Have you ever heard of Habba Syndrome? Probably not. This is a syndrome that has been written about by Saad F. Habba, M.D., a gastroenterologist who has studied the link between the gallbladder and chronic diarrhea.

Patients who have Habba Syndrome have a dysfunctional gallbladder which secretes too much bile into the intestinal tract which causes the patient to have chronic diarrhea. Many are misdiagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), Crohn’s disease, inflammatory bowel disease, malabsorption, or spastic colon.

If a patient has Habba syndrome, he/she does not have abdominal pain and shows poor response to anti-spasmodic medication. Diarrhea in a patient with Habba Syndrome occurs after eating and does improve when the patient fasts. Patients often have to modify their behavior and some become housebound because their symptoms are so severe.

Many times patients who present with complaints of chronic diarrhea are told to take over-the-counter anti-diarrheal medication and that they just have to live with it. But now there is hope for those who suffer from this malady. It is good to know that there are some doctors who still want to figure out the mysteries of the body and continue to search for the answers.

After ruling out the standard causes of diarrhea, a patient undergoes a DISIDA scan which tests gallbladder function. DISIDA is an acronym for Diisopropyl Iminodiacetic Acid. Poor function of the gallbladder is a hallmark indicator that the patient could be suffering from this syndrome.

Treating this embarassing and life-style altering syndrome is basically simple: The constitution of bile acids is reduced with agents that bind bile acids, such as cholestyramine, which has been used with excellent results.

So to all medical transcriptionists: Add these medical terms to your list for future reference. The more knowledge we all have and share, the better off we will be. If you have such symptoms, as noted above, be sure to tell your doctor about Habba Syndrome. There are about 20 million people living with irritable bowel syndrome or have symptoms that may be mistaken for that. Roughly 10-15% of those may indeed have Habba Syndrome and not know it.