What's Goin' On? (TMI)
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| Tue, 07-25-2006 - 12:06am |
I wasn't sure where to post this. I hope I came to the right board. Forgive me if I haven't. All my life i've had constipation. Up until I had gallbladder surgery in Oct 2005 a month after I had my daughter. After that I never suffered from constipation again. I've had more loose watery stool. Anyway, just in the last month i'm having diareah ALL the time and every day. Sometimes I go up to 3-4 times a day. I will have to leave a store just to go home. This has never happened. I can tell when it'll happen though because I get very bad cramps and then I have to run to the toilet. Does this have anything to do with having my gallbladder out? My diet hasn't changed. Is this going to happen the rest of my life?
Second question... for a week and a half now i've been peeing a lot more often. I will go and then 5 mins later feel like I have to go again. It's a normal amount and it doesn't burn or anything. I've had so many UTI's and it doesn't feel like that. I go about 20 times a day now. Also, my pee is VERY dark yellow. I remember before I had my gallbladder out that my pee was really brown.
So, I don't know what's going on with me. I'm not pregnant. I often wonder if it's diabetes but i'm not sure. I had it when I was pregnant the second time. (gestational diabetes). I'd appreciate any info anybody could give. THANKS!!!!
EDIT TO SAY: The 'poop problem' doesn't happen with certain things I eat. For instance. It happens when I don't even eat anything most of the day. It also happened today. I didn't eat anything until supper time and I had tuna fish casserole. 10 mins after eating that I was having cramps and then went to the bathroom.













Edited 7/25/2006 12:09 am ET by kriskokitty


First of all Kristy...
I hope you have already made an appointment to see your doctor? Has IBS been ruled out, or not discussed yet?
I don't know if it is related to gallbladder removal, because I have had similar issues all my life, before and after surgery. I try to drink a lot of water to stay hydrated and my symptoms usually 'even out' sooner than later.
I will look for some info to share with you, but please make that appoinment now, OK? Any symptoms going on for that long need to be checked out. It could also be Gyne related, since you mentioned dark urine, which means it is very concentrated. I had urinary problems that were brushed off as menopause (I am older than you, I am quite sure), but it went away after a needed ovarian surgery.
CL of

<Good luck and I hope the blood tests don't show any problems. IF type II Diabetes is a possibility, ask if a change in diet might be helpful, before being put on any drugs. Drugs are 'easier', but life-style and eating adjustments might be enough to keep diabetes away.
She said for the bowel problem that it's normal after having the gallbladder out. So I guess i'll have to live with that. lol
If you feel that the symptoms are bothersome, don't ever accept that something is now normal and you have to "learn to live with it". This doctor may not know much about stomach issues and should at least be able to suggest things to try to alleviate your symptoms. If she can't, you need to see someone that can look into the possible reasons and also solutions.
CL of

<Normal???? Malarky!!!!! I have the same problems. All my life I battled with constipation. Then when I had my gallbladder removed I had constant diarrhea!!! It's now 5 years later and I still have it. In fact, when I got married last year I couldn't eat at my reception. My gastro was treating me for IBS until I made the comment that I had never had problems like this until I had my gall bladder removed. Turns out it's something called bile salts diarrhea. Diarrhea is common after the gall bladder is removed but it usually clears up within 2 years (at least that's what I've heard). One thing about bile salts diarrhea is that it causes your cholesterol to rise so keep an eye on your numbers until the issue is resolved. I'm taking a medication called Welchol which I really hate but it works well at controlling the diarrhea.
Like you, I don't have to even eat anything - it just comes anyway (I wonder where it's coming from when my stomach's empty!). One thing I can tell you is that oily or fried foods are almost guaranteed to set it off. A diet low in additives, preservatives and stuff like that seems to be good for avoiding the diarrhea (but IMO it doesn't taste very good - lol). Get something like the Welchol or Immodium from your doctor (I only have to take them every other day - which is annoying but at least it gets rid of the diarrhea for awhile).
With the odd and frequent urination, there is a condition called Interstitial Cystitis which mimics UTIs. The big tipoff for IC is that the tests for UTIs will always come back negative. But the discomfort of the UTI is there. There may be blood in the urine as well. During my worst flare up I was going to the bathroom every 6 minutes. Sometimes a lot comes out, sometimes just a dribble.
You can Google both conditions. Hope this info helps.