IBS-D or Bile Acid Malabsorption = Habba Syndrome

Hi ya'll. My husband suffered from chronic diarrhea and fecal urgency for the first 10 years of our marriage. After I found out, I urged him to go to the doctor. Tests ensued, including a colonscopy. No diagnosis. He suffered.

Then, one day I watched a video about two women who were in such bad shape they couldn't leave their apartment even to get to work because of diarrhea. And their solution was to google their symptoms which returned the result "Habba Syndrome". Naturally, I had to learn all about it.

The basic principle is that the urgency to poop after eating is because your gallbladder is releasing too much bile (or something like that) into your small intestine as soon as you start digesting your food. Which made sense to me since they didn't find anything after the colonoscopy which is allllll the way at the end. So I told him about it and to go see his doctor about it.

I don't know if it was a new doctor or what, but the guy said "Oh yeah- Habba Syndrome. I've heard of that." The solution? Cholestipol. It's a medicine used to manage cholesterol. It works by binding to the (extra) bile in the gut so it doesn't cause diarrhea. Also, it doesn't seem to have any negative side effects. Made sense to me.

He came home with a prescription for it- it's cheap and commonly used. And it worked instantly. Well, maybe it took a day or two. Basically, he just doesn't get those symptoms anymore unless he forgets to take his meds. Hallelujah!

I don't know if this would work for everyone, but if you have those symptoms, it can't hurt to try. Here are a few articles for reference: Mayo Clinic says that IBS-D can be a case of BAM but doesn't mention a solution. This guy is dubious but he links IBS-D with Habba Syndrome. And here is some info about Cholestipol.

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TL, dr: Ask your doctor about Cholestipol. It's cheap, commonly used for another condition, has no negative side effects, and cleared up my husband's lifelong post-meal diarrhea in days.