Diarrhea after Gallbladder Removal Posted: 11-06-06 03:49am
I had a gallbladder removal last december
2005 and so far I had no big problem in
digestion. Although in some cases, I
experienced loose stools or diarrhea after
eating but it was not frequent.
Now, I observed that ther is an increase
in the frequency of diarrhea. Every after
meals I feel a discomfort that I would
have to move my bowels. This bothers me
and affects my activities especially my
work.
Pls. Help me how to treat this disorder.
What would I take and how much dosage do I
need for a time span? Also what diet is
preffered ( what fruits, etc)?
I heard about the cholestyramine and
aluminum hydroxide as a treatment of
diarrhea due to this disorder. Is this
safe?
Gallbladder removal may cause a TEMPORARY
digestive disorder that can manifest with
diarrhea. The gallbladder is a reservoir
of billiary juice that is important for
digestion of the fats found in the food.
Without the gallbladder, the billiary
juice is not expelled into the duodenum
when necessary (after eating food
containing fats) but expells billiary
juice continuously. An excess amount of
billiary acids and salts can cause
diarrhea when it reaches the colon. But
the body usually compensates for
gallbladder loss over time by enlarging
the billiary duct ; diarrhea vanishes
eventually in time. Cholestyramine and
aluminum hydroxide are used for treating
diarrhea after a gallbladder removal. Your
diarrhea, however, became worse 1 year
after the gallbladder removal procedure,
so we should be careful about its real
cause.
Diarrhea is not a disease but only a
symptom of a disease. There could be
various reasons for diarrhea beside
gallbladder removal: intestinal
infections, autoimmune inflammatory
diseases of the intestines (ulcerative
colitis, Crohn’s disease), various
malabsorption syndromes, irritable bowel
syndrome…
Microbiological examination of the feces,
blood analyses and colonoscopy can be
requested for establishing a correct
diagnosis. You should visit your primary
health provider and probably an
infectologist or internist specialist
afterwards.
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