Irritable Bowel Syndrome Message Boards | Importance of confirming your diagnosis

First off, I'm a newbie here, so Hi to all!

Secondly, here is my story, which tends to be a bit different than the one before me. I had my GB out last September. I haven't been so lucky now that my GB has been taken out. Sorry if this ends up being a long post folks!!!

but I felt I needed to tell the story of what has happened to me.............

The one "issue" that I had before hand that I was told would clear up after my GB was out never resolved itself.........chronic diarrhea. It's still ongoing. Soooooooo, after months of dealing with my unresolved issue (and also some other GI issues such as G.E.R.D., a hiatal hernia and multiple benign stomach polyps) I decided to go and seek the opinion of a GI doc instead of going back to the family doc and the surgeon who took my GB out (unfortunately, I didn't do this from the onset) and this GI doc told me I should never have had my GB out and stated that my chronic diarrhea all along was IBS (irritable bowel syndrome) NOT my GB!!!!!! angry.gif The GI doc said chronic diarrhea alone is not a symptom indicative of needing your GB out, especially if you are not having gallbladder "attack" pains. I mentioned to him about how my HIDA scan showed that my GB motility was only a 10% ejection fraction (which supposedly anything less than 20% shows you need to have it out) and how the surgeon told me if I didn't have it removed, it would eventually stop functioning and start to decay inside me (the surgeon called this "biliary dyskenesia", which is strictly a "motility" problem). Again, the GI doc stated that because I did not have GB "attacks" nor did I have any GB stones my HIDA scan was just showing that the GB was slow in metabolizing foods/bile properly not that it was going to quit working on me all together. He seemed very upset (not with me though) and said he wasn't going to get into a big "debate" as to who was right and who was wrong in their diagnosis because the damage has already been done and his job now is to move forward and try to help me deal with the IBS.

I just looked at him with my jaw dropped to the floor and wanted to burst into tears because NOW I have no GB for the rest of my life and have to deal with IBS x 2 (because I probably have bile salts malabsorption diarrhea on top of the IBS now too!!!!!) Some folks have told me to sue my family doc and the surgeon, but it's kind of hard to do that when it's a matter of opinion between doctors.

What he prescibed for me first instead of trying Questran, was to start taking "Citrucel" every day for fiber. I also started eating yogurt with Bifidus Regularis (a probiotic) on my own every morning for breakfast about an hour after I take my two Citrucel chews. Last week was the first week in a looooong time where I did not have virtually any diarrhea for an entire week in a few years. My BM's are much more formed, although still on the soft side, but atleast I am not chained to the privy 10 times a day like I was. I also have started to watch my fat intake and try not to eat things like salads, veggies or fruits without having some sort of "carbo anchor" in my stomach first. Additionally, I first tried doing the calcium supplement thing before going to the GI doc, but it really did not help me like the regimen I am doing now.

Although I've just recently started reading Heather's books (I bought both), it appears that it's pretty much going to be a "lifestyle" change with the foods I eat from now on, which isn't necessarily a bad thing.

P.S. I'm so glad to have found this website......keep up the GREAT work, Heather & company!!!!! Thanks for all your time and effort

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