Questran

If there are any questran users out there could you help me out?

I have been taking it for 8 days, started on 1 sachet per day and increased to 3 per day in line with prescription. Stools are firmer (and full of mucus and what looks like fat?) but I’m still going 6 times a day or more. Is that usual?

And is it common for the diarrhea to come back if you miss one days dose?

Thanks

[BabsyWabsy]

I think Questran is used to treat bile acid malabsorption and it has the chemical function of binding onto the bile acid so less of it ends up in the large bowel. When bile acid does end up in the large bowel it will cause osmotic diarrhoea as the bowel pulls water in as it tries to dilute the acid. Therefore, if you miss a dose, you may well get an episode of diarrhoea.

I can't comment on the visual appearance, sorry, but if it worries you, ask your gastro if it is normal when on Questran.

[JohnaB]

Hi there Addick1 I've been taking Questran for just over a year now - after 13 years of misdiagnosed IBS-hell. Also turns out I have an exocrine pancreatic insufficiency too - but a story for another day.

Couple of things to mention:

1) Yes - if you miss a dose, the food that went through without a sachet of Questran to follow, will come out as D. If you have Bile Acid Absorption (BAM), you will need to take Questran after eating, with every meal, forever. Don't forget the D that comes with BAM has a very distinctive characteristic - you'll know what I mean. Orange, fishy-smelling, oily, floaty, uncontrolled, water-like, type 1 D.

2) Questran should bring the D to a stop almost instantly; mine took 2 days to bring me back to 'normal'. The fact you're still going to the loo 6 times a day seems to be a good reason to check back in with your Doc. My Gastro doc has mentioned that there is no side effect to taking more than 3 a day, other than I'd be a bit bunged up. The 'fat' you might see in your stools, if they're little white specs, are indeed the bile acid sequestrant (the colestyramine in Questran) clinging to the bile/fat and coming out - pretty speckly poop for you from now on.

3) Questran dosage should change as per what you eat. For example, if you're having a really rich, fatty, sauce-laden dish: you'll likely need two sachets to "mop it up". If you're having a simple grilled chicken salad with no fat or complex foods in it, you could get away without even having to have one.

4) I find Questran works best if I sip on it throughout the meal, rather than right at the end. I often forget and just have to neck it, but sipping throughout does work best for me. I also invested £3 on one of the milk frothing battery-operated whisk 'things', which means the powder dissolves a lot better.

5) Try full-fat Questran and then Questran Light. I find although the Light doesn't dissolve as well, it works better for me. Many people find they have to take the 'full fat' version as the artificial sweeteners in Light affect their IBS.

6) When I first started taking Questran, my stools did remain mucusy - my doc said it was my bowel, after 13 years of irritation and Buscopan/Mebeverine/Immodium re-stabilising, and it would soon stop. It did for me after about 2 weeks.

Feel free to message me on here if you've any more questions

JohnaB

[Hidden in reply to JohnaB]

Thanks JohnaB, that is more information than my GP managed to provide. Really appreciate it.