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questran

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Crohn's Disease
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dragonfly137927
Veteran Member
Joined : Sep 2006
Posts : 2527
Posted 9/13/2007 7:51 AM (GMT -8)
Hi all,

I took questran for the 1st time yesterday.  Besides it being gross to get down (being orange flavored and all) I dont know if it helped or made things worse.  I didnt take it today and I may try it again in a cpl days but take a smaller dose.  I took the 4g of it which is 1 traditional dose.  I still had D 2 times yesterday I normally have it 3 times post op and sometimes more.  I took it in the AM.  about 1:30 I was having severe pain on my L side (also had an increase in gas which I know is common).  I saw my surgeon yesterday and he felt around the area I was having pain and it was soft he said.  I took dilaudid 2 times yesterday and it did not relieve the pain at all.  I was in bed with the heating pad but after 15 mins of sleeping I awoke all sweaty even with the a/c on.  I turned the heating pad off and tried to get comfy.  Nothing helped until I finally had D this morning (2 times so far).  I still have the pain but it is bearable where as yesterday it wasnt. 

Could this be the questran considering I ate my typical foods yesterday that I normally would eat?  For dinner I went really bland with boston market chicken (removed the skin and only ate white meat) and mashed potatoes.  I think that pain was worse than having D.  My mom picked up my sample containers for the C diff (she works at a hospital in pathology so she has access to that type of stuff).  I am going to the hospital she works at tomorrow to eat lunch there with her and drop off the samples...I know ill have a cpl BMs before then.  I have to go to the store and get something to poop into, they suggest a trash can with a bag in it, newspaper etc....this is going to be messy.  I wish they would just give me a "hat" to at least poo into.  Glad I still have gloves from when I had my ostomy and abscess drain those will be worn in full force.

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HabsHockeyFan
Veteran Member
Joined : Jan 2006
Posts : 3240
Posted 9/13/2007 9:07 AM (GMT -8)
df...it's been a very long time since I took Questran. I do remember that there was some cramping for a while after I started taking it. It took a while, but it went away. I know there is someone else on the board who is taking it often now...maybe Jen77???

For the taste...can you drink OJ pulp free? I used to be able to stand OJ and the questran mixed in it wasn't that horrible.
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MeDi
Regular Member
Joined : Mar 2006
Posts : 47
Posted 9/13/2007 9:11 AM (GMT -8)

Ask your Doctor if you can switch from the Questran to Colestid.  Colestid is in pill form and MUCH MUCH easier to take.  The consistency of Questran is disgusting!  I believe that they both have the desired result.....

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dragonfly137927
Veteran Member
Joined : Sep 2006
Posts : 2527
Posted 9/13/2007 9:44 AM (GMT -8)
thank you for that tip, i'll write that down and mention it to him when I see him next month, I think the 3 times having D a day was better than the pain I had. I bought myself an aluminum pan and cat littler liners so I can put it in the toilet to collect my sample for the C diff test. I am not looking foward to that mess....I wonder y they just dont give me the flagyl for the recommended Tx time...oh well
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belleenstein
Veteran Member
Joined : Feb 2007
Posts : 1010
Posted 9/13/2007 10:40 AM (GMT -8)
I would reduce the amount you are taking drastically and use it only after you have gone to the bathroom. So, after you have taken it, don't take it again until you use the washroom, then, take it. But really try to reduce the amount. I sometimes divide the 1 gram dose into as many as four doses. Your experience is very similar to mine. When I first tried to take it (using the dosage recommendation) I was in agony. But now that I've adjusted the dose to just meet my needs, it is working great. A real life saver.

I had to do the 36 hour stool sample to test for fat-malabsorption two years ago. It was truly disgusting. I was in hospital and it started with the nurses bringing me a commode and explaining that I was to be responsible for managing this collection and that under no circumstances could the sample be contaminated with urine. Ok, I've had three kids, you tell me how that is possible? Anyway I quickly realized that there was no way I was going to survive transferring between pottie and receptacle, so straight to the sealable receptacle I went. Luckily I was on a maternity ward at the time because the hospital was full, so I asked for sanitary napkins for the urine leakage and all was ok. And this only to prove what I already knew -- I wasn't absorbing fat.

I still laugh at the image of this. So ridiculous! but it worked. So hope you can find something to laugh at no matter how ridiculous and just get it over with. Hopefully they will rule out C. Difficile and you can re-focus on figuring out how to manage with your new streamlined bowel.

