diarrhea after total colectomy

[Kathleen4]

Do you have any suggestions to stop the diarrhea after total colectomy surgery?  My brother had large colon removed due to CA in Jan 07.  Had an ileostomy for several months and had it reversed 3 months ago.  He takes lomotil, immodium, kaopectate, and still with diarrhea every few hours.  Other than that feels well, goes to work, etc.  But for several days now the diarrhea has been almost nonstop.
His GI surgeon has said no vegetables.  Still no help.  Any ideas would be appreciated.

[Yogilabeara]

I had a colectomy and the symptoms above describe me perfectly. My doctor prescribed Viberzi for the diarrhea.  The active ingredient in VIBERZI is eluxadoline, a mu-opioid receptor agonist. Eluxadoline is also a delta opioid receptor antagonist and a kappa opioid receptor agonist. I haven't found that it works better than an opioid but it might be an alternative for the patient above.

[UCage7now32]

I had UC at age 7 and a colectomy at age 16. We have no colon and thus no muffler, nothing to slow down the transit within the small intestine. It just shoots right through (3 hours) and comes out partially digested. We have butt burn which can lead to cuts (fissures) which are excruciatingly painful and last for months (cuts on your anus don't heal quick, too moist, poop re-opens the cut, etc.).

Our surgeons say "Just take some Immodium" Yeah Right. After 16 years of diarrhea every single day of my life, waking up soaked in diarrhea literally over a thousand times, I finally convinced my Dr.'s to give me Opiate-based meds (the most effective treatment for chronic diarrhea for thousands of years) but they are afraid to prescribe it because it also happens to be the most widely 'abused' drug and regulated by the FDA. Well shipt!, I'm tired of living on a toilet and waking up soaked in diarrhea every night. It also stops the cramping gas pains so its a God send for me. Oh but there's a bad side effect: "A general sense of well-being"!

After what we've been through and lived through, we deserve the right to take any medicine that will help us with our constant diarrhea and gas pains so we can actually enjoy our lives! We need to get a law passed, there are so many people suffering needlessly because Dr'.s are all brain-washed "That's contraindicated" "It's addictive" "It's a narcotic" - Well how about you go poop in your pants in the middle of Disneyland and come back and we'll talks some more. Otherwise, give me the freedom to take the only medicine that works for every symptom (nutrient absorption, gas/cramps, thickens your poop, water absorption, etc.) I never get sick anymore, I gained 40lbs. of much needed weight, and I feel fine. Thank you Opana (opiods work on the MU opiod recepters in the small intesting to slow transit/peristalsis) -God bless

[surg54]

I had a total colectomy in 2006. I eat low acid foods, take acidolophis, 200 million, a bulking colesterimine, lomotil, pepto, anything to STOP DIARRHEA with NOT MUCH LUCK............ I need a diet or something..... My doctor wants to do a colestomy...NO I AM ONLY 55.... Can you help, recommend something or what else. Even if I DON'T eat it have an ACID DIARRHEA and I get SO RAW that I have to go to bed with pain meds. Sylvadene used for burns is about the only thing that helps the raw rear. I've tried compounding RX's, powders, desitine, butt named creams, you name it. So my problem is 2 fold..... HELP, HELP, HELP................ THANK YOU..

[Morecambe]

I underwent a total colectomy four years ago and, in the aftermath, I experienced numerous (6-8) daily toilet visits as well as 2-4 during the night.  The frequency did go down in the following months to ~ 4 per day and 0-1 during the night.

I found that a high fibre diet (including cereal material such as bran and oats) "bulked up" my motions from watery >> "muddy/sludgy" >> "firm-muddy-sludgy" over a couple of months.

Good luck
Morecambe

[CalGal]

He might want to try following a low residue formula diet. Check www.gicare.com for an example.

The colon is the organ that absorbs most of the water that is made or incorporated in the food that goes through the small intestine. Without the large intestine, the output is going to be very watery because the water won't be 'recycled' back to the body. If a lot of what he eats is absorbed in the small intestine, fewer particles (and water) will be carried through into the large intestine. A low residue diet may be of some help.