Thinking I Have Malabsorption

Hi. Sorry to hear you feel like you are not being heard at your doc’s. I’ve battled gut issues for quite some time so I’ll share what helped me. I have no medical training - just patient experience. Two meds I use are Zenpep (or you could try Creon) to aid with digesting fats and Ondansetron (generic for Zofran) for nausea. I do suggest you have your gallbladder checked. It may look fine on a CT Scan but a HIDA test will tell if it’s working. I’d research a lot before having it removed though, as that can come with its own host of problems.
Could you be having bile reflux rather than acid reflux? There are meds to help with that such as Colesevelam or Colestipol (sp?).
Hope this helps some in your health journey.

Hi thank you. I don’t have a gallbladder. Zofran doesn’t help. Plus I’ve been scoped a couple of times. I’m thinking it’s not bike reflux. Thank you again for your response.

Currently on Creon RX for EPI. Have to take it every time I eat anything. 1 with snack and 2 with meal which is sometimes hard to define. I usually eat multiple small meals/snacks throughout the day. Creon was helping quite a bit but I'm back to diarrhea today when anything goes in. I have Celiac Disease - diagnosed about 20 years ago when in my mid 50s. I'm very careful about reading labels, don't eat out much and make a point of telling server I must eat gluten free. Sometimes I still get something contaminated that makes me sick. However, getting back to the EPI issue, I don't know if I'll be taken off the Creon and go back to short term Medrol dosepak which helped somewhat a few months ago. My weight goes down about 4- 5 pounds when the diarrhea hits but back up when I stabilize.

I understand. I had been overweight for most of my adult life I always tried to avoid fads, but was constantly on a diet. After years, COVID came and my husband had additional health issues that essentially kept us housebound for 3 or 4 years. I loosened up on dietary restrictions so we'd derive more pleasure daily. To my great surprise, I didn't gain weight. I actually had weight loss without trying. I attributed it to the stress of caring for my dying husband. It turned out to be malabsorption. At one level I didn't care. I was thrilled to weigh what I had in my early 20s. Ironically people who had known me for years would say how good I looked while my hair was thinning, my nails were breaking and I thought I looked like "death warmed over." Luckily my weight stabilized when I started on PERT.

We are told that the symptoms of EPI vary. But it's hard to understand how some can't gain a pound and others can't loose a pound.