Colesevelam User Reviews & Ratings (Page 3)

• Yay...
• November 22, 2014

For Diarrhea, Chronic "I had my gall bladder removed in 2007. Afterwards life was miserable! My GI dr had no real explanation and after few tests put me on cholestramine powder and life was good. But after 10 years and i am someone who travels frequently and also a volunteer firefighter it was bothersome to have a juice and bottle to mix the powder every morning. Also the meds didnt always provide 24 hr relief if i wasnt able to take dose at the same time everyday. I finally checked on welchol and although pricey after just 2 wks and 1 pill daily its almost like a miracle pill!! I can now say life is great!! No break through random episodes of diarrhea!!! Im now more relaxed to travel and enjoy not worrying if ill have an accident!!!!"

• Pjano
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• May 27, 2018

For Diarrhea, Chronic "Welchol work very well on the diarrhea I experienced after having my gall bladder removed. I take two at breakfast and have no fears of diarrhea any more. I like the fact they do not work through my kidneys or liver but the intestines sort of like kitty litter mopping up excess bile. These just went generic so the cost will come down. As an added bonus they will also work on my cholesterol. So in my opinion these pills are a win win!!"

• suzyE
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• May 11, 2018

For Diarrhea, Chronic "Like a lot of other people my IBS was misdiagnosed after 25 years plus, not only affecting my whole life - changing my personality, social skills; had CBT - hypnosis and a heck of a lot of money I've spent searching for answers, treatments. My husband has also suffered silently because his life has been also affected in lots of ways. How was it missed?!!! Mine is a very long story. However I would like to find out if there is a forum for people like me, I've been on colesevelam since last September, but I still have to take Imodium, up to 10 per day, is anyone else out there taking both, would like to know how they are getting on."

• GFgal
• February 25, 2019

For Diarrhea, Chronic "I was diagnosed with Celiac disease when I was 16. With a GF diet I had it all under control until this past summer. My symptoms came back full swing and with no indication of why. I had colonoscopies, endoscopes, MRIs, biopsies, etc. Doc discovered BAM (Bile acid malabsorption) as the cause for my diarrhea and cramping which occurred EVERY time I’d eat anything. It got in the way of my schooling, social life, work,e ven running errands. It’s almost ludicrous the amount of things it stopped me from doing as it got more unpredictable. Not a way to live at 21. We’re doing a trial of colesevelam. I take 3 tabs twice daily with meals which seems like a lot to me, but it is working so far. Some days I pair it with Imodium but that’s only if I don’t take colesevelam tabs at the exact same time each morning/evening. I am concerned about how it interacts with BC pills because of the amount I take each day (6 pills at 625 mg). Has anyone else been prescribed that high of a dosage? Did they lower it over time?"

• marie...
• June 15, 2010

Welchol (colesevelam) for High Cholesterol "I suffered severe diarrhea for many months after gall bladder removal (due to lipid "dumping"), until my doctor prescribed a similar medicine that worked great, but it was a powder which was inconvenient, so he switched me to Welchol which also worked great. The prescription was for 6 pills a day but I never needed that many unless I ate something ridiculously greasy and fatty for every meal, say, fried chicken with french fries and a shake. Otherwise, I just took 1 pill before lunch and 1 before dinner. None needed with breakfast because I just had fruit and skim milk. After about 8 years, my body adjusted to "no gall bladder" but this medicine helped me be able to keep a job and get out of the house away from the bathroom until then."

• Pjano
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• January 9, 2020

Welchol (colesevelam) "I had been having wonderful results from Welchol Prescribed for post gall bladder removal diarrhea. Before Christmas I filled my prescription with generic ...BIG MISTAKE... Trust me they do not work...went back tp Welchol brand...never use generic again!!"

• Ed79
• March 13, 2017

For Diarrhea, Chronic "I stared having mild diarrhea around the age of 12, around 4/6 times a day as I got older this increased and caused me to stop exercising, as it I had chronic diarrhea! I tried everything to limit it, including massive doses of Imodium but nothing touched it, at the age of 31 whilst suffering painful chronic diarrhea 20+ times a day and suffering constant exhaustion I luckily found a news paper article that highlighted bile acid malabsorption and after a few visits and another year of harassing a consultant I was put on cholestagel 625mg (colesevelam) which changed my life!! Unfortunately serious intestinal damage had been done which still causes problems with users, prolapses, blood and mucus but the chronic diaherra is cured!"

• Bird
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• February 4, 2022

For Diarrhea, Chronic "I have been taking Welchol for bile acid diarrhea for almost 15 months. My BAD is due to a long term blood cancer drug treatment (Revlimid) which affects the intestinal lining. At first it worked amazingly, then after about 4 months I started having trouble again. Reading reports on Drugs.com helped me to adjust my diet and increase my dosage which almost solved my problem. I now take two 625 pills, twice daily and it seems to mostly work. I still have loose stools about once a week, but it is easily handled. When that happens, I also take Immodium with my doctor's ok. I have had no other side effects from the Welchol. Smaller meals, rather than larger meals, seems to help me. After some online research, I also found that keeping my daily fat intake to less than 40 grams is key to success. I cook mostly with whole, unprocessed foods so it is easy to focus on lower fat ingredients. I also rarely eat red meat, mostly chicken and fish. No fried foods! Thank you Drugs.com."

