# bile regurgitation/gurgling



## clyro (Jul 18, 2007)

i was diagnosed with ibs in may after an endoscopy finally ruled other health problems out but solved my worst symptoms- i was having these gurgling/croaking noises rising from my chest to my throat and it was revealed that there was a presence of bile in my stomach (normal) but ibs was causing "bile regurgitation." my doctor basically described it as an irritable bowel throwing up the bile, which i can then feel coming up from my stomach.nothing seems to help the symptoms except to not eat. on top of this, i can find absolutely NOTHING on bile regurgitation. i'm wondering if it's the same thing as bile reflux, or different? he said acid reflux is not the culprit, but i feel acid in the back of my throat every single day, and i know that more acid is produced to counteract increasing bile. i have no idea if this is a dangerous condition to have, if there are great medications out there, what to do- he barely addressed this aspect of my ibs.i'm really desperate at this point to just find anyone out there who has suffered through this, knows anything about this, has any advice, etc. i'd take all the noises and discomfort from ibs better if i could only get rid of this loud and gross gurgling, which has hugely impacted my life. it makes it a lot worse to find no information on it whatsoever and to think i'm a really odd case- but my doctor didn't seem to think "bile regurgitation" was unusual at all judging by his disposition. any feedback is deeply appreciated!


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## UTSophie (Jul 20, 2007)

You know, I know what this feels like! I actually had my gallbladder removed recently, since it didn't work, thinking getting rid of it would rid me of my symptoms. I actually get those noises in my gut...I tried acid reflux meds, proton pump inhibitors, and they didn't help. But I often get this bloated/burpy feeling, and I have this horrible taste in my mouth but it's not acidic, just awkward. It's usually associated with gas, but I didn't know that bile could come up with IBS. My mother was diagnosed with bile reflux, and the doctor just gave her a proton pump inhibitor, but they don't always help since they're intended for stomach acid. I know it's frustrating because I can't find anything that works either, and my problems get worse after eating too (I've also had an endoscopy that came back normal). My doctor is thinking of giving me something called questran for my possible bile problems; questran is supposed to lower cholesterol, which bile holds, so it's supposed to lessen the impact that bile has on the digestive tract. This is all I've discovered. I'm not sure if bile reflux is the same as what you have, but it kind of sounds like it. Good luck, I know how you feel...and I know it gets frustrating when everyone keeps thinking it's acid reflux when it isn't!!


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## Shazzy (Aug 1, 2007)

clyro said:


> i was diagnosed with ibs in may after an endoscopy finally ruled other health problems out but solved my worst symptoms- i was having these gurgling/croaking noises rising from my chest to my throat and it was revealed that there was a presence of bile in my stomach (normal) but ibs was causing "bile regurgitation." my doctor basically described it as an irritable bowel throwing up the bile, which i can then feel coming up from my stomach.nothing seems to help the symptoms except to not eat. on top of this, i can find absolutely NOTHING on bile regurgitation. i'm wondering if it's the same thing as bile reflux, or different? he said acid reflux is not the culprit, but i feel acid in the back of my throat every single day, and i know that more acid is produced to counteract increasing bile. i have no idea if this is a dangerous condition to have, if there are great medications out there, what to do- he barely addressed this aspect of my ibs.i'm really desperate at this point to just find anyone out there who has suffered through this, knows anything about this, has any advice, etc. i'd take all the noises and discomfort from ibs better if i could only get rid of this loud and gross gurgling, which has hugely impacted my life. it makes it a lot worse to find no information on it whatsoever and to think i'm a really odd case- but my doctor didn't seem to think "bile regurgitation" was unusual at all judging by his disposition. any feedback is deeply appreciated!


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## Shazzy (Aug 1, 2007)

I can totally understand where u are coming from. I have suffered from severe IBS since I was 18 and am now 29 I have had ongoing tests over the years which showed that I had a hatus hernia and bile reflux. I didnt realise how bad this bile reflux was, but earlier this year I got gall stones and ended up getting my gall bladder removed so now the bile reflux is loads worse. My symptoms are severe stomach cramps which are really loud and embarasing, feeling bloated all the time, constantly feeling sick and over the pas couple of months I have now started being sick. I have been able to do nothing this year at all it was has been a nightmare. Bile reflux is very hard to treat and I am still not sorted yet. I was on alot of combination drugs like omeprozole for acid, domperidone for IBS, cylizine for sickness and altacite suspension for the bile. I was still being sick so this week my consultant has now changed my medication so I am on domperidone and now I am on questran. I have to admit so far this is looking really good the sickness feeling is not so bad and I havnt been sick. My bowel has also slowed down which has also reduced the noice to. This might be an option for you as you sound very similiar to myself and I so understand how you feel with not getting any where with it - unfortunately there isnt any easy cure but this might be a good one for you. Good luck


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## clyro (Jul 18, 2007)

thanks for the replies, guys. i finally saw my doctor again and he did confirm that by bile regurgitation, he meant bile reflux. he said it's not uncommon for people with ibs to have acid and bile reflux, but kept saying how getting rid of stress is key. he put me on xanax and reglan and i've already noticed big improvement. i still have the symptoms of ibs like gas, bloating, etc. but the reflux isn't nearly as bad now. i can bend over and move around without fear of feeling fluids chugging up my esophagus. reglan may be something you want to ask about if you haven't tried it- but, according to sources on the internet, you can't really take reglan for more than 12 weeks, so i've no idea what i'll do when my time's up. i'll keep that medication questran in mind, shazzy and utsophie. the connections to gallbladder problems are interesting- my mom had to get her gallbladder out at my age, so i should have asked my doctor about that. shazzy, i'm so glad your symptoms have improved. i know what it's like to have done nothing because of ibs- my life nearly came to a screeching halt ever since symptoms started, i've been too physically miserable and stressed to feel i can get anything accomplished. sophie- has your doctor ever talked to you about surgery? i brought that up with mine and he said it's done, but as a last resort.


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## UTSophie (Jul 20, 2007)

Glad you got it cleared up! It's so frustrating thinking we're the only ones with some condition or another.I actually did have my gallbladder removed. My gallbladder had an ejection rate of 17%, and I think it's supposed to be around 70%...I also tried two kinds of proton pump inhibitors but they didn't help, and I was literally unable to eat anything nor sleep sometimes even an hour because of the pain/burning. I still have some reflux, but it seems, following the gallbladder removal, I have more bloating/gas type of indigestion. I know some people don't have any symptoms after gallbladder removals while others do; I would definitely agree with the doctor about it being a last resort...I do miss my gallbladder







, but I was pretty sick with it beforehand. Good luck


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## clyro (Jul 18, 2007)

wow! that was pretty serious. i'm glad having it removed helped, but am sorry you continue to have symptoms. by surgery i meant for the bile reflux- i don't know much about it, but from what i've read people get it when medications fail or when people would rather not be on medications forever. it might be non-invasive or something that's not done lightly- i'm not positive, but at least that might be an option down the line if things don't turn around. good luck to you, too. it's such a relief not to be alone with these health issues.


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