Hello everyone,
I had surgery in June of 2016. I had an internal hernia repair, Lysis of adhesions, partial small bowel blockage and intestinal twisting 360 degree .
No intestines cut .my surgeon just put everthing back where it belongs. Ever since this surgery I have had chronic diarrhea ! It is driving me crazy, as soon as I eat something my good goes right through me???
I have to be near a toilet if I eat anything. My weight has dropped from 128 Pounds to 103 pounds. My surgeon and gastro doctor are baffled. I have had blood test ran(normal) , I have had a small bowel study done it just shows my food or whatever goes straight through within minutes??
I have had egd which shows I have an ulcer, I had a colonoscopy which was normal.
I am not anemic, have energy.
My doctor put me on cholestyramine and lomidine for the diarrhea. It has slowed a bit. But I still have weight loss and diarrhea whenever I eat.
I would appreciate if anyone has any advice to give, or if anyone else has been through what I am going through.
Thank you all for your help and advice.
Sounds like something has been disturbed. Do you get any stomach pain or diarrhoea after eating a particular food? Try keeping a food diary to check for any food triggers. You could also try Imodium before meals
Has IBS been mentioned? IBS can occur after stomach surgery.
Also maybe try probiotics or a fiber supplement.
Hello and thank you for reponding. No stomach pains at all. The cholesystermone is a bulking agent to help slow down the diarrea. I