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I'm having excessive bile which is very painful and burns a lot, this may have something to do with having my colon out although others I have spoken to dont seem to have this problem.Its very severe in the morning and later in the day my stools are very yellow and green. I have not had my gallbladder removed and I'm on a low fat diet. Do you know what I can do to help absorb the bile without causing constipation. When I eat a lot of soluble fiber it binds with everything, including the bile and I cant "go" at all. Do you think Lecithin could help? Or anything else??Any advise or information would truly be appreciatedl - I'm so desperate I dont know what to do

- Please help

 

[flux]

Have you had a SeHCAT test? This is a test using radioactive bile salt that can tell how much bile you are absorbing.If it is bile acid malabsorption, it would be interesting to see what the effect calcium supplements have. There was (still is?) a group of people here who claimed that it reduced diarrhea. They probably don't have IBS, but bile acid malabsorption and the anecdotes suggested to me that it could be helpful.

 

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Flux, I would think calcium would be constipating wouldnt it, and thats a major problem I'm having? I have to strain like crazy to get that bile out. Would one have to take a lot of it. Its really weird though because most people with bile have diarrhea but I dont and have to strain like crazy to get it out and it's excruciatingly painful and burns the intestines like crazy. I've tried taking Maalox too sooth the intestines but it doesnt seem to make any difference!

I havent heard of that test you mentioned, I'm going to mention it to my GI at Wake Forest, however when I mentioned the bile issue with him he seemed very surprised and concerned and seems to think it has something to do with the join (anastamosis) from the surgery - does that make any sense to you?

 

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Flux, how do they perform the SeHCAT? What does it involve, do they give you the iodine intravenously and do a CT?

 

[flux]

quote:I would think calcium would be constipating wouldnt it, and thats a major problem I'm having?

Some people but report it, but the medical community doesn't seem to believe it (at least in healthy people).

quote:seems to think it has something to do with the join (anastamosis) from the surgery - does that make any sense to you?

I'm not sure, maybe he thinks there is bacterial overgrowth in that area.

quote:What does it involve, do they give you the iodine intravenously and do a CT

You drink SeHCAT (not iodine) and then they take pictures with a special x-ray called a gamma camera.

 

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Thanks Flux,I think for most people calcium is constipating - the problem is that once the bile is not being absorbed where it should be it hurts like crazy and has to come out, so if one takes calcium or one of the cholestrol lowering meds like Questran then it binds and doesnt come out and hurts even more - what can one do?Lecithin is an emulsifier, do you think that may help to bind bile without being constipating? Do you know what one could take to help neutralize the acid from the bile because its so painful?The doc wants to check the anastamosis and the area above to see if its dilated enough and there is no partial blockage - he's also curious to see what the ileum area is because apparently that is where the bile should be absorbed as no colon was left at all. I think its the distal ileum or ileus he's checking. I hope he's on the right track.