Questran Might Help Irritable Bowel Syndrome
Sometimes, after gallbladder surgery or other abdominal surgeries involving the small intestine, the patient experiences irritable bowel syndrome with diarrhea. IBS is a condition characterized by persistent diarrhea and, for many people, episodes of constipation. However, many sufferers of IBS experience the painful diarrhea exclusively.
For some people, the pain of abdominal surgery never ends because the unintended result is repeated trips to the bathroom where loose stools and digestive acids cause excruciating pain and physical and emotional exhaustion. Typical suggestions to control this type of IBS, such as relaxation techniques, psychotherapy, and a careful diet often produce unsatisfactory results. In order to deal with the diarrhea, people will take OTC treatments, such as daily doses of Imodium, to delay and reduce the number of the trips to the bathroom. Others will take massive doses of dietary fiber supplements. The only solution, for many people with IBS with diarrhea, seems to be a constant and daily intake of codeine pills, an addictive narcotic normally used to control pain, but with the side effect of slowing the bowels.
These types of solutions have consequences that make their use a barely tolerable alternative to the physical pain of the IBS. Imodium controls the diarrhea by temporarily suppressing the need to go to the bathroom, but often the delay results in an even worse bout of pain and diarrhea as the medication wears off. Also, no one is certain what the long-term effects of the OTC drug may have on a person. Narcotics are addictive, and many physicians are reluctant to prescribe them to patients. A very real consequence is the patient begins to take the codeine, not for the treatment of his or her diarrhea, but for the narcotic effect it has on their minds. Fiber pills, while effective, require a person to take huge doses of more than 20 capsules each day in order to control the incidence of diarrhea.
Questran may be a solution.
The drug is usually prescribed for patients with high cholesterol, in order to bind bile acids and reduce the absorption of the unpopular substance. But for many users, it has the side effect of causing constipation.
The drug comes in small packets of powder, which the patient mixes with water, juice, or perhaps applesauce. He or she then drinks or eats the Questran.
Many people only need a single 4g packet each day, while a few need more doses to bring their IBS under control. Some users report one of the unpleasant side effects is flatulence, while others have had no problems.
The sheer agony of diarrheal IBS makes the solution of Questran an attractive alternative to the hassles and dangers of the other treatments available. Persons who are interested in this treatment should discuss it with their doctor.
