Neuroendocrine Cancer Diarrhea- building the jigsaw: Bile Acid Malabsorption

Neuroendocrine Cancer Diarrhea- building the jigsaw: Bile Acid Malabsorption

Diet and Nutrition, Patient Advocacy, Treatment
Before progressing, I wanted to emphasise this is not necessarily the same type of malabsorption caused by exocrine pancreatic insufficiency (EPI) which can potentially lead to something known as steatorrhea (amongst other things) but it can produce the same effect.  Steatorrhea is different from bile acid issues and is more related to fatty acids. But it's another piece of the diarrhea jigsaw. Bile Acid Malabsorption (BAM) and Bile Acid Diarrhea (BAD)Post-surgical diarrhea is probably something to expect in the early days and after time, adjustments can be made to cater for these side effects.  With NETs, particularly where there has been small intestine surgery, there can be a number of reasons which are totally unrelated to carcinoid syndrome. It's not just about having a shorter bowel, it's also about some of…
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Neuroendocrine Cancer and Pancreatic Enzyme Replacement Therapy (PERT) – the Digested Version (Nutrition Series Article 5)

Neuroendocrine Cancer and Pancreatic Enzyme Replacement Therapy (PERT) – the Digested Version (Nutrition Series Article 5)

Diet and Nutrition, Living with Neuroendocrine Cancer, Patient Advocacy, Survivorship, Treatment
After 7 years of avoiding pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy (PERT) since diagnosis, I finally asked for some on a trial basis at the end of 2017.  To be honest, for some time, I thought they were really only needed in the NET world for those with pancreatic issues (pNETs).  I've always known I've had some digestive issues related to malabsorption. However, I'm not losing weight - this has been stable for some years (but see below).  Plus, my key vitamin levels (B12 and D) were in range.  However, I had been struggling with a lot of bloating issues, thus the trial.  You know me, I like to research and analyse such things! I've actually written about a lot of these issues in my Nutrition series ..... so this is now 'Article…
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