I am posting this for the next person who is like me and is searching for info on how to tolerate Questran post-sleeve. I was prescribed this to control bile acid diarrhea from a dysfunctional (and now completely removed) gall bladder. I have suffered through diarrhea multiple times a day the whole time since surgery 7+ months ago.

Questran is a powder that comes in a can like Protein powder, or in individual sachets. It has to be stirred into a liquid. It doesn't dissolve but stays suspended. You need to put it with at least 3/4 cup of liquid or half a cup of liquidy fruit like applesauce or pineapple chunks.

People without sleeves can just chug it and be done. I have managed to take it just stirred into Water a couple times but have a really hard time keeping it down because it has a goopy and gritty texture and sits very heavy. So today I tried some experiments.

1. Tomato juice -- too thick. Came back up. I wanted this one to work because it would be a low-carb serving of veggies. Maybe it would work if I water it down a bit. I may try again.

2. In water with ginger cordial (flavoring sweetened with Splenda) -- tolerable but still gross

3. In half a cup of applesauce -- not terrible but gives the applesauce a gluey texture -- makes it take too long to get through it

4. In a cup of orange juice -- this is the ticket. It totally disappears into the OJ because it is already a bit thicker than water and has pulp. Assuming I don't dump from the OJ I think I am set.

Tomorrow I will try diluting the OJ with water and see how diluted I can get away with. I need to take this 2x a day once the diarrhea is under control and I don't love the idea of spending so many calories and carbs on OJ even if it is an all natural one.

You probably won't experience this problem but if you do, I hope this thread helps you. I hope Questran helps me and I can manage this problem and not have the one lingering side effect anymore.

Ok this will sound dumb but I think the juice got me accustomed enough to the texture that I can handle it with just Water now. I put it in a lidded tumbler and shake it up, leave it alone for a few minutes, shake it up again, and drink it. I have over a cup of water and maybe that dilutes it enough or maybe it is waiting a few minutes for it to mix with the water more. But it is tolerable. I've been using juice once a day and having it plain the other two times in the day.

Also it is definitely working!

Is Questran a sister medication to Actigall? I have to take Actigall (capsule 2x per day) for the first ~6 months post sleeve. It is supposed to reduce my chance of developing gall stones. I have not felt that taking it has given me any difficulties. If it is a product similar to Questran could you ask your doc if you could try it instead?

Is Questran a sister medication to Actigall? I have to take Actigall (capsule 2x per day) for the first ~6 months post sleeve. It is supposed to reduce my chance of developing gall stones. I have not felt that taking it has given me any difficulties. If it is a product similar to Questran could you ask your doc if you could try it instead?

Totally different things. Actigall is bile salts. Bile salts are what is causing my problems (too much of them). Your surgeon is trying to preserve your gall bladder function but mine is already gone.

Update: The Questran wasn't working unless I took it three times a day, which meant a whisk lot of carbs in the form of juice. My doctor has asked me to try Colestipol granules instead. It is a little stronger so I can take it just once a day. It mixes better with liquid so I can take it with just half a cup of juice without it getting gluggy. The only negative is it tastes absolutely disgusting with orange juice. It's too bitter to take with plain Water. We have some sugar free ginger syrup that you are meant to add to water to flavor it and I have been using that. Just fine. I'm going to try tomato juice too. The colestipol has the same mechanism as Questran, just a slightly different medication. This one is the ken that comes in pills in the US, but for every packet of granules I use, I would have to take 4 pills.

The good news is I have only had diarrhea once in the past several weeks.