J Pouch 8 weeks ago/diarrhea/travel

When I travel, as you plan to do, I really watch what I eat/drink in the mornings and the afternoons to help limit the number of toilet visits I'll need.  On long flights I'm not as concerned.  On bus trips, I am!  My strategy works for me.  I save eating for my evening meal but I do try to eat healthy.  Getting up to use the bathroom several times during the night doesn't bother me.  I am just used to it.  After 12 years of life with a J-pouch, it is rare that I can sleep through the night without needing at least one visit to the bathroom. 

Anyone who travels can get traveller's diarrhea, so the possibility of trouble isn't limited to J-pouchers. In any case, if I'm understanding correctly, you had one bad evening after eating immoderately. If that's correct then it sounds pretty normal, and also someting not limited to J-pouchers.

You're still getting used to your pouch, so this will get clearer as things evolve and get more familiar. I take some Lomotil if I'm going to be away from a toilet for a while. Since I don't have urgency I know I can take the time to find a toilet when I need it. I always try to eat moderately (mostly a question of quantity), and occasionally I succeed. Good luck and have fun!

CeeeeCeeee,

Can you please be more specific about eating breakfast and lunch?  Do you eat anything? What exactly do you eat?  I had a banana this morning w/ coffee(coffee probably a major no-no, it's hard to break old habits), and I didn't take anything anti-diarrheal meds, and I didn't make it to the bathroom on time.  Thank heavens I'm home.

Scott F.  I take 2 tablets of the Sam's Club version of imodium(loperamide HCI 2 mg.).  Does LOMITIL work better than the other stuff?  If so I will definitely ask my internist for a prescription.

Thanks for your help!

Connie

Lomotil works better for me than Imodium, but other people have the opposite experience. FWIW, I wasn't able to tolerate coffee until I got rid of my colon. Now I enjoy it every morning.

Be patient with yourself - get to know your body over time. Not every bad night proves a food intolerance, but it should make you watchful. Sometimes we just get garden-variety food poisoning or a GI infection.

Pack your immodium, lomotil, any stool thickeners or motility reducers that you like to use.

Most French parapharmacies have a pretty good choice of OTC meds and you can go into most major pharmacies and ask for them (they do not understand the concept of OTC, even non prescripiton meds are kept behind the counter)

You could eat simple meals (if you are going to restaurants) like fish and mashed or boiled potatoes...just ask them to hold the butter a bit.

Rice is international and you can find it everywhere...on these bus tours they have pre-fixed menues that they don't allow you to modify but usually they give you rice or potatoes...

They have these gourds of pudding or apple sauce that are easy to carry around with you and make for quick snacks...the applesauce is best for you.

In Europe we still use a lot of old fashioned remedies...activated charcoal is their go-to diarehea stopper and works well (My dad gave it to me all of the time) and can be purchased in pill form...works wonders.

Have fun

Sharon

Hi skn69,

Thank you for your input.  I had never heard of activated charcoal. When do you take it, and how much do you take?  I'll look for some in capsules tomorrow.  I read that you can't take medications with it, as it absorbs them, is that right?  Can you take it at night and have a diarrhea-free morning?

Thanks Again,

Connie

Yes, It absorbs pretty much everything...so take at a good distance from your meds.

I would take it morning and night when things got bad (beware...it makes for black stools...really freaky when you don't expect it)...it absorbs the liquids in the bowel and allows things to thicken up.

It is availible in most health food stores and is OTC so don't worry...you can also eat a slice of burnt toast (old grandmother's remedy) if you run out...doesn't work quite as well as the capsules but it will do.

Sharon