← Return to New to exocrine pancreatic insufficiency (EPI): What helps?

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@lon

Thank you for info. I was diagnosed with EPI about seven weeks ago. At the same time I was diagnosed with H-pylori and a bad gallbladder. Completed medication for H-pylori and had surgery for gallbladder removal. Thinking I might need a re-test for EPI as it could possible have been misdiagnosed. What are your thoughts?

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Replies to "Thank you for info. I was diagnosed with EPI about seven weeks ago. At the same..."

It might be a good idea to be retested if you had a diseased or non functioning Gallbladder as these things can cause similar symptoms. Gall bladder disease or removal can be responsible in part or wholly for a condition called BAM or Bile Acid Malabsorption which can be manifested by, sometimes daily, floating light colored greasy stools that are partially formed or diarrhea. It can be accompanied by bloat and very smelly gas. There can be weight loss as well if you aren't absorbing vitamins well. If it were me, after GB removal I would let my system settle down and get use to the new way of Bile delivery from the liver to the intestines that is now a direct shot versus the metered doses of bile that the now absent GB use to provide once it received Bile from the liver. Your GB when it was working right use to store and meter doses of Bile to the intestines for digestion of fats etc. Without the GB the Bile is directly shot into the intestines 24/7. Alot of people will get loose stools from this until the system adjusts. The period of time this can take ranges from a week or so to months and in some cases years. Some people get lucky and aren't affected by it. So, this is why I think I would be rechecked for EPI