FUSTRATED

 Tired of this up and down battle with my bowel movements. On Nov. 5th I had a bowel resection that involved the ileocecal area of my colon. Upon leaving the hospital on the third post op day I was feeling invincible, everything was going well. I expected for there to be diarrhea the first couple of days after surgery, and even a couple weeks. The problem is, is that my stool had completely formed at about two weeks post op, I thought that was the in of the D, but I was wrong. I got constipated a little a couple days later and took one dulcolax tablet, and I think that was a mistake. Soon came the D spells, it comes and goes. Its here for three day periods and its out of hand. I mean I eat or drink something and upon getting up and walking around I have to run to the bathroom, and I mean it is very watery and irritating. Last night I had to go around five times couldn't get any kind of rest. Then after two or three days of constant running to the bathroom, I may have two days of controlled bowel action, like I may go twice and my stools are a little formed. My appetite is somewhat depleted when this happens and the D kinda makes me not wanna eat, its so fustrating. I mean I can't even go out to places and walk around because of this, man I'm getting tee-d off with this. The surgery was all well and good but no one warned me about the emotional, and physical fatigued that comes with the post-op DIARRHEA. I mean I have tried eating a lot of bread to see if that can't offset it but its only temporary and sometimes doesn't work at all. Does anyone have any suggestions on what steps I should take to get this under control, to where I'm not running to the bathroom. I haven't even been able to put of the Christmas tree yet, let alone  my outside decorations. It looks like someone else will have the best house on the block this year.

Hi Steph Seems your not 100% yet. Can you give us a run down of what meds your on and did you start the metamucil? It has only been a month since your surgery and sometimes it takes a bit of time to get sorted. Are you on B-12 as a low one can cause D and gas. and lots of other side effects. Get back to your DR. about this too might help.

Your right there can be both after a surgery and it's not easy.

I haven't started my Xmas decorating yet either but then I"am never in a hurry .lol gail

My meds as of now are my usual pentasa 4x twice a day, metanx a multi-bvitamin once a day, 6MP once a day, my antibitotic three times a day flagyl. That's about it. I have started my metamucil as of yesterday so I guess that hasn't kick in yet. I'm just tired I guess wanting this to get behind me so I can go back to school in January, but if things don't calm down enough I'll have to wait until next fall and thats not good. Crohn's is a pain in the you know what.:(

How much longer are you going to be on the antiboctic? Oh so you are planning on going back to school in Jan. wow that sounds great so you still have some time to get feeling better. lol gail

Stephen,

Hi handsome, sorry you are having to slow down a bit. Some of us who try to control our illness naturally use bananas to help control the "D". Try eating 1-2 organic bananas per day, and make sure they are slightly over ripe. They should have small black spots all over them. The non organic bananas are "gassed" to help them last longer amd do not work well for "D". This has worked for me even when my transit time was very short. Hopefully we can keep you off the stool long enough to pick up women very soon!

Hi Since you are in a humurous mood keep that river fed a little.Your discription of your report was a bit funny though I must say. lol gail

I'm on one of my up days not having to go to the bathroom except for once a today. Got some decorations done, hopefully will finish up tomorrow if the D doesn't return, just praying that it doesn't right now. Although it was loose this morning I don't mine if I go once or twice a day but having to go every time I eat something just drains me and irritates my bum, thanks to my doc for given me the miracle cream called, "Analpram." Everything is looking up so far today, getting around great, cleaned up most of the house to day, making sure I eat to keep my energy up. Today I helped out with my grandfather a little, cleaned the room, washed dishes, glass cleaned, cleaned the bathroom, moped the kitchen floor, and hung decorations outside, and all without the pain of crohn's, "feels great!" It seems that I have figured what is triggering my D spells also, it seems everytime I try a little chinese food it gets me sick with D, maybe from the grease and onions, just trialing and erroring at this point.

Ooh OOH Stephx I think you may have found your problem. When you mentioned Chinese food a rememberence came to my mind. I was about 1 or 2 mos post surgery after my first resection and wanted chinese. I went and ate at a Chinese buffett and ate all kinds of stuff, one item being Broccoli and Beef. I got the worst gas pains and D for days from that and learned that Broccoli and Cauliflower were now off my diet. They both are big GAS causing veggies and that pain just is not worth it for me anymore. You might want to keep a food diary and note how certain foods affect you and avoid those that cause problems. I did try broccoli one more time and had the same result, so they are now no-no's for me. Since my surgeries there are certain things I can no longer eat, and you may find that there are some for you too. I can eat Chinese, but only mostly chicken and rice items. No crazy veggies for me anymore. Good luck!!

Welchol is another med used for the big D. Unfortunately, after my resection in 02 I was left with chronic diarhea. Not any fun at all. It has made my life a living hell at times. Susie

I hope you feel better soon!

Hope you are spending some time off your feet and feeling better.