Are You Suffering From Stomach Problems Since Gall Bladder Removal?

If you have had your gall bladder removed you might be suffering from troubling stomach issues. If you are anything like me, as soon as you eat, no matter what you eat, you will have to rush to the restroom because it seems as though your stomach is dumping everything you eat.

At first, before I even had my gall bladder removed my surgeon went over certain side effects that can happen after surgery. One of the main symptoms that was explained to me was diarrhea. The doctor said that usually it will clear up after a few weeks or even a month for some people. The surgeon neglected to tell me that there is a risk that a small percentage of people will have long lasting chronic diarrhea.

I was one of these people. Every time I ate, no matter what I ate, I would loose everything. If I ate at a restaurant, I would be sick before we even left the restaurant... sometimes even before paying the bill. I started not eating on road trips and planning my day around what I was going to do before I ate so I would have a bathroom available. That is not a way to live... tied to a bathroom??

I was too. I had my surgery in December of 2007 and in July of 2010 I was still having problems just as bad as the day after my surgery. Some people would criticize me and tell me I was eating fatty foods or foods that weren't good for me and that is why I was getting sick. I had to inform them that even healthy foods, fruits, vegetables, fish, etc., would also make me violently sick. It didn't matter if I drank water and ate saltine crackers, I could bet you money on how long I would keep the crackers before my body got rid of them.

So, in August 2010 I decided to call my surgeon for a follow up. Ironically, she had retired due to a medical condition herself and her office was no longer open. I called my physician and got a referral to see a gastroenterologist.

To make a long story short, the gastroenterologist informed me that the chronic diarrhea is seen in a lot of gall bladder removal patients and there is hope! He said the chronic diarrhea has nothing to do with what you eat (although it can be worse if you eat fatty or greasy foods). He informed me that although the gall bladder is gone, your body still produces the bile and the bile constantly drips into your system... causing inflammation in your intestines and also chronic diarrhea. He said that there is a medicine, Cholestyramine that can help. It is a powder that you put in a liquid, I use apple juice. You drink it according to your doctors orders (For some people, twice a day; for other people the dosage may be once every other day). As gross as this sounds, let's face it, the Cholestyramine helps bind your bile so that you do not have the urgent diarrhea after eating.

So, I got the prescription for Cholestryamine. I started taking it and within days I had relief from my constant stomach issues. I, along with my gastro doctor had to alter the amount of Cholestryamine to get the maximum efficiency for my system but the medicine actually works.

I am no longer having the urgent stomach problems when I eat. I can eat anything I want and I do not get sick like I used to.

I wanted to share this story and this information in order to try to help others who have lost hope for their stomach problems improving after gall bladder removal. I am not a trained medical professional, nor am I a spokesperson for Cholestryamine, but I can tell you if I would have known that I could take this medicine to prevent the horrible diarrhea I was having after my gall bladder removal, I would have taken it a long time ago!