to cut me open all the way. Come to find out I had gangrene from the gallstones. Surgeon said it was the worse case he had ever seen, and my surgeon has been doing this a long time! My point being that yes homeopathic remedies may work but you should also be checked thouroughly by a doctor, it can be deadly! My surgeon said I must of had the gangrene longer than 1 month as bad as it was. (one month from the 1st bodily signs of infection to the time of surgery). Pretty scarry I never had signs of the infection prior to December. Later I found out a friend of a friend also had gangrene and died. He had never even had pains from gallstones. He was on vacation and had an attack, went to the hospital and they cut him open and he was full of gangrene and died. So please just be carefull and don't take it lightly, like it is no big deal. Get sound medical advice!

First I want to thank Katnews...gall stones CAN be deadly, or can cause life long problems. Second, however, I want to take exception to a post by 'munish' from 2005-11-24 in which he states: 'Gall bladder disease and gallstones are almost always the result of poor nutrition.' Tell that to the thousands of women whose gallstones were caused by excessive production of albumen during pregnancy. The number one cause of gallstones in American women. In the US most of whom are under constant medical care during that pregnancy. I certainly was. In mid June of 1979 I had no gallstones...in September of that same year they almost killed me. My gallbladder was so filled with stones they had backed up into my liver causing permanent damage and scarring. Thirty years later my liver will still spasm and back bile up into my stomach. Over the thirty years I've had, and finally learned to live with, chronic severe diarrhea, I've probably tried every drug and homeopathic remedy ever mentioned. (And I'm certainly sick of being told I have IBS!) The only thing that worked for me was Bilron...a drug taken off the market in 1981. In 1979 there was only the major surgery route with the cutting of long critical muscles. I spent two weeks in the hospital...mainly because in the middle of the night a nurse changing my dressing applied a type of tape to which I was allergic to the incision. ('No body's allegic to butterfly tape' Right.) The 'skin eating' action of the tape (clearly marked as an allergy on my chart) caused the incision to infect and I went into shock. Having the gall bladder removed, however, was the only choice at the time and no doctor even mentioned the long term side effects, or, for that matter, the excrutiating pain of that old procedure. I had it just six weeks after an old vertical ceasarian--that was a piece of cake compared to the gall bladder. For goodness sake try homeopathic remedies, but also see a doctor and ASK QUESTIONS!!! For most people gallstones can be managed or, if surgically removed, the side effects can be dealt with given some forewarning. Just don't ignore them...and if you are pregnant your doctor may want to check your albumen levels. Kudos to anyone living with bile salt diarrhea and doing everything possible to deal with it. This site has been a great help to knowing, after all these years, I'm not alone.

I have to disagree with the comment of gall stones mainly being due to poor nutrition. I had my gall bladder removed at 19. While most people probably don't have the best diet at 19 years old, every doctor that looked at me was amazed at how many gall stones I had. Not to mention that I was otherwise healthy (played sports/active, 5'5, 120lbs). My gall bladder was full of stones. I was having daily attacks, sometimes multiple ones a day, and was to the point of dry heaving. I was informed of my options, including non-surgical ones, but was advised that with the mass amount of stones I had and my symptoms, I was running the risk of the stones actually causing a bloackage.

Someone mentioned above how common gall bladder problems actually are with pregnant women. I work with this population, and can say that it is, in fact, a common problem and not so much diet related. However, I swore for years that my problems were due to something else...my birth control pills. I was taking the birth control Yasmin, and it even mentioned in the accompanying leaflet (yes, I really do read those) that gall bladder disease was a possible 'side effect'. Of course, at my age, I blew it off and thought it was one of those rare things. A couple years after my surgery, I was online looking up information on a different BC pill and found website after website of people talking about the problems they had with Yasmin, many discussing the gall bladder issues and having to have it removed. Here recently, I have started seeing commercials on TV for class action lawsuits against the makers of Yasmin for side effects that include gall bladder disease. Coincidence? Who knows, but again, I've been saying for years that those pills contributed to my problems, and I think people are finally starting to believe me.

5 years post-surgery, I still suffered with severe diarrhea. This was a daily issue, and I was in the bathroom 5+ times a day with it. I had every scope, test, and blood work known to man done, and no cause for my diarrhea could be found. I was finally put on Welchol, and so far it is working great! I only take 2 a day, and it does wonders.

My point to all this is, with the way things are these days, ANYTHING can cause these problems. Obviously diet and exercise need to be looked at, but other factors should be taken into consideration. When my gall bladder was removed, the surgeon said it was literally full of stones, more than he had first thought. Please talk with your physician before starting any kind of natural remedy and about the pros and cons of surgery. Each person is different, and what may work for one person might not work for you.

Hi i had my gallbladder out 5 weeks ago and am suffering from chronic diarreah every time i eat. lots of people have mentioned Welchol but i live in spain and they have not heard of it is there another name for thi medicine as i am desperate.

I had gallbladder surgery last April and had awful diarrhea every day, lost alot of weight, that part was nice.! I saw somewhere to take Caltrate 600, I bought the chewable tablets and it stopped almost overnight.! It takes awhile to get the right dosage, the bottle recommends 2 tablets a day for calcium, I cut mine in half and take a half when I eat. It soaks up the bile that is dumped into intestine without the gall bladder. I still eat small portions as when I had gall stone attacks, I eat healthy and have had no problems in the two weeks I have been doing this. What a miracle for me and I have been on a cruise since starting this and ate everything I wanted just small portions and the Caltrate 600 D plus.

Dear expatrob1968

Take
1. Colestorinum 3x 1 tablet 2 times a day
2. Natrum Phos 6x 4 pallets 2 times a day and give feedback after 15 days

R.P. Tamhankar
[message edited by shouse_nsk on Mon, 29 Aug 2011 03:21:06 BST]

I had my gall bladder removed in Aug 2009 and ever since Ive had cramps and diarrhea within half an hour of eating. I cant say which foods make it worse or seem to rule many out, even tea/coffee can do it. I finally saw my GP after 2 yrs of imodium which no longer worked back in July and saw an consultant in Sept who ordered an endoscopy and a colonoscopy, these were done a few weeks ago. The endoscopy was normal but the colonoscopy showed, inflammation at caecum, erythema, patchy congestion, mucosa and granularity. Also that it looked like Crohns or Colitis. The secretary rang yesterday to say see my gp, try painkillers and imodium and I was to be seen again in January!!!! I cried so much, I know somethings not right, I ache and feel tired as am now living on boiled rice and hard boiled eggs, hardly anything stays in, I dont go out to eat and go all day without food, I wont eat until I get home. Ive also cancelled a trip to the US to see family as this is just ruining my life. Ive lost 1 stone 9 lbs since the beg Sept and have had enough. Ive read up and think this is bile salt diarrhea?? Due to see my GP at 5, wish me luck :(

Dear Lisall, I am so sorry you have this problem, and I know exactly what this is because I had the same. I do not know if you can get Caltrate 600 but it has helped me greatly and I can go out to dinner, even on a cruise! It is worth a try, get the chewable and start with 1/2 tablet every time you eat anything...hope it works for you as it has for me.

Doc is writing to consultant telling him how I feel and how upset its making me, dont see him til Jan...docs hoping he repies with some info on what else to give me...i asked about Questran and he said hes not liscensed to give me it so hoping the consultant gives the go ahead. the doc didnt seem interested in what i was trying to tell him about bile salt diarrhea...this new medication, for spasms says dont take if over 40, erm im 43 but will try anyway lol!! I remember saying its all downhill at 40 (when gallbladder came out) and boy, how right was i lol.

You can search the internet all you want....all you will get is other people stating their same problems. I too HAD the same issue. Solution.....let me scream it from my computer, 'BENEFIBER, BENEFIBER, BENEFIBER'! It has saved my life. Fiber, fiber,fiber.... I take benefiber in anything I want (except caffinated drinks). I also, eat Fiber one bars. Heaven forbid if I forget to take my Benefiber (bad bad bad) I know you'll say it sucks to have to do daily but it's better for you than pills and a hell of a lot better than the pain. I KNOW what you are all going through. followed the recommended amount and it took me 2 days and I was perfect. I buy the big jug and travel portions stay in my purse, car, diaper bags, you name it. I hope you take my advice I want you to be better. :) Gallbladder removed Sept.2009 after daughter was born and I became Jaundice, (yes yellow as a banana).
[message edited by ktucker on Thu, 05 Jan 2012 04:59:24 GMT]

Dear ktucker, so glad you found a solution, whatever works as long as it is safe. I am still with my Caltrate every time I eat but I also have a bowl of something like Raison Bran every morning which for me works like your benefiber. Have had no problems since I started this 6 months ago.

Babyboog, agreed. I am glad caltrate works for you as well. I wasn't trying to knock Caltrate. In fact, I am happy to see you also have brought another solution to the table. Now people have multiple options to try. Also, I wanted to share that I finally had a doctor not make me feel like I was insane for the first time last week. I told her 'well, I have had issues with not having a gallbladder anymore.' Before I could even finish talking she said, 'yeah it happens all the time. People get chronic diarrhea, cramping, etc..' I was astonished, she was the first doctor to acknowledge what my pain was. She also was the first doctor to ever recommend medication. I really don't take pills though. I told her I'd stick with my Benefiber. Too bad there isn't a permanent solution out there yet.

I have found a solution if you aren't against taking a daily prescription. I suffered the same problems many of you have with having to go to the bathroom immediately after eating. I finally broke down and say a gastro Dr. and ended up getting put on Questran (Prevalite). It is a powder that you take daily, mixed with water, and it is used mainly to lower cholesterol but it also binds bile. This has helped tremendously and everything is back to normal. I highly recommend it!

Ruta Q is specific remedy for all types of diarrhoea, put 10 drops in one glass of water and take it to three times a day, it is a miracle remedy for diarrhoea in all ages and stomach pains.

http://tib-e-masoomeen.com/