can't get stool to bulk up

Hi Holly,

You don't mention if you are taking a bowel slower such as imodium or lomotil. You can take imodium, up to 8 tablets per day. Start with 2 tablets in the morning, and then take them throughout the day as needed, up to 8 in a 24 hour period. You'll probably have to play with the dosing schedule for a few weeks until you get something that works for you. For lomotil, you would need a prescription from your doctor. Many people do take it regularly, but I would caution that in my case, it left me feeling somewhat groggy so it's not something I'd want to take and try to function in a normal day. I'm sure you've tried the bulking foods, but rice, bananas, oatmeal, applesauce, greek yogurt and peanut butter can all help bulk you up if you aren't eating those already.

As for the painful hemorrhoids, your doctor can prescribe a lidocaine based ointment that might help with your discomfort. In the meantime, use a barrier cream like Calmoseptine after each bm, and you may want to switch to baby wipes as these are definitely less abusive than toilet paper.

Hope that helps!

Spooky (appropriately named for today's postings) covered just about everything. I would also suggest trying Metamucil wafers and see if they work better than the tablets. And if you can find it, Nupercainal is wonderful.

I hope you can get this little irritation out of the way so you can really start enjoying life.

kathy

Great suggestions from Spooky and Kathy. You are a ways out from takedown so I wonder what your diet consists of?

Sue

It is a spooky day!

One other thing we didn't mention is the possibility of pouchitis. If you have very frequent watery stools accompanied by urgency, a feeling that you are not fully emptying, aching in the lower back, etc, you may have pouchitis. Sometimes in the early stages pouchitis can be difficult to distinguish from the normal transition to having a j-pouch, but since you are about 8 months out you should be starting to see some bulking, and since you are not, it's worth looking at all the possibilities. I had pouchitis once, diagnosed 11 months post takedown. In retrospect, it was probably simmering for a while, I just didn't immediately recognize the symptoms for what they were. What you are experiencing could still be the normal adjustment, but it's worth having pouchitis ruled out.

Thanks everyone. I am following the majority of the rules and food rules also. My diet has gotten pretty bland. I wonder if sweet potato's are a no no. I do eat alot more of those than reg. potato's. I followed up recently with my surgeon and he said he didn't think I had pouchitis and is scheduling a pouch scope at my 1 yr. mark. I wonder if it could be a touch of it though. I have a call into their office now just to ask a few questions. Thanks all.

Holly,

Definitely a good idea to put a call in. Your doctor's office can often give you instructions over the phone without needing to book you in for an appointment. Perhaps your surgeon can prescribe a course of antibiotics over the phone, just to see if that helps you.

As for foods, everyone has different food sensitivities, though interestingly, yams/sweet potatoes do seem to increase my frequency (not in as far as watery stool, just MORE stool). But it doesn't really sound like your issues are entirely diet related at this point. You'd probably do better with a bowel slower, once pouchitis is ruled out.

Best of luck!

thanks! just got a call from the doctors office they are going to start me on a round of cypro I believe she said just to make sure I don't have pouchitis. Keep fingers crossed I just want to feel better

Anti-biotics will slow your gut, but obviously this won't last after you have finished them. Try omitting sugar, dairy, and grains. All these things can irritate your bowel and cause looser stool.

Marcene, thanks for the advice, I have pretty much cut dairy out of my diet for now. I bought some soy milk to just wet my cereal but haven't tried it yet. I usually take my probiotics with yogurt (which I can't stand) I seem to tolerate a small dip of ice cream in the evenings so will start putting my probiotics in there. This is the reason I post on this site when I need help, love all the feedback. I will keep you all posted getting ready to take my 2nd pill this morning. I sure hope it works. Take care.

Def feeling better on the antibiotic!!

That is good news! Sounds like you did have some pouchitis brewing. As Marcene says, Cipro will slow you down either way, but hopefully this will take care of anything that is brewing. When you finish the antibiotic, it's a good idea to start back on probiotics to maintain the good intestinal flora and help prevent the bad bacteria from building up again.

Thank you Spooky you really got me on the right track. I am starting my probiotics back up , half of a pack a day and will work back up to a whole package. Again, thank you!!

Holly,

I'm really glad you are starting to see some improvement. I'm happy to be able to help, too. I can't say it enough, but this site is just such a great resource.

Hope you've turned a new corner in your pouch journey! Please do continue to keep us posted!

I sure hope I continue to do a well after the cipro is over. And yes I totally agree this site is a godsend to j-pouchers. I can't thank you enough for your great advice.

Took my last dose of cipro this morning. I hope and pray I stay feeling as good as I have the last 10 days.