Posted 1/22/2009 1:21 AM (GMT -7)
Hi, this is a bit long, but I think you'll find some answers here.
I too had diarrhea, 8-15 times a day for 10 years! I was told it was IBS. I had several tests...all negative. I've had 3 scopes, ultrasound, and many blood tests...all negative. I've tried cutting out all kinds of things in my diet, but I never got the combination just right...because I really didn't know what was wrong and apparently neither did any of my doctors or the Gastroenterologists I went to see. I do a lot of reading on the Internet and as of 2 years ago I almost totally gave up on MDs and turned mostly to alternative meds, but they really didn't help either. That was because I didn't' know what was really wrong and it's so very easy to take the wrong combination of foods, liquids, or meds or alternative meds. Just think about how many different things you put into your mouth each day and then try and figure out which one is causing the problem or which 2 or 3...so my case was hard to diagnose,but I think I now have most of the answer.
The diarrhea is now gone and as long as I don't eat the wrong things and take my meds, I don't have any diarrhea, and no pain in my back and no pain under my rib cage or along my flanks and no indigestion.
Basically, I went on the general gallbladder diet and do not eat certain foods and I take my new meds daily and I take a beet recipe when I have any pain (which was constant for weeks until 4 1/2 weeks ago when I discovered web site with beet recipe, now I rarely need to take the beet recipe).
The gallbladder diet is basically to not consume any fats (nothing fried or made with most oils (some oils are OK) and to avoid certain foods. So I stay away from all fats (except virgin olive oil & flax oil. A few others are also OK), I don't eat any eggs, no sugar (this is because I'm hypoglycemic, and I've also found that sugary foods, cake, candy, ..basic sugary junk food, will cause me to have diarrhea), I don't eat red meat (I have some arthritis), and don't I eat any dairy (I'm also lactose intolerant). I don't drink any caffeine or alcohol. I mostly drink bottled water.
Also, I take my new meds 2 xs a day and I take my beet recipe as needed and I keep my life calm as possible. As most of you know, getting upset (good or bad) will bring on diarrhea. So now, being calm is very important and when things happen that are upsetting, I take Kava Kava that I get at my health food store, Sprouts. It works very well for me.
After 10 years of diarrhea, a ruined career, loss of friends and family, loss of my marriage, and spending the last 2 years reading and researching day and night to find what I could do to stop my problems, I found the web sites that gave me the keys to end my problems. Approx 3 1/2 weeks ago I found a really great web site that was crucial to relieving the pain and leading me to the Dr. 's web site where I found an explanation and diagnosis my problem and the meds I now take. These web sites told me what would work, what I needed to do 1st and what meds I needed to take and the recipe I need to make and take hourly.
So, 1st things 1st. If you are having pain under your rib cage, on the right side or on both sides or at the top of your stomach or in your mid back, or along your flanks and you have diarrhea, you need to get rid of the pain before you can do anything. Pain stops all of us dead in our tracks....even if we manage to do some things, we will not be at our best. So, if you are in this type of pain and have diarrhea and have symptoms like all/most of the other people here who have IBS, then...go to gallbladderattack.com and read and see if the beet recipe will work for your symptoms and it does..then make it up and take it ASAP! It really does work and it will stop the pain in just seconds of taking it and it even tastes pretty good! I've used it many times.
Now that I'd stopped the pain, I still had the diarrhea, so I continued to read the web site and found some hints that led me to do more research until I found the web site of Dr. Habba... (habbasyndrome.com). That was where for the 1st time in 10 years I actually saw my symptoms described in print. My symptoms actually had a name! Habba Syndrome. All the other web sites I'd been to only had part of my symptoms or I only had part of their symptoms..either way...I still had my problem. Dr. Habba's web site does a wonderful job of making the info easy to read and quick to give you the name of the Rx that will control the diarrhea. The medicine he prescribes is Cholestyramine and guess what...it's an old drug to lower cholesterol (and it stops the buildup and continual flowing of the liver bile...which was causing my diarrhea).
Three weeks ago I went to a new gastroenterologist and gave him a print out from Dr. Habba's web site and asked for Cholestyramine, the medicine that Dr. Habba prescribes. I was thrilled that my Dr. gave them to me. My past gastroenterologist would not listen to what I'd found on the Internet, so this time I printed the info off the web site and guess what...the new Dr. agreed and gave me an Rx for the new meds!
So my suggestion is any info you want to present to your Dr., print them out off the web site where you find them and give those nice new copies to your Dr. in a new, clean, file folder (An really good presentation still counts for a lot!)
As soon as I left my new Gastrologist's office. I had the Rx filled and as soon as I got home, I mixed it up and drank it (it's a power to lower cholesterol). It taste's OK, but a little gritty. It's tastes better with cold water than room temp. water. The diarrhea slowed down immediately and within 1 day it was totally stopped!
That's where I've been at for 3 weeks now. Other than I'm now getting to eat lots of foods that I'd given up on thinking I could ever eat again! I just learned that there is lactose free ice cream...and boy does it taste good after 10 years of going without it! I go back to my new gastroenterologist on Feb. 9th. and I feel really good that I've finally found something that works.
What I'm now taking is: a power you mix with water, 2 times a day, named Cholestyramine. I also keep on hand, all made up in the frig, the beet recipe(which I hardly ever need now, but it's like a security blanket for me, so I keep it all made up in my refrigerator :). The beet recipe is 1 grated up organic beet, juice from 1/2 a lemon, and 2 table spoons of fresh flax oil(you can get the oil at a health food store), but you will need to go to the web site (gallbladderattack.com) to see how often you need to take it and in what amount.
In my case I needed all 3, the diet, the Cholestyramine, and the beet recipe. I'm now feeling fine and eating many foods I've not been able to eat for many many years. After all my reading, I think (and hope) this is really an answer to my problem. I hope you all have as good luck as I've had......my best wishes to all of you...I know how you feel!