[lookingood]

I have crohns and maybe ibs and also gallstones. My problems are this - I have watery D about 6 to 7 times a day. I also have back pain and my right side always has a ache to it but most of the time its not bad just enough to where I know its there. My crohns is pretty much in remission at least they think it is. I take one colestid a day for the D and its been working great but here lately is where my problem began. I will go 2 weeks and have 1 or 2 bowel movements a day and then I will get up one mornging and feel bloated right under my ribs ( Under my breast) through out the day it becomes worse and so does the pain. After a few hours of this the pain will become so bad it feels like my skin is going to tear open. I have had to go to the er room 3 times in the past 3 months because of this. They never do anything except take x rays and tell me everything is ok and to go home. So today I went to the dr. now he did a ultrsound on me a few weeks ago and showed where I have multipul gallstones. So the dr. today told me that the bloating feeling is from taking the colestid and he said its more or less making my bowels lazy, to where they wont do anything. He said the gallstones wont make me hurt up under my ribs but they could be causing my pains in my back and on my side. I asked him if gallstones can cause the D and he said no. Some people have told me they could, so can they or cant they? Any way, he wants me to go in for surgery and get the gallbladder removed but he wants to have the old surgery so they cane also check for hard tissue ( from where i had a resection 17 months ago for my crohns). He said after wards i could have mor D for a few weeks but then it should stop. Is this true? Could you tell me what to expect from all of this. How long will I be in the hospital and how long for recovery. I asked him ifI should be on a special diet after recovery and he said no. What do you all say? He said if I still have the same problems after the surgery at least we will know its not my gallbladder and its probably ibs. I have never had any pain with my crohns so thats why he dont think its that. But most of the time I feel like I have a fever and sometimes I dont and sometimes its only 99. I never throw up but some times I do feel a little sick at my stomach. Can anybody give me some light on this problem. I do know that I have had to gallstones for at least 3 years. I have had to D problems every since I had my resection 17 months ago.

 

[BQ]

Lookingood, Um..... Can ya get another opinion?I had GB pain that started in the back and came around and settled under my breast too. Well it was like a huge fishook shaped area of HURT. Suffice it to say the pain you decscribe sounds exactly like my GB attack pain.Colestid.. From all that I have read and as far as I know, does not a lazy bowel make. (I think he's pulling your leg there.) Colestid is a bile salt binder. It is like a pill form of the powder called Questran.Gall stones can indirectly cause D definitely. If the stones are effecting the function of the GB, you could definitely experience D. And sorry I disagree that the Colestid would cause that kinda, "send me to the ER" type bloating that goes into THAT pain. Get another opinion on the surgery. If you can do a LAP procedure, do it. If you need to have the resection 'looked' at (??) see if there is a way to do an extended LAP type procedure instead of them having to open you up like a can.If stones are left alone and the GB gets diseased, an emergency GB removal is no fun. (Trust me.... I kept telling them, "But I'm not packed!!!" lol ) More than likely it has to go or will someday. Post op D can happen for some. I was told anywhere from 6 months to a year afterwards. Oddly enough

the Colestid can be used to treat that. A very small percentage of folks that have their GB removed will suffer lifelong D. And don't forget, you will still have the Chrohns, but hopefully, you will remain in remission (like forever, would be good

).Give another Doc a call and let us know how you are doing. Til then, eat real LOW fat.BQ

 

[Katydid]

Ditto to everything BQ said. Definitely a second opinion is in order...this doctor seems to be having a slight case of ignorance. I wonder, is this Dr. a PCP or a GI specialist?The only thing that I WOULD take consideration of is the 'old' type surgery vs. the lap procedure. Most people get through the lap with flying colors, but there is also an increased risk of damage/injury to the bile duct/pancreatic duct...and I'm hearing (reading) more and more posts from people having this post-surgery complication. The old type surgery 'practically' eliminates those particular risks. Whichever procedure you decide to go with, make sure the surgeon is very, very experienced in both the traditional AND the lap...so that you have confidence in their expertise.

 

[Katydid]

Forgot to add...I've been on Questran powder for several years now...and it has not caused any lazy bowel symptoms. I think it can cause some indigestion and heartburn for some people..and if you're sensitive to medications the generic may cause you more flatuence than the brand name. Most people have no problems using either...for some reason the Brandname Questran works better for me in that regard. There are some pharmacists who use Questran(over the generic) themselves for the same reason..and have mentioned/adviced their customers to do the same. Not sure what the difference is other than if it was the fillers or how its mixed(proportion-wise) by the manufacturer. The same manufacturer can make and sell both Brandname and Generic....which leads me to believe there IS some type of difference considering the $ difference of the two.I have not tried Colestid (the pill form)

 

[Snitmom]

This situation begs to ask if a simple Liver flush to clear any possible blockages and infections would be appropriate before actual surgery? Has anybody here ever done one? It seems so natural, as these flushes have been done for 100 years. I really want to do one soon. Anybody else thinking of it? Maybe we could compare notes!

