Chronic diarrhea after gallbladder removal.

Posted , 3 users are following.

I had my gallbladder removed 10 months ago and since then have been suffering with uncontrollable diarrhea nearly every morning. Sometimes I can go as many as 6 times!

And sometimes I don't even make the loo as it comes on so sudden .

Has anyone any suggestions I can try that have worked for them as I'm feeling desperate now .

Sick to death of going backwards and forwards to the Drs not really getting anywhere.

Latest thing Dr has told me to try is to take lorperamide before bed which works great for a few days then i have to stop taking it as I start to feel all bunged up and suffer terrible stomach cramps then once again I'm on the loo all morning ??

0 likes, 6 replies

6 Replies

  • Posted

    Sorry you're going through this.  You are probably suffering from too much bile being excreted by your liver.  Now you no longer have a gallbladder, there is no where to store it, so it is draining into your small intestine constantly.  There are medications that can be prescribed to absorb the excess bile, such as cholestyramine. If you are seeing a gp, they are generally clueless about this process. Another is called cholesterol, I think.

    Bile acid is extremely caustic and yellow.  I've been taking it since 2009 and it does help.      

    Loperamide just stops your intestines from contracting, but does nothing about the bile problem at all. 

    You can also try diet modification.  Best of luck to you. 

    • Posted

      The med is called cholestipol.  Spell check, of course.  
    • Posted

      Thanks Lynda

      I will try anything. I did think it could possibly be the bile but had no clue what to take .

      Will definitely give it a go thankyou .

  • Posted

    Hi Dews I would try foods or diet and see what foods are worse for you if anything.  Lynda sounds clued up with this and its sounds good advice, most drugs are all from the same family and there is a list of them.

    This is the problem, yes we can live without the GB but it is there for a purpose and that is storage of bile which is released into both other organs but I am not aware how they hook up things after extraction so I cant be as info wise I am afraid but diet.  I know I have GB issues under control at the moment by diet but I am far from being pain free and actually had an attack yesterday just because I am re introducing milk products again.  Just goes to prove if you want to feel  like your having heart attack, just eat certain foods and boy do you know, this is the infuriating thing about Dr's, I don't think they truly understand what we go through.

    • Posted

      Hi julian

      I had no option but to have my gallblader removed, has it was infected and bulging with stone so I was so relieved to have it gone and at first after a few weeks I was ok and thought brilliant I can now live a normal life...... how wrong I was as each month goes by my D is becoming worse .

      And yes your right that the Drs don't seem to pin point this to what I'm suffering now.

      It's almost like I'm have to Google things and go on forums etc to self diagnose.

      At least I know now that I'm not alone in suffering from this horrendous condition which does to some extent control your life 😒

      I did find that taking windeze tablets did ease my gallbladder pain whilst I still had it so that might be worth trying . And I also went lactose free .

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