Hi everyone,
I am a newbie and my Dr. put me on Cholestyramine. I have been on it for two weeks and it is making me really sick.
I am constantly nauseated and feel like I am going to throw up. It is also giving me daily headaches.
I was wondering if these symptoms go away, or should I take a half packet, instead of a whole one. I already feel sick from this condition and don't want to feel worse.
I see my Dr on the 23rd. He also ordered a CAT Scan on the 22nd. Any idea what that is for? He didn't say and I didn't ask.
Thank you in advance.
Question about cholestyramine
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Hi Paddy,
You didn't specify how well the cholestyramine is controlling the diarrhea. If it has reduced the diarrhea, those may be symptoms of constipation, due to motility slower than your body needs right now. In that case, reducing the dose might help. The proper dose of cholestyramine depends on personal needs, and it has to be carefully regulated. On the other hand, if it the drug hasn't helped, then there's not much reason to continue taking it, since it's just making your symptoms worse.
The CAT scan is to look for any other causes of your symptoms, but such scans are virtually always a waste of time and money for MC patients. They never find anything new. All of your symptoms are almost certainly due to your MC, but many gastroenterologists do not realize how complex the disease actually is.
But this is just my opinion, and I'm not a medical professional.
Tex
You didn't specify how well the cholestyramine is controlling the diarrhea. If it has reduced the diarrhea, those may be symptoms of constipation, due to motility slower than your body needs right now. In that case, reducing the dose might help. The proper dose of cholestyramine depends on personal needs, and it has to be carefully regulated. On the other hand, if it the drug hasn't helped, then there's not much reason to continue taking it, since it's just making your symptoms worse.
The CAT scan is to look for any other causes of your symptoms, but such scans are virtually always a waste of time and money for MC patients. They never find anything new. All of your symptoms are almost certainly due to your MC, but many gastroenterologists do not realize how complex the disease actually is.
But this is just my opinion, and I'm not a medical professional.
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.