Cheers
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coco9
Regular Member
Joined : Apr 2007
Posts : 68
Posted 9/13/2007 1:54 PM (GMT -8)
I've had my Questran since April 25 and am afraid to take it. eyes    I have enough bloating and cramping as it is. lol  I keep getting it out of the cupboard, leave it on the counter for a couple of days and then put it back.  Maybe one day I will feel brave enough to give it a try.
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mojowo4
Regular Member
Joined : Jul 2007
Posts : 137
Posted 9/13/2007 2:07 PM (GMT -8)
I tried it once and couldn't get past the texture and taste. What I did get down didn't seem to do much of anything. :(
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Zanne
Veteran Member
Joined : Apr 2005
Posts : 3763
Posted 9/13/2007 4:00 PM (GMT -8)
When I have to take it, I only take about 1 teaspoon. I mix it with applesauce. The flavor of the applesauce masks the flavor of the questran a bit and the applesauce has a texture to it, so it isn't too bad. I have also mixed it with V8 juice, also has a strong flavor and a bit of a texture to it.

I did just get a Rx for the pills. Much easier to take, but you can't adjust the dosage as easily.

I only take the questran if I am going on a long car trip, or a plane. Some place where going to the bathroom might not be so easy. I would rather have to run to the bathroom than deal with the cramping and pain. But I have found that by taking just a little for several days in a row I slow myself down enough that traveling is much less stressfull. But also be careful if you have B12 issues, it binds to B12 to make it even harder to absorb. another reason, I won't take it on a regular basis, I already have to take B12 shots every 2 weeks.
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dragonfly137927
Veteran Member
Joined : Sep 2006
Posts : 2527
Posted 9/14/2007 9:58 AM (GMT 0)
I mixed mine with apples sauce and it didnt mask the orange flavor. I bought some crushed pineapple, I havent had peinallple since my Sxs but I was able to tolerate it before hand. I know I like pineapple orange juice so it may have a better taste.
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mmrah77
New Member
Joined : Jan 2007
Posts : 10
Posted 9/16/2007 3:54 AM (GMT -8)
I too avoided the Questran, but once I did take it, it really really helped! For me, it takes about a day to kick in, but it really does control the D and crampiness I feel. If I miss a dose, I can tell.

My D went from about 8-10 x per day to maybe 2. I've been taking it since Feb 2007 and lately, I've felt like it is making me ill, but I think it is the OJ causing the problems - high acidity of the juice - not the Questran. I'm going to try it with Rice or Almond milk (can't tolerate dairy or soy) or even water just to get it down.
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Rougeman
New Member
Joined : Sep 2007
Posts : 7
Posted 9/16/2007 2:45 PM (GMT -8)
I have been onn Questran(4grams) for over 10 years now, and if I miss just one dose I am guaranteed to be up during the night with severe cramping and having to go to the bathroom a number of times, hard to get any sleep. I do find it hard to take the Questran brand of the stuff, it made me gag, since it doesn't disolve very well, but the light generic brands dissolve much better and easier to take. I find cholestyramine light and novo cholamine light both dissolve much better than Questran and have a better texture. I put it in apple juice which ends up tasting kind of like orange juice, but it is no too bad, just don't use water with it, it tastes terrible.
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Jen77
Veteran Member
Joined : Mar 2006
Posts : 2742
Posted 9/16/2007 6:29 PM (GMT -8)
It took more then one dose for me to see the effects. When I first started taking it, it was more like a few weeks before I saw the 100% results of it. Like Rougeman if I miss even ONE dose I'm back to having cramps, pain and D. Even if I take it too late in the day, I'll be in trouble!

The pill version didn't work for me, it was like taking nothing. I kind of figure it's the powder that really does the absorbing. Just my guess though.

I think it also takes time to get used to the taste/texture, although it's never going to be yummy. It also is a bit of trial and error in finding something that makes it more tolerable for you. I tried a few different things before finding one that I liked. I can't drink a lot of acidity juices either, so orange juice was out after a few days! One that I found okay was Orange Gatoraide. I now drink it with fruit punch. It alters the fruit punch taste, but it's managable.

As I've mentioned before, it won't work when my Crohn's is flaring. I'm just glad I started the Questran when I was in remission, otherwise I wouldn't have known what was going on. When the Questran stops working, I just know that my Crohn's is saying "hello".
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