[2btrue]

HI K,I hope I'm not too much of a nuisance!Do you know where bile is absorbed - is it in the colon or the ileum? I've had my entire colon out but according to my surgery notes, they left 6" of ileum which I would imagine would be enough to absorb bile if that's where its stored (?)I dont believe I have gall bladder problems because I have had a CT and US plus I dont have any pain/symptoms in the upper quadrant so I'm trying to figure out why I have so much bile. I cant imagine why my system is producing all this. Hope this makes some sense?! The digestive process is so complex, I'm going round in circles trying to figure out what to do about this bile. If it didnt hurt so much I wouldnt worry, but its incredibly painful, and apart from the LRQ and LLQ pain, it's burnt all the skin from outside of my rectum which is constantly bleeding.

 

[Kathleen M.]

It is the last part of the small intestine (ileum), but I'm not sure how much of it you need to fully recycle the bile. (or if some segments are more important than others, and based on what helps some diarrhea predominate people I think some people's ileum's may be more effective than others)People release bile in proportion to fat consumed and some people may need a diet pretty low in fat to keep bile under control. Some solulble fibers help absorb bile (why oat bran lowers cholesterol) but I don't know if that is appropriate for your condition but might be something to look into if you are at the low end of dietary fat (you require some, so you can't really go much lower than 10-15% of the diet's calories from fat and maintain health).

 

[2btrue]

Thanks K,That makes perfect sense to me. I also wonder though if I really do have 6" of Ileum left because nobody can prove that.You're right about soluble fiber and bile but as you know it can cause one to be more constipated so its a viscious cycle.The weird thing though is that the bile is worse first thing in the morning after not consuming food for many hours (while sleeping). Also, when I take Zelnorm it makes it worse. I never get diarrhe (which is usually common with bile) - just the yellow/green "slimy" like stuff comes out (sorry about the graphics) and, without any proper bm.I find that fat is unrelated to the bile production. There are times I do consume lots of fat and that doesnt make the bile worse but when I eat too much overall I get constipated and have to take more Zelnorm and MOM and then the bile gets worse - I feel like I'm going round in circles.Tomorrow, Monday is my big day, I'm having the Hypogastric Plexus block and am so scared. I hope it works even if it helps 50% I'lll be happy then I'll have physical therapy to help release/loosen scar tissue.