problem after bowel resection

[mrswoody]

A year and 3 months ago I under went bowel resection to lift my rectum. The surgeon removed 18in. of my large intestine and now after over a year of having a bowel movement 20 times a day (not exaggerating) I have been told that part of my large intestine is not functioning at all. In fact it looks as if my small intestine is moving over my large intestine when I have a bowel movement. Has anyone else gone through this? I already went through surgery and have had a hell of a time with recovery and dont want to do it all over again. If anyone knows what the cause of this could be or has gone through this please let me know.

[Lostcolon]

I lost most of my large intestine at age 31, after toxic megacolon. My digestive tract life is horrible and there is no cure for the kinds of problems--such as mutliple bowel movements every day (and throughout every night).
I also have severe, embarrassing flatulence. Now, at age 57, I am having some new issues--low motility coupled with watery bowel movements create small hard stool mixed with the loose stuff--and sometimes I am forced to crouch and dig out the hard bits of feces that will not come out on its own. Some food digests; some does not. The gas is the worst problem, however, as it interferes with social activities quite a lot. Ther has been no fix for that--no OTC or other medicine stops the gas.

All of this began when I took accutane those many years ago......

[LooseStool]

I've had 84% of both my small and large bowel removed in 5 resections. I'm sorry to say things will never be normal. You can help mitigate problems by diet (highly individual and needs to be discovered), and rolling as best you can with the punches. 20 times a day is normal for people like us. Dietary restrictions are normal for people like us. When I have to go somewhere, I can't eat anything before leaving the house. I know where every bathroom is on any given trip to the store or town. I warn friends that suddenly I may leave and hit the bathroom in the middle of a conversation. The doctors tell you, you can live with surprisingly little gut. What they don't tell you is, your life will be forever changed, and your real struggle for existence is just about to begin. The trick is to find your unique place in this crazy world you have fallen into. Try to keep you chin up and do whatever you can to work and play from home. Life is still worth living... I paint and record my original music, and cook for myself, and study all kinds of science, and make and put video's on the internet. And if that's not enough to look forward to, I get to do my own messy laundry. Oh yes...You will become an expert in doing your own laundry...
And that's why they call me...."LooseStool"...

[bhammond]

My son just had 42 in of his small bowel removed and he is 2 1/2 yrs old. He had it done 3 months ago and he is having alot of bowel movements. They have even gotten worse since then and have a foul odor. Doctors recommend fiber and to watch kinds of foods you eat. The surgeon even said with that much of intestine removed that diarreha is even typical for awhile. There is also kaopectate that you can take to slow the bowels down. i hope this may help.