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Irritable Bowel Syndrome
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Posted 10/27/2005 8:45 AM (GMT -8)
Hi,

For the past couple of months I have been experiencing upper right quadrant discomfort with lots of diarrea. I have been to every doctor & have every test done: mri, ct scan of kidneys & bladdder, ultrasound of galbladder, hida scan, liver biopsy. Everything was normal. I finally ended up at the gastro, who said he thought I was having an impaction. He gave me that "go lightly" & it made my pain worse, cause I really have not been eating much, so there was nothing much in me to go to the bathroom. He also took an xray & that was normal. He also said he did not think I need to have a colonsocopy. I also take a lactulose for constipation. I was doing great for years. Could it be there is too much water & gas in my colon & thats causing my pain. It seems to be a little better after I have eaten a well balanced meal, but then it comes back. Also, a friend reccommend me to take acidolpholis. Has anyone had good results with that? I just feel like my colon is out of balance & it sure is taking a long time for it to get back in. Does anyone have an idea what this could be. Oh, I am not nauseated, or no fever & my appetite is good. I'd love to hear back!

Kim L.
Posted 10/27/2005 8:55 AM (GMT -8)
Hi Kim,
Welcome to the IBS board!
I know there are at least a couple people who can address your pain. Unfortunately, I cannot. I can, however, tell you that probiotics (acidophilus) are great for the bowels. If you think your "colon is out of balance" then maybe you could try acdidophilus. I know many of us here take it and love it. It is especially beneficial to take after a round of antibiotics and during (or after) a bout diarrhea. I usually take 2-3 pills a day, wich gives me about 4.5 billion live "good bacteria." The recommended dose is anywhere from 1-5 billion per day for about 3 months to get your GI tract healthy (well, as healthy as IBSers can get it). It's not uncommon to take it continuously, as I have. You can never do your system wrong by taking probiotics.
Hopefully you'll find the answers you are looking for here.
Take care, and keep posting.
Posted 10/27/2005 8:59 AM (GMT -8)
Hi, Thank you so much for thr quick response. Just wondering if thre is any particular brand of acidolpholis you can reccommend.

Kim.
Posted 10/27/2005 9:05 AM (GMT -8)
They are all good. I would suggest that you get a refrigerated brand. Most health food stores have a refrigerator in the pharmacy section... you can find the product there. Also, the more live cultures the better. I think Sarita mentioned she takes one with several billion live cultures per dose (my highest is 2 billion). You can also take a probiotic that has a mixture of several types of probiotics (all probiotics are good). I take 1 that has: L. Acidophilus, B. Bifidum & B. Longum.
Remember, don't buy one off the shelf that doesn't need to be refrigerated (unless you have no other choice).
Posted 10/27/2005 9:08 AM (GMT -8)
Kim, I forgot to mention... It is not uncommon to have a little gas and feel bloated when you first start taking probiotics. It is just like fiber, it takes a little time to get used to. It will pass.
Posted 10/27/2005 10:03 AM (GMT -8)

I take Nature's Way Primadophilus.  It's got L. acidophilus and a couple other yummies.  It does have a huge amount of live cultures, more than any other brand I've found.  I take 4-6 a day but most people can get by on 1-3.

Can you give us a list of every single medication/supplement you're on?  You've had a ton of tests done, including a liver biopsy, so it's possible the pain/discomfort could be something as simple as gas pains (which can be very uncomfortable).  You say you have diarrhea but are taking lactulose for constipation; which is more predominant for you?

Posted 10/27/2005 11:41 AM (GMT -8)
It took five or more doctors five years to diagnose my gall bladder problem, despite multiple tests. I've learned not to trust doctors when they say that "the tests" don't show a problem. My gall bladder had to get really, really bad before it finally showed up on a hydascan.

Is your diarrhea yellow and does it burn? Does your pain wake you up in the middle of the night? Do you sometimes hurt into your right arm or shoulder? Do you sometimes feel excessively full all of a sudden, despite not having finished a regular-sized meal? Does heat make you feel better? Do you hurt and hurt and hurt and then when you have a bowel movement, you start feeling better? When you are having problems, do you find it impossible to lay flat on your back?

All of those are classic symptoms of gall bladder problems, in addition to the pain in the upper right quadrant--which you mentioned having. Not everyone has all of those symptoms, though. Nausea/vomiting is also a classic symptom, but I only did it once in five years. I noted that you said you don't get sick to your stomach either.

If you just have watery diarrhea (no bile), then you might benefit from the Calrate 600 w/ vitamin D pills. Several of us here have found success with taking them. The calcium will absorb water and soothe inflamed intestinal walls (but doesn't help bile). But you have to be careful with them if you alternate between constipation and diarrhea; they can make you worse constipated.
Posted 10/27/2005 2:20 PM (GMT -8)
Sarita might spank me for this but.................

Dont ever go back to the Doc who sent you for the liver BX. She/he is either a complete moron or is just trying to make money. Liver BXs are nothing to do just a a blind guess. There could have been serious complications/problems. Did you have blood work done? If so did they do liver function tests? If you have elevated LFTs then a liver BX might be indicated, but a Doc that uses a shotgun approach / blind guess with INVASIVE procedures like that is a complete moron. A colonoscopy would be clinically indicated for abdominal pain and D before a liver BX. Man.... stay away..... where did this Doc get his license?
Posted 10/27/2005 3:05 PM (GMT -8)
No, Gawz, I totally agree with you!  A liver biopsy is almost never indicated unless LFTs indicate major abnormalities with no apparent cause or abnormalities found on imaging studies.  Just because I am going to be a doctor does not mean I think they are all infallible!  I think many of them are grasping at straws much of the time and doing invasive procedures that aren't indicated.  And that's wrong!
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