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QUESTRAN LIGHT

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Crohn's Disease
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Posted 5/14/2009 1:17 PM (GMT -6)
Hi i was diagnosed with C many years ago, i had my gall bladder removed because of stones allegedly, and it made the diarr worse, then had a blockage in my bowel so had a resection 4 months ago.

Now on questran light to stop the diarr ,which it has , still get wind and itching though from time to time , anyone else on this stuff?

Posted 5/14/2009 1:21 PM (GMT -6)
I've had Questran light, and also cholestopol (sp?) which is the same thing in pill form. I don't take either regularly because I don't like the side effects. It causes me to have a lot of cramping and bloating, but it does work to stop the D. I only take it if I will be someplace where bathroom access is questionable, or limited, like traveling. And I tailor the dosage so that I can get the maximum bang with out too many side effects. It is an off label usage, but one that has been used for years.
Posted 5/14/2009 1:29 PM (GMT -6)
did you find that eating certain foods aggravated the crohns and if so what were they?

Posted 5/14/2009 1:59 PM (GMT -6)
I keep to a very low residue diet. No fruit, no veggies, nothing with fiber. BUT I've had 3 resections and have multiple blockages, so I have to be very careful. Most people with CD don't have to be quite as careful as I have to be.
Posted 5/14/2009 2:04 PM (GMT -6)
when you got your resections did the surgeon use the first wound scar as a cut line as i have a 8 inch scar up my stomach ,and hopefully i don't need surgery again but you never know.

Have you heard of seda crohn ?
Posted 5/14/2009 2:14 PM (GMT -6)
I've been on it for many years. Also from having no gallbladder, although many people with Crohn's use it after resection surgery. It's my life saver. If I don't take it for a day (or even by a certain time of day) I'm in serious trouble with Diarrhea.

Everyone responds differently to things. I've heard of people having gas, and even heart burn while taking it. I really don't have any side effects from it.
Posted 5/14/2009 2:19 PM (GMT -6)
Hi Jennifer,

Thanks for your response, did your diarr get worse after your gall bladder was removed?
I just feel as if it is inevitible that i will need more surgery in years or months to come, it knocked me for six the last operaton and its a terrible thought of going thru it again.
Posted 5/14/2009 4:23 PM (GMT -6)
are you taking questran or seda crohn?
Posted 5/14/2009 5:12 PM (GMT -6)
Yes I believe my diarrhea did get worse after my gallbladder was removed. The doctor explained it as all the bile my gallbladder would hold was now just being dumped in to my system. The questran helps to soak it back up, so that I don't have diarrhea. He calls it Bile Salt Diarrhea. Of course when I flare from Crohn's not even the questran can control the diarrhea. So I can still tell them apart pretty easily.

I haven't heard of seda crohn before.
Posted 5/14/2009 9:22 PM (GMT -6)
I have had problems with the questran light causing me a lot of painful gas and cramps. I was only using it when I absolutely had to. I recently asked to be switched to questran regular because I wondered whether the aspartame might be aggravating my problems. The side effects have lessened alot. I try to avoid sugar-substitutes, especially sugar-free gum because it gives me a pain in my stomach. I don't know why I continued trying to take the questran light so long before clicking in that it might be the sugar substitute not the mediicine that was giving me the problems.

I use just as little as I can get away with.
Posted 5/15/2009 2:16 AM (GMT -6)
Thats very interesting about the questran lite, I am thinking of asking the doc to put me on the questran as the lite one gives me wind,colic and sometimes pain.
Posted 5/15/2009 6:32 AM (GMT -6)
I had never heard of SedaCrohn's so I just did a web search. I appears to be an herbal supplement that seems pricey. And it really doesn't explain the hows and whys of what its suppose to do. Not something I would try without a LOT more information.
Posted 5/15/2009 7:59 AM (GMT -6)
It totally sucks i had to quit taking it. The Diarrhea was a lot worse with it .
Posted 5/15/2009 9:02 AM (GMT -6)
ok looks like the questran is the better option, just need to get rid of the excecc gas outside in private.
Posted 5/15/2009 12:07 PM (GMT -6)
Are you taking any probiotics? They can be helpful with excess gas. You may have to try several different brands until you find one that works for you, and things may get a bit worse for a few days before they get better, but in the long run, they can be quite beneficial.
Posted 5/15/2009 1:31 PM (GMT -6)
i take an actimel drink once a day , but i have good days and bad days, chocolate and full cream milk are no nos for me as they don't agree with my guts.
Posted 5/15/2009 2:21 PM (GMT -6)
I used to have a lot of trouble with excess bile in my stools as well as fat malabsorption, I've been taking codeine for years for bowel control but it wouldn't help with the bile diarrhea. I tried Questran - which aside from being like drinking sand, didn't help either. Then one day when I was browsing the forums I found on the IBS forum a few posts about taking calcium supplements for diarrhea so tried it and I found it really worked! Its worth maybe looking into that. Last time I saw my GI I told him about it and he said that there was no harm in taking calcium and he often has patients take it when they're on steroids for their bones.

Posted 5/15/2009 4:09 PM (GMT -6)
Exactly! Sand!
Brings back fond memories of True Grit.
I thought that stuff was long gone, off the market.
And how do you make Questran Lite???
Yellow stools anyone???
Posted 5/16/2009 7:51 AM (GMT -6)
Just a tip, when I do take the Questran I mix it in to Apple Sauce. There is no way I can get it down in a drink, but in apple sauce, its not so bad. Doesn't affect the potency at all.
Posted 5/16/2009 8:03 PM (GMT -6)

lilcrohnieUK said...
I used to have a lot of trouble with excess bile in my stools as well as fat malabsorption, I've been taking codeine for years for bowel control but it wouldn't help with the bile diarrhea. I tried Questran - which aside from being like drinking sand, didn't help either. Then one day when I was browsing the forums I found on the IBS forum a few posts about taking calcium supplements for diarrhea so tried it and I found it really worked! Its worth maybe looking into that. Last time I saw my GI I told him about it and he said that there was no harm in taking calcium and he often has patients take it when they're on steroids for their bones.


I tried the calcium thing in my early days of when I thought I had IBS. It didn't work very well for me. It helped some, but I was still really housebound, couldn't eat out. Maybe made getting to the store and be managable. But to me that was not exactly living. I was still taking quite a big of Immodium a day with it. So for me it's a huge difference between the calcium and Questran. Again things effect everyone differently of course. I'm glad I can handle the Questran, and that it works so well, because I really had no kind of life before it.
Posted 5/17/2009 3:20 AM (GMT -6)
Yeh I was gutted when Questran didn't work for me as I had read so many good things about it and seeing as Immodium didn't work and even the codeine couldn't stop the acid liquid I was starting to think I was doomed. I guess I got lucky with the calcium :-) though I do still take codeine as well (even with formed stools I have a major frequency issue if I don't take it) so don't know if its the combination of the two that makes the difference for me.
Posted 5/18/2009 2:17 AM (GMT -6)
Thanks for all your posts , still getting colic and wind(gas) a lot at night, trying to see doc again for something else
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