“Hello to anyone reading this,
I had my gall bladder taken out back in April 1986 (actually on April Fools day, how ironic). My life as it was changed that day, and not for the better. It was an emergency surgery so I have that big ugly scar. That is not even the part that bothers me though. I started with stomach pains so bad I thought I was going die. And then even worse the not being able to control bowel movements. I went to the doctor. Who proceeded at that time to tell me it was all in my head. I have had every kind of test you can imagine. Sigmoidoscopy, Colonoscopy, Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, Barium x-ray, and a few more I can’t think of the names.
I lived for 12 years pretty much house bound. If I wanted to go to my kids school functions I would go for three to four days without eating a single thing, this way I knew I would be safe. I also knew the price would be paid for this each time with that first bite of food I took after the no eating (at the time it was worth it). I learned over the years that stress can aggravate the condition. The doctors I have seen throughout the years have put me on many different medications. The side effects for some were worse than the problem itself, until one day I tried Imodium. (Which I call the MIRACLE DRUG). I take Imodium (actually the equate brand from Wal-Mart because it’s cheaper and has a lot of pills in the bottle). I take anywhere from 4 to 10 pills every 3 to 4 days. I can tell when I need to take them by how my stomach feels. I have asked my gastroenterologist if this is harmful and he has indicated it is not. It works for me. I can now go anywhere anytime and eat anything I want without any problems. It works for me and it might for you.
I also read there is a drug that is supposed to work really well too called Welchol. I am going to do some research on this one too.
It’s actually not IBS that you get from the removal of the gall bladder; it’s called Bile Acid Malabsorption. “