[vagirl74]

Hello Everyone! I am so excited to find a sounding board for my problems. I am 35 years old and have IBS. Long story short, I was misdiagnosed with Acid Reflux for 2 years before they discovered I had gall stones and had my gallbladder removed in Aug. During surgery the doctor "nipped" my bile duct which complicated things. I had to come home with a stent and tubs/bags etc. Very long process for what was supposed to be a "simple procedure". I have great days and then I have horrible days where I go to the restroom 5, 6 and 7 times within a few hours while @ work. On top of being embarrassed it is really cutting into my life. I just recently was put on Dicyclomine and I am actually leaving for GREECE in 2 weeks. I am scared to death that I will be over the Atlantic and have issues! Suggestions, comments etc. would be helpful. Thinking a/b asking for a low dose of an antidepressent .....thoughts?Vagirl

 

[Kathleen M.]

Usually for this post gall bladder removal (which can cause diarrhea when not botched at all).1. Low fat diet2. Calcium Carbonate supplements3. Questran (bile binding agent).Low dose antidepressants may help with pain, but won't do much for excess bile in the colon.

 

[vagirl74]

Thanks for the info. I have been sticking to a low fat diet but I have never heard about Calcium Carbonate supplementsor Questran. Is this something that can be taken with my IBS meds and is it sold OTC?Thanks,Vagirl

 

[Kathleen M.]

There is a thread called Linda's Calcium Info pinned at the top of the forum.It is an over the counter dietary supplement (so in the vitamin aisle). Usually you can take it when you take other medications but you might have to take them at different times. So people usually take the Calcium with meals so you might need to take other meds 1 hour before a meal or a couple of hours afterwards as sometimes Calcium can make those harder to absorb, but you can have the pharmacist check to see if that is a problem with the ones you take.

 

[BQ]

Questran is by prescription only. But ask your Dr about it. It is a bile salt binder. It is a powder & the pill form of it is called Colestid. This is sometimes prescribed for folks who have D after GB removal.