 

[lookingood]

Thanks everyone for your reply. I cant really go to another dr. cause I dont have any insurance. I have been going to this dr. since I first got crohns 24 years ago. Wow thats a long time!!!! Never really though about how many years its been. Anyway this dr. has treated me so long a lot of the time he dont even charge me for office visits and when he does he only charges me half price. So that really helps me out. The reason he wants to do the old surgery is because when I went in for my resection in Aug. 01 they told me I wouldnt have any more problems with D and I should stay in remission hopefully for years but I was not that lucky. I came out with the D and I have had it every day since. At one point so bad I couldnt leave my house for 2 months. Thats when they started saying I had ibs and started treating me for that. I have tried every meds. out there and nothing has helped. That is except the colestid. So when I kept bring up my gallstones they finally made me an appointment with the nuclerual med. (not sure how to sp it) they hooked me up to the machine to see how the gallbladder was working and she said it was considered normal. She said if its goes to slow its not normal but my was working to fast and to her that wasnt right. She said to the dr. that was ok just as long as it wasnt to slow. THe way I see it is if its working to fast than to much bile is being released and maybe the bowel cant absorb it and that could cause the d. Does that make sense to you? Of course Im no dr. but it sounds like it could to me. When the dr. read the results he said it was ok. Then I did the wonderful scope and they found out last Aug that my crohns had came back so they started treated me with those meds. again. still non stop d. Last summer I went to my md cause I was having trouble with my back then. Nothing major and it was only every was in a while, so she did x rays on my back and said nothing showed up and I probably pulled a muscle. Now I wonder if that was my gallbladder back then that was slowly giving me some problems. So this brings me to the ultrasound at which time he now tells me I have all these gallstones. Oh yea, the dr. tells me this "after we take your gallstones out if your still having problems at least we will know its not your gallbladder and maybe its your ibs". Im not ever sure its ibs now. Im sorry this is so long but what do you all think, could it be ibs or could it have been the gallstones all along? After what i have been through the past 17 months I dont even know if I trust drs. anymore. I was praying this year would be better for me but now I dont know. When ever I feel like giving up I look at my little boy ( he is 5 years old ) and without him and all of the support I get from all of you I dont think I could handle all of this. Like I said Im sorry this is so long I guess Im a little down tonight. I just wish they could figure out what was wrong with me. Thanks you all for listening.

 

[BQ]

((((((Lookingood))))))Hang in there hon and I understand that you have to work with this Doc because of the lack of insurance. But I'm tellin ya, the Colestid shouldn't give ya a lazy bowel. Your GB sounds like it has to go. You would probably be better off without it, cause that pain is NO fun and if you already have a collection of stones.... it is probably only a matter of time til it stops functioning. Yes I agree the stones could be causing some of the D. But be forewarned, even after you get the GB out, you could still have Chrohns AND IBS. You can have them simultaneously. There are people on this BB that do have both. I had IBS before I had my GB out. Yeah I was hoping that alot of my D and gut pain was because of the bad GB. Well, they took it out and I no longer had GB attacks...BUT

I still have IBS. But you go right ahead and hope for us all.

"Hoping" never hurt anyone and ya never know.... you could get lucky.Hang in there and let us know how you are doing. I would insist on taking the Colestid for sure. Still a good idea not to eat any fatty foods.BQ

 

[lookingood]

Hi BQ, Im sure yourright about the gallbladder having to go. I guess I just hate to go through another surgery but then Im sure everybody is like that.Until all of this started with me I had never even heard of ibs. I think there should be more things wrote about ibs so people would know and understand it. It sure would make it easier on people that have it. I pretty much have ran out of excuses of why I cant go out. As far as the lazy bowel I agree with you completely. The whole way home from the dr. I was thinking about that, didnt make any sense to me.Im sure I will pick myself up after all this soaks in and go on with my life. I guess all and all Im a fighter but living with crohns all these years has made me that way. Didnt have a choice!!! You have a good night and thanks a lot for your advice and support. I really needed it today!!! I almost forgot to ask you but what do you take for your ibs?

 

[sabriel]

Hi lookinggood,Sorry to hear you have been feeling so crappy lately, but if it is to do with your gallbladder, ultimately you will be better off without it. I had mine out about 6 weeks ago, and apart from the little scars I have no other remainders.You might like to read my responses on these threads too: http://www.ibsgroup.org/ubb/ultimatebb.php...ic;f=1;t=031102 http://www.ibsgroup.org/ubb/ultimatebb.php...ic;f=3;t=018621 I have information there about the actual surgery and the chance of increased diarrhea.There are some links on one of them too about Bile Salt Diarrhea, which is what some people can get after gallbladder surgery, that you might also like to read. If you are already taking Colestid too, that is the recommended treatment for stopping the Bile Salt Diarrhea.I do not have any more problems than before or any less. The Bile Salt Diarrhea only affects about 5 or 10 percent of people, so the risk is not that great.Also, if it has been confirmed that you do have actual gallstones, you will eventually Have to have the gallbladder out anyway, no matter how long you delay, as the symptoms do often get gradually worse.Symptoms between patients can vary a lot with gallstones too. In my case when I had them I got constipation which is pretty rare for me as I am Diarrhea predominant, but other people have reported that they got or get Diarrhea. Depends on the person I spose! My most common other symptom was a constant burning pain right below my ribcage, with occasionally pain radiating through to my back, but other people can and do get vomiting or nausea too. I had a friend that used to get projectile vomiting with hers.I was lucky and had keyhole surgery for my gallstones (and was only in hospital one day), but the doc wasn't sure if he could do it at first as I too may have had adhesions from previous surgeries. He told me that if I had the 'open' surgery I would be in hospital 4 or 5 days. I felt fairly well recovered (with my keyhole surgery) after about 8 days, but really good after about 2 weeks. With the open surgery I would think another week or maybe two would be needed, depending on how you quickly you heal.Hope that helps some, take care and let us know how you get on.

 

[Snitmom]

I am really curious - please do not think i am being critical here. Is there any reason at all not to do a liver flush before submitting to surgery? Bleed, or dring 2c. of oil. I just don't see it.