Posted: 09/25/06 - 12:20 Post subject: Chronic diarrhea for 3+ years
I have had chronic diarrhea for more than three years now. My gastroenterologist has told me just to take an immodium each day, but I'm worried both about the long-term effects of this, and also worried that there might be something more sinister behind these symptoms. The diarrhea seems to have very little to do with what I eat (in fact, it often occurs when I haven't eaten for 12+ hours). What could be causing this?
I also noticed that you had your gallbladder removed, so I would suggest that these two things could be related. Gallbladder removal puts more pressure on the liver that needs to produce bile and store it now once the gallbladder is out. Bile could be constantly seeping from the liver causing watery diarrheas from time to time.
Sometimes the diarrhea disappears some time after the surgery, sometime it stays as a permanent side effect.
Immodium seems to be safe on the long tracks and it may not cause any side effects if taken for a long time. There hasn’t been reported any tolerance due to long-term use but certain withdrawal effects have been reported if the drug was suddenly stopped.
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