Doreen,

YOU ARE WONDERFUL. I understand now so many things. I understand why I am losing weight (D) and WHY I have (D)! I understand why an EXTREMELY HIGH fat diet works wonders for me. I understand why taking benefiber (soluable but not bulk forming) promotes D and now I take psyllium along with it - IMMEDIATE RELIEF from D - wow. I understand that I have too much bile in my system and eating fat will help lessen that, however it does promote D in me and causes more weightloss.
I'm nearing 100 pounds at 5'4". I hug you Doreen. As you know, I've been struggling to understand what is going on with me. For a while I though it was yeast related/NOT anymore. You and everyone else now can see how the Atkins diet has HELPED me so much since so many other ingredients in carby processed foods would not only be WAY too low in fat to make me feel better or contain "triggers" and "irritants" for my system (pepper, alcohol, caffeine, sugars, fermentable starches (gas) - and more all very irritating to sensitive intestinal tissues. I've had burning and puritis ani too -and so embarassed asked about that here. You suggested to eat more fat to absorb the bile and I DID and it worked!!! I was getting those rashes NOT due to yeast - but due to the side effect of eating a diet with not enough fat to absorb the bile/effecting my skin in that area. I understand now that these tests they are going to do will eliminate other problems that could be causing this - despite the fact that these symptoms started immediately after gallbladder removal in 2000.
Once eliminated, they will give me Questran and I will try that for a while, but if I prefer just to eat an extremely high fat diet I may not continue to take it and just manage my condition with the wonderful Aktins diet and psyllium...people have done that successfully before, but you must continue to eat frequent high fat meals and snacks all day. I have heard good and not good things about questran.

So Doreen. Through your information and my WAY overthinking of this problem - it's clear. I have too much bile in my system due to removal of gallbladder and should either be on questran or continue high fat diet and just live with the D, which I don't mind all that much, but I don't think it's very healthy - I do supplement with potassium and a great multivitamin low in magnesium (promotes D) with extra B vitamins. Too much vitamin C (megadoses) can also promote D. I found an excellent website that will help anyone with my condition IBS or other conditions :

http://www.ibsgroup.org/main/drugs.html

I have learned SO SO much. So, this is not totally NON-atkins related. In fact it is EXTREMELY atkins related because staying on this high fat diet has helped me tremendously/lessens pain inside, while promoting weightloss. Now D is not a healthy way to lose weight, but when I started eating all that fat my skin, hair and nails became beautiful and yes, fat does make me feel full (not for very long, but it does) so yes, I am absorbing some fat - yes and I think that is very good -I'm not deficient in vitamins etc....like you can get if you can't absorb ANY fat. In fact, I would guess that I AM able to absorb all the fat I need, but the D is promoting some weightloss regardless - but past my Atkins goal still.

Doreen. How do you know all this stuff and explain it so well? You must be a nurse or a physician. I thank you, in tears as I sit here, for helping me understand (corny but true). I know that this is very loosely related to lowcarbing/but it is in a way. And I am certainly on THE RIGHT DIET - can you imagine how much trouble I would be having on a very low fat diet right now?? Wow.

So my diet will remain the same. I will go through extensive testing this month and they will probably tell me that I have too much bile and put me on questran. I will probably use it at times when there isn't alot of fat around to eat or if I get the D too much.

I KNOW THIS must have helped someone...because it helped me.
Thanks again.