ANONYMOUS’S PERSONAL STORY

I am a 67 year old female who has suffered digestive problems most of my life. After having acute pancreatitis at 25 caused by gallstones, my gallbladder was removed. Then came more problems. I am apparently one of the 20 per cent of gallbladder cases left with excessive bile dump into the intestines causing D. The D became so severe 5 years ago that I underwent a colonoscopy and was told that I had microscopic colitis. Then I had another colonoscopy in 2014 and the pathology showed no MC. Now I’m told it is IBS-D. Maybe this is what you are told when the doctor doesn’t really know what’s going on. The strange part is I don’t have the pain associated with IBS. Just a gushing in my gut after I eat and a lot of times I don’t make it to the bathroom in time. I was back to the GI doctor 2 weeks ago after having been up since 3:00 AM with chronic D. I have soiled bedding, carpet and clothing for some 4 years. I was scared to go to sleep at night fearing an accident. He prescribed Xifaxan for six weeks. Not sure if anyone here has tried it. From the first day I took it worked. I feel almost normal! It’s an antibiotic that is absorbed in the intestines. So far, no side effects. Quite expensive – 2 pills per day at about $30/dose. The long term results of the IBS-D treatment are a little iffy. It’s possible that the symptoms will return and a re-treat will be required. I’ll wait and see. I also take Questran for bile absorption and Immodium on a daily basis. Quite the cocktail. For now, life is good even if it doesn’t last forever.