Thick stools with cramps after eating.

Hi, Patricia. You’ve tried two treatments (stool softener and Cipro+metronidazole). Did you get better (in terms of cramping) with either one? Since you were dehydrated have you altered your water intake? Do you think you might have reduced your water intake before this started? In general, thick stools + dehydration suggests too little fluid being consumed.

I am sorry you are suffering! I would suggest drinking water: Before, during, and after every meal. And definitely exercise to get things moving. I hope everything works out

Hi, thanks for responding Scott and Lauren.  The stool softener helped although I stopped using them due to cramps.  The consistency is better but the cramping is still present but is less painful.  I drink over two liters of fluid a day.  I will be going to the doctor this week and will check back in with his diagnosis.  It is so helpful to talk to people who understand what I am going through.

@Patricia _ posted:

Hi, thanks for responding Scott and Lauren.  The stool softener helped although I stopped using them due to cramps.  The consistency is better but the cramping is still present but is less painful.  I drink over two liters of fluid a day.  I will be going to the doctor this week and will check back in with his diagnosis.  It is so helpful to talk to people who understand what I am going through.

You are welcome! Keep us updated and let us know how everything goes

My pouch is almost back to normal (for me).

After, the first night of cramping I discontinued the use of a melatonin product which contained the sweetener sorbitol, this type of sweetener can cause diarrhea.  I do not know if stopping these pills caused the thicker stools.

I always believed the cramping was related to the salad I ate as I experienced the onset of my symptoms after eating it.  My pouch calmed down after a few weeks.  I ate a backed potato with salad dressing on it and the cramping returned.   I looked up the ingredients for both of the brands of Ranch Salad Dressing I had used on the salad and potato and both listed buttermilk as the third ingredient.  I am reasonably sure the cramping and problems were caused by the buttermilk.  During the last two years I have been eating pretty clean so I have not eaten much dairy.  I believe that I have become lactose intolerant and very sensitive to buttermilk.

Since then, I ate a small bag of Doritos Nacho Cheese Chips and experienced cramps.  The fourth ingredient in the chips was buttermilk so I believe that my theory was reaffirmed, that it was in fact, the buttermilk and lactose that was the cause of my distress.

I am going to be very careful with dairy from now on.

@Patricia _ I’m so glad you’re feeling better and seemed to have narrowed down the cause. Once things are stable you could experiment to see if lactase tablets enable you to enjoy dairy products again (if dairy is important to you). Lactase may work if your problem is lactose intolerance, but won’t help if you have an allergy to milk protein. There’s also a pretty simple breath test for lactose intolerance.

Thank you.  I will look into the test.  I am so relieved to have found the cause.

Acute onset UC.

Go get an IV. There are dozens of strip mall hydration joints. I have found the docs can start hunting for solutions for the symptoms when it was just me getting low. I also found when I got a little dehydrated, I’d lose even more water weight quickly until I crashed.
Worst case you get a liter bag with some immune boosters. Best case you narrowed in on the cause.

@Patricia _ posted:

My pouch is almost back to normal (for me).

After, the first night of cramping I discontinued the use of a melatonin product which contained the sweetener sorbitol, this type of sweetener can cause diarrhea.  I do not know if stopping these pills caused the thicker stools.

I always believed the cramping was related to the salad I ate as I experienced the onset of my symptoms after eating it.  My pouch calmed down after a few weeks.  I ate a backed potato with salad dressing on it and the cramping returned.   I looked up the ingredients for both of the brands of Ranch Salad Dressing I had used on the salad and potato and both listed buttermilk as the third ingredient.  I am reasonably sure the cramping and problems were caused by the buttermilk.  During the last two years I have been eating pretty clean so I have not eaten much dairy.  I believe that I have become lactose intolerant and very sensitive to buttermilk.

Since then, I ate a small bag of Doritos Nacho Cheese Chips and experienced cramps.  The fourth ingredient in the chips was buttermilk so I believe that my theory was reaffirmed, that it was in fact, the buttermilk and lactose that was the cause of my distress.

I am going to be very careful with dairy from now on.

Yeah, before I was diagnosed with IBD, I was lactose intolerant but I still had some milk digestive enzymes in me. After I got full blown IBD, ALL of my milk enzymes were destroyed; gone. Maybe your IBD made you severely lactose intolerant too.

Thanks for the replies and tips.  I believe as I have aged that I have gotten lactose intolerant. 

I will have to make it a bigger priority to stay hydrated. 

Feeling better now.

@Patricia _ posted:

Thanks for the replies and tips.  I believe as I have aged that I have gotten lactose intolerant.

I will have to make it a bigger priority to stay hydrated.

Feeling better now.

You are welcome!!!

Yeah, drink water: before, during, and after every meal

Glad to hear that