bile acid malabsorption help

Hi Emma, I too have BAM which was diagnosed with a sehcat test at hospital If this test is positive it shows you are losing too much free bile acid through your colon causing chronic diarrea, urgency, stomach pain, & rectal soreness. I was put on meds for it & it controls all the symptoms. did you have this test to diagnose & if so, was it positive? Are you on any medication for it?

Hi Emma, you didnt say what med he put you on; I am on questran sachets that you mix with water, & IMPORTANTLY you have to take these either an hour after other meds or 4hrs before. The capsule form are worse timescales which is why i opted for the sachets. I take 2 together in the morning an hour after my other meds. I take 1 at night an hour after my dinnertime meds. this has alleviated the symptoms 90% of time. I also have colitis(under control with meds) ibs-d (try and manage by avoiding foods that trigger it) & fructose malabsorption (diet management). I can only eat about a handful portion of veg-only mashed swede, baked butternut squash or parsnips (boiled or baked). I wasnt eating any veg as it went through me like it went in, but have recently seen a gastro dietitian, who suggested trying some of the root vegetables in small portions & see how i get on, which i have been fine with so far. fruitwise, again any fruit or fruit juice caused me diarrea, stomach cramp, & came out undigested, so dietitian suggested trying canteloupe melon, small bananas, & kiwis-again in small 80g ish(handful) amounts. I have tried the kiwi in a smoothie with yoghurt & splash of milk to liquify a bit-1st time bit of diarrea, 2nd & 3rd time ok with it. i have a double whammy with ibs & fructose malabsorption as fruit & veg cause symptoms in both conditions. You could try these more gentle fruit & veg in small quantities & eliminate the other fruit & veg for a few weeks & see if that helps you. also fibre can bizarrely sometimes cause lots of toilet trips in a day if you cant break it down properly. i have given up my beloved porridge & switched to white bread, which has also helped. i found fibre would make me remarkably bloated. I am 1mth into a 3mth trial of a liquid probiotic called symprove which has been clinically proven by kings college hospital to help sufferers with digestive problems. so far it is helping to reduce my constant bloating- hope to see more improvement as time goes on. The only time i get constipated & its not really constipated just very firm & a relief to go is if i have had pain killers with codeine in. I couldnt go anywhere before the bam was treated with questran for fear of toilet accident, & was off work for months, now i am working again, go out when i want to & lead a normal life, apart from not being able to eat such healthy food as before as it causes symptoms. hope this helps hun, do ask any more questions if you want. x

he begrudgingly prescribed chloestrogel which I haven't taken yet as I'm waiting for a referral to someone who knows what they are talking about.

today has been horrid, 10 trips to the loo. Monday I was out shopping and almost didn't make it to a toilet in time. I'm exhausted and down and can see no light at the end.

Hi Emma, sorry to hear you are so low & experiencing bad symptoms. I really do know how you feel from my own experience with this condition. Personally, I would try the cholestrogel as directed on prescription label while you are waiting for your next referral to come through & see if it helps your diarrea & frequency of toilet visits. Your next doc will probably ask if you've tried it yet. when i started my med for bam, I did the 1st week on half the recommended dose to minimise any side effect(there aren't many anyway) & on week 2 went up to the full prescribed dose. Hope this helps, keep your chin up, things will get better.x

Hi guys , I have also suffer from BAM which started 3+ years ago and I done  many test but Unable to find the cause. Few things that helped me was Cholestyramine (  popular medicine for this condition but may cause constipation ),  Fobmap diet (  need to see a dietician for this diet),  Imodium, gluten free diet   And a medicine called ciprofloxacin which is normally for a  condition called sibo  infection/bacteria  in the guts . I also visit a  gastroenterologist specialist called Dr Julian Walters in Hammersmith Hospital in London .  He is well known to treat this BAM condition. I was told by my gastroenterologist 1 percent of UK  population suffer from BAM. The main cause is unknow aswel as the cure,  there are only medicine and  lifestyle changes to maintain the symptoms  . I have been apart of research for BAM  for new medicine .  The cause of BAM  is a deficiency in the liver called  fibroblast growth factor 19 (FGF19), and lower levels of this hormone result in overproduction of bile acids, which are more than the ileum can absorb. A trial medicine was tested to  increase the hormone FGF19 and it worked but   Not available any time soon due to some regulations issues .  A new tablet form of Cholestyramine which bypasses the stoomach and opens in the intestines to avoid side effects this will be available soon . I recommend you not to smoke ,eat well cooked foods ,  avoid junk and processed food and don't let thing get to u mentally . 

I hope this help

thanks 

P.s I also get constipated + diarrhoea horrible feeling.

that's really helpful. so far I've been trying to regulate it with diet. I am reluctant to take the tablets as I hate being constipated it makes me irritable and bloated.

the one thing I was confused about was the DR at hospital saying you don't get constipated but my own GP said you will get it, it's very unpredictable.

I was on holiday last week and it seemed to be okay I only had one day where I had to go back home. but this week so far it's been every day

I haven't been tested for BAM but have the same symptoms...which began when I had my gall bladder out about 15 years ago.  I am now taking cholesevalem but it doesn't entirely prevent diarrhea.  I find that garlic makes it much worse.  Hard to avoid.