Cholestyramine for bile salt problem

[Spooky]

My husband had resection surgery 4/22/11 and had 10 inches of his terminal illium and IC valve removed. He is still having D problems and more often than not his BM's are yellow. Has any one tried Cholestyramine for bile salt absorption? He also has a heck of a time eating any fats.
Help

 

[DustyKat]

Hi Spooky,

My daughter has short bowel syndrome following the same surgery as your husband, although she has had more bowel removed.

I know from reading on this forum that there are people here that have found Cholestyramine (Questran) to be very successful. Sarah did try it when she was 14 but found it too unpalatable, having said that it did work for her. I think her age may have played a part in her non compliance and perhaps if she was older she would have persisted with it more. She spent 4 years planning her eating around her day because of the diarrhoea but 12 months ago happened upon natural psyllium husks and she has found these to be perfect for her, she does not suffer the side effects of cramping and bloating when she uses it.

It was trial and error but she now has it down to fine art and can now eat throughout the day when she out. I must add here that she also went to a vegan diet and very little processed food around that time too and has found that also suits her best. Sarah's nemesis is oils whether it be cooking oils or salad dressing type oils, they wreak complete and utter havoc on her!

Pop Questran into the search and you should find some older threads about it as well.

Good luck!
Dusty. xxx

 

[Spooky]

Thanks Dusty! How does she do with other fats, like butter? How about dairy?

 

[DustyKat]

In small doses she was okay with them but she never really liked them much in the first place. After her surgery they told her to eat as much fat and salt as she liked and she replied "I don't like fat and I don't like salt". :lol:

She is vegan now so doesn't have any dairy. She has margarine but that's about it and it causes no problems.

Oh come to think of it fats/oils must cause her diarrhoea! Funnily enough when we were speaking a couple of weeks ago she mentioned that she hadn't had time to eat lunch so had been eating Chinese lollies all afternoon, don't know the significance of them being Chinese! :lol:, and they had caused her cramping and bloating and she felt she really needed to poop! Her solution to that was to knick over the road and buy some hot chips, so I guess fried/fatty food must trigger her bowels as well.

Dusty. xxx

 

[Sailorluna]

Hi Spooky
I had 10 inches of my terminal illeum removed last year. It left me with a lot of d.(Fats are the worst)
I tried the cholestyramine but as Dusty mentioned its kind of gross. It was not as bad with orange juice. It works for lots of people, but it did not work for me.

If it does not work or he does not like it he could try Welchol - it is a similar med but is in a pill form.

 

[micromidget]

I have been on Cholestyramine Light for nearly 20 years now. I have had to adjust the dosage a bit to find what works best for me. It takes a bit of getting used to but mixed with orange juice seems to be the best.

 

[braveheart]

I've been on Questran Light (Cholestyramine) for some time before surgery to prevent bile acid stools. They were pale, yellow and VERY acid. Now I do not use it since I feel better after surgery.

I don't think Cholestyramine really avoids diarrhea, it just prevents the acidity of it. Acidity was awful it was like fire. Cholestyramine was a kind of life saver to me.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cholestyramine

Another drug that also helps with the acid stools problem is Bismuth. This one also controls diarrhea, so I use it from time to time in such cases.

http://www.drugs-expert.com/pepto-bismol-maximum-strength-bismuth-subsalicylate/

I hope this helps, you may want ask your doctor about these.

 

[Spooky]

Ok, hubby has been on this Cholestyramine (Questran) for a week now and has had NO D at all! It comes in powder packets and he takes one pack a day split in half...takes half a pack around 2:00 in the afternoon, and the second half right before bed. He mixes it with juice and just downs it in one gulp and does not mind the taste at all.
So far so good!

 

[micromidget]

Great to hear. My cholestyramine is the one prescription I make sure I NEVER run out of!! I am prescribed 1 scoop, twice daily (one scoop is equal to one packet) but I find that half of that is usually enough. I can adjust a bit according to what I'm eating. And I always keep a dose in my purse just in case.... doesn't happen often...maybe once every couple of years...but if I manage to leave the house before taking it you know I will be stopping somewhere to buy a juice.

 

[bonbonbowen]

I'm on cholestyramine, but because I've got ulceration in my stomach I can't tolerate it, it just comes straight back up. Does anyone else have this problem with it? It's annoying because when it does go down it really helps. I'm interested in the pill type cholestyramine, can you get that in the uk? I think it will stay down better. X

 

[Spooky]

Well, after being on Questran for a few months now without having problems, my hubby is starting to have the bloating and cramps that some people get with it..and the D seems to be coming back,so now we are thinking of the psyllium husks. We bought some psyllium husk capsuls but just not so sure how many to take. On the bottle it mentions that it is a fiber laxative, that seems like just the opposite of what we need...but Dusty your daughter does great with it, so we would like to give it a try. We dont know whether to just have him gradually stop the Questran and gradually get on the PH or just do the switch in one day. Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

 

[Cornfieldgal]

Hey all if Questran is too icky to deal with you can take it in pill form. I've been taking Cholestid pills for years and it works awesome! I had to play around with the dose but now I take one in the morning and one before bed and it let's me live a normal life. (at least when I'm not flaring lol!)

 

[Crohn's 35]

When did this come about? Must be in the states only , I havent heard of the pills in Canada..like I am surprised..NOT.

 

[Sailorluna]

The pill form is called Welchol - at least the one I am taking is.