[Proud_Canadian]

Hello All, I have not posted for quite awhile, I have been really busy finishing up with school. Graduation is just over a month away (EEK). However, the reason I am writing is that I went to see my GI this week and she put me on the medication cholestyramine. It is a powder (like mettamucil) that you mix with liquid and it is supposed to help D. It is also used for high cholesterol. But also right on the box it says Antidiarrheal. As constipation is a major side effect of this drug. Kind of like Caltrate. CAltrate was not designed to help IBS but it seem to help so whow cares.Anyways, I have only had a couple of doses so far and it does not taste as good as Mettamucil but I am giving it a go.Heck I am going to be a healthy Senior...my bones will be strong from the Caltrate, and my cholesterol will be low...LOLMy doctor told me it is worth a shot cause I have not tried it before. The pharmacist was impressed that my doctor had prescribed it (it does require a prescription) and said she must be a very current, up to date doctor.I was just sharing this with you guys because some of you may want to discuss this option with your doctors if you have not yet tried it. I live in Canada though, so I am not sure if it is available in the U.S. or other places. It is made in Montreal, Canada.Anyways, best of luck and let me know if any of you have had good or bad experiences with this drug.Over and Out.Proud_Canadian

 

[Jleigh]

Hi Proud,Yes we have it here in the states. I took it (called Questran) for a while. It did help considerably. The only reason I stopped taking it was because I was introduced to Lotronex and I didn't want to be on both at the same time. I started with one scoop per day (in the morning) but had to move it to night due to the fact that it binds any other meds your taking if taken too close together. I take Synthroid for a low thyroid so I took that in the a.m. and Questran in the p.m.I eventually weaned myself down to less than 1/2 a scoop and was still doing well on it. The only side effect I had was dry mouth. Keeping lots of water around took care of that. I am no longer taking Lotronex but am now trying out calcium. The calcium is working well right now. If it stops working, it's back to Questran for me.Good Luck!------------------How long a minute is, depends on what side of the bathroom door you're on...

 

[Guest]

If the powder gets to you, you might want to try "Colestid" the next time you get a prescription. It works the same way, but is a pill. It also is basically a cholesterol med that binds bile, and therefore can cause major C for some people, but for those of us with D it can work wonders!