• Cacao...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• May 31, 2021

For Diarrhea, Chronic "I had chronic diarrhea starting unexpectedly over 2 years ago. GI and Internists said “live with it!” Finally went to my hometown doc who ordered every test known with nothing found (thank you, Lord!). Took trial doses of zen pep and endocort with no stopping diarrhea. Finally he ordered welchol, 6 a day, helped some. Ran into my retired druggist and shared all this with him. He said, “Try taking Metamucil - it builds bulk in your stool.” HALLELUJAH!!!! This works. Regular every day unless I eat something greasy. I’m taking Metamucil Capsules, 5 each time I take 3 generic welchol. Generic Metamucil ok too. It’s been a miracle for me! Druggists are encyclopedias of info. I share the frustration of all posts. Try this combo. Hope it works as well for you."

• Sande
• August 22, 2015

For Diarrhea, Chronic "I had my gall bladder out in 2000. Then started the dreaded diarrhea! I would be getting ready to leave for work and a simple cough or sneeze would send me running for the the shower because I had accidentally leaked. I got to the point I couldn't take it anymore! It was truly ruining my life I had seriously considered something I won't mention here because my life was ruined with a cough or sneeze or lifting an object I was at my end. I started doing research on my own and found Welchol. I mentioned it to my Dr. On my next visit and she prescribed it. I've never been happier in my life!!!!! It helped a lot I had insurance then but unfortunately I haven't had insurance in 3 years so honestly I have to choose food or liquid poo!"

• happy...
• November 23, 2020

Welchol (colesevelam) "I'm 31/F. Had gallbladder removed summer 2019 and since then I had been living with an extremely volatile system with diarrhea. My stomach would get urgently upset once or sometimes multiple times per day. I thought it was just my system adjusting, but it got worse. I would have to leave meetings and RUN to the bathroom, take driving routes where I knew there were public restrooms, and I even started packing towels & cleanup items in case I had an accident. Then because of COVID helped because I was always close to a bathroom, but I felt completely hopeless about living a normal life. Wish I had seen a GI doc sooner, he prescribed me Welchol & from the first day it has changed my life it has stopped the diarrhea after having gall badder removed. I'm no longer living in fear and I can enjoy not being constantly worried about diarrhea. I'm bummed that I'll probably need this for life, but it is worth it to live without fear! Highly recommend. Only side effect is that I had to adjust my drug schedule. Apparently it can effect the accuracy of your bc."

• farrah
• October 29, 2020

For Diarrhea, Chronic "I had my gall bladder removed and after that I started having diarrhea constantly and was afraid to go on any kind of long car ride. I had to scope out the bathroom everywhere I went, I was so miserable. This drug colesevelam is wonderful, changed my life. Now I go to the bathroom once a day....and I only take one pill every morning."

• MsLan...
• April 24, 2017

For Diarrhea, Chronic "I had my gullbladder removed in 2004, resulting in always needing to know where a potty was at all times. After several Dr & 12 yrs of getting sick. I had a colonoscopy & endoscopy done where is came back normal to the naked eye but the biopsy didn't. It showed Mastocytosis (masked cell disease). Was put in Welchol before my procedure & it was like a miracle pill, after finding out what I had they changed me to Zertek & Zantak within three days I was back to getting sick. So back to Welchol I go & prob will never try anything else agian. Happy to finally not worry about when to eat & where the bathrooms are. Life is going to get better!"

• One...
• June 22, 2016

For Diarrhea, Chronic "Thank God I came across this website and many thanks to all the others who went though what I did. For 3 years following my gallbladder removal I have IBS-D. I tried to modify my diet, limit portions, herbal medications, remove certain foods from my diet, exercise more, ox bile, digestive enzymes, etc. You name it, I tried it! The final straw was living on Imodium. While Imodium helped, I realized it was not going to be a long term solution, so I began searching for another answer and thankfully came across this website. High cholesterol was not a problem according to my recent blood work, so I would have never thought Welchol would be a solution. Wow, was I wrong. As soon as I took a print down of this paperwork to my PCP, they said"

• Fire
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• January 15, 2019

For Diarrhea, Chronic "I take a lower dose than prescribed for high cholesterol. I also have had problem with diarrhea since gallbladder/and Nissan procedure. This has given me my life back taking two tablets once a day in the morning has solved my post gallbladder removal diarrhea"

• Rabbit
• Taken for less than 1 month
• February 13, 2020

For Diarrhea, Chronic "I was diagnosed with bile acid malabsorption following non-Hodgkin Lymphoma, and subsequent chemo'. Loperamide and careful diet made a difference but colesevelam solved the diarrhea straight away. Side effects included lower bowel pains, fatigue, sore throat and runny nose. I still had to avoid certain foodstuffs. I may switch between the two medications when I need to avoid fatigue."

• mike
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• July 5, 2019

For Diarrhea, Chronic "I have had IBS my whole life with hemorrhoids. I had prostate radiaiton proton three years ago and bleed all the time only a small amount at a time. I have had 7 bandings for hemorrhoids. I have been taking Welchol for diarrhea one twice daily and it is working well for one year. My normal pattern is two days of no bms and then the third day I have three normal bms and then 2 bms of diahrrea. Don't know what to do. Any help. Is this normal with Welchol."

• Cmab
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• September 3, 2023

For Diarrhea, Chronic "Chemo and radiation damage caused my problem. Had gallbladder removed in '92, no problems. Occasionally, spells of constipation were my problem. In 2010, I was diagnosed with anal cancer and during treatment, "Hell" began. Taking a sip of water caused instant diarrhea. Nothing helped to stop it. Things did improve, but like the others, I was always running to the bathroom. I felt housebound. I always had to make up excuses not to go out. Not until July 2023 did my GI doctor prescribe 625 mg of generic Welchol after I had researched my symptoms and came across bile malabsorption. (I can only afford the generic) Bingo, I finally can feel confident to socialize. I take 1-2 pills a day and that works for me. I know coffee and high-fat foods are triggers, so if I need to increase the dosage, I will. I will follow up with my doctor this week to discuss the best dosage. This medication has worked a miracle for me. I can't believe I suffered with it for 13 years. Much luck to all!"

• LAWIS...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• March 5, 2020

For Diarrhea, Chronic "If I take it morning and night as directed. I get bound up, so then I stop taking it and ruin my underwear as I can't make it to bathroom. Then I take it again.. and it takes forever to help me. I am either bound up or ruining my clothes. Imodium doesn't touch me.."

• Ski...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• November 29, 2022

For Diarrhea, Chronic "I’ve literally been taking Colesevelam for 2 weeks. And it’s working amazingly well. I have Crohns and had 2 small bowel resections. I have just been diagnosed with bile acid malabsorption (BAM) and life was pretty miserable. I’m a runner too so I had to dive into bushes"

• Anonymous
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• November 10, 2017

For Diarrhea, Chronic "I have crohn's disease and had my second bowel resection over a year ago. Experienced severe diarrhea and gas after every meal, no matter what I ate. Was prescribed Welchol -- 2 per day. I take it mid-day right before lunch, and it gets rid of all of the symptoms until the next day. If I ever miss a day, I'm back to square one. Nothing else seems to work for me, but this is a godsend."

• stefa...
• August 26, 2014

For Diarrhea, Chronic "I had my appendix removed along with some bowel some large and small intestines AND an ovary( due to infection... I was full of it... another story) and after 2 months of explosive diarrhea I to was given LODALIS (Canadian version of Colesevelam) I only take 1 a day but 2 if I go on road trips and I really don't eat because I'm afraid I will have to go but after reading these stories I will eat again. Thanks."

• foxy
• May 25, 2015

For Diarrhea, Chronic "I have bile salt malasorbtion colitis due to a right hemicolectomy years ago and after several more operations and only been given codeine to help slow things down .I have tried questran and colestid but found them gave me sickness. My new consultant recommended these but warned that they were hard to find. But they have completely given me my life back. I never thought that I would be pain free and diahorea free. My only problem is my chemist finds it hard to get them for me and the two other chemists do not keep them on their list. They are my life saver and I can now finally eat a whole meal!!!"

• SIBO
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• July 31, 2023

For Diarrhea, Chronic "Not all Colesevelams are created equal! I have been on Bionpharma's version for a year, which has been life-changing. My pharmacy filled the last one with Colesevelam manufactured by Cosette. I knew it was a different manufacturer within one hour of taking the medication as it is completely ineffective at alleviating my symptoms. I am exactly the same on Cosette's version of the medication as I am without taking any. Bionpharma's version, on the other hand, is a game-changer. If you are taking this med or prescribed and feel it is ineffective, I encourage you to try the Bionpharma version!"

• Swims...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• July 10, 2018

Welchol (colesevelam) for High Cholesterol "My doctor prescribed this in powder form for my cholesterol and triglycerides. I am unable to take statins due to extreme muscle pain and weakness. This has got to be the most disgusting form of medication I have ever had. It says don’t take the powder without mixing with liquid, however the medication will not completely mix with anything I have tried. It also leaves my mouth feeling like it’s turning inside out. The worst is a sensation that it is stuck in my throat. I haven’t taken it long enough to know if it is effective and may ask for the pill form."