Cholestyramine Alternatives Compared

For Irritable Bowel Syndrome: Had stomach and bowel issues since my teen years.. unpredictable and no warnings.. tests done.. nothing found.. had gall bladder removed in my early 60’s and made stomach and bowel issues ten times worse. Started taking Prevalite (cholestyramine) 1 pack a day and I can finally eat without cramping and bowel issues within two hours after eating. I take in morning with orange juice. I notice a little bloating but nothing else..if I miss a dose the diarrhea comes back with a vengeance. I drink plenty of fluid to prevent constipation. This medication has changed my life. I’m 69 so if I need to take it the rest of my life it’s okay. It’s better than being bathroom bound!

For Irritable Bowel Syndrome: I’ve been on first Questran then Colestyramine for spastic bowel syndrome , a form of IBS, since the mid 1990’s. I first took it with Metamucil and always at night time. After taking it for 25 years, 1) I realized Metamucil is a softener and stopped that right away 2) realized that it needs to be taken with food , to allow for absorption. Things are much better now since making the changes. I still have the odd bad day, but I’m 100% better than I was. I noticed over time my weight fluctuates and find it hard to lose . My hair is also getting thinner which I never attributed to this medicine. I’ll be on this the rest of my life but I figure if it works then I’m fine with that. I just wish my hair would stop thinning!

For Irritable Bowel Syndrome: I have been taking dicyclomine for 4 years for painful cramping. Yes it does work exceptionally well for that. Unfortunately, I am one of the few that gets the dizziness and I lose balance from it. I am 51 years old and have fallen in parking lots, at home, trouble carrying my grandkids. That, however, does not stop me from taking it. The pain without it is just too much. It literally takes all the pain away.

For Irritable Bowel Syndrome: I tend to only need this once a month or so. When the cramps begin, I take one pill and with 30 minutes the Cramps are gone, and the visits to the rest room every 5 minutes stop. Before I had this to take, I tended to end up in the ER within 2 days of the cramps starting and keeping me awake for 48-72 hours of trips to rest room every 5 minutes. GI Doc is not sure if it is IBS at all, but the fact that this med fixes it in 30 min instead of having to spend days in hospital anymore is a big bonus. I was prescribed 2 times a day, but found I only need it once the cramps start, and then they are controllable. Sometimes I will need it for a few days, sometimes it will be one pill then no more for a month.

For Irritable Bowel Syndrome: I’ve been dealing with IBS-C and stomach pain for a few years now. At first I was just managing it with over the counter probiotics, enzymes, fiber gummies, etc. but overtime everything stopped working. I needed something stronger once my stomach cramps got so bad it lead me to throw up and have awful diarrhea. My doctor prescribed me bentyl for the stomach cramps. I take bentyl as needed anytime I feel the onset of my stomach cramps, but typically I don’t need it more than once a day. As soon as I take it, the cramping subsides and I no longer get to the point of extreme pain. But in my experience, once my stomach cramps get to their worst point, I don’t find relief with bentyl. It only works for me if I catch it in time. I often feel my heart beating faster than usual, along with some drowsiness when I take it. A much better feeling than the cramping though. Also at times I feel it makes me more constipated, so I try not to take it too often since I have IBS-C.

For Irritable Bowel Syndrome: I didn't have health insurance and assumed the treatment for my stomach problems would be high, so I avoided going. After, probably 2 years of diarrhea, bloating, horrible stomach cramping, etc. on a daily basis. I finally consented to going to our local town doctor. He prescribed me Bentyl at the highest dose (20mg 4x daily) and right after the first dose, I could feel the relief. I've been taking it for a little over a year now and it is a gift from God! It has helped me so much!