I too had upsets from colon cancer, after my temporary colostomy was reversed (13 years ago). While I didn't experience constipation, I did have multiple bm's, per day, and that's for life in my unique situation (my sigmoid was removed, it's where my tumor was located and then 15 inches above that point).
I have determined that for any GI surgery and resection, the intestines do not like to be touched, manipulated, messed with. I was also told that for my complicated initial 5 hour surgery, they
open you up and lay your organs aside while they work on your tumor/resection. And then when you put you back together again and put your small and large intestines back inside, it's impossible to put them exactly the way they were before. Surgeons make sure there are no kinks (usually) and things are able to flow again (eventually, when your bowels wake up, post-surgery) but it's not unheard of for post-colon-cancer people to never return to their former normalcy. I never have. Those days are long gone. In my particular case, I figured out I needed a very plain diet, so I went on a low residue diet for 2 years (strictly), kept a food diary and was extremely careful not to eat what I thought probably made things worse for me. But I still experience multiple bm's each day, as I mentioned above, it is for life, since my sigmoid is gone now (where stool collects and back up through out your day).
So in your case, I would suggest you keep a detailed food diary. I chose a 1 subject school spiral notebook, I used the front of pages for 1 day and recorded every single thing I ate, if I had 5 M & M's, I recorded that info. If I had the flu, I recorded it. Also beverages. I went to a bonfire party one time and had 2 glasses of dark keg beer - a HUGE mistake! That beer cleaned me out clean as a whistle, better than any bowel prep I had ever used. So over time I came up with a list of foods or beverages I knew I could no longer ingest. In time you will too.
You're not alone. At the time I was severely struggling, I had no one to talk to! My surgeons said - eat whatever you want but in smaller portions. That was it. And oh yeah, take Immodium. I was so lost and adrift. If it hadn't been for colon cancer forums I never would have read about
the low residue diet suggestion. I'm still on it about
oh 60-75% of the time. 13 years later. It's just a way of life for me now. I should add that although I don't have the IBS diagnosis, I've been able to gather valuable info from 3 forums here, IBS, Ostomies and Ulcerative Colitis.
I wish you success in figuring this out.
Can I ask what section of your colon your tumor was located?
Post Edited (Marsky) : 9/9/2012 9:09:12 AM (GMT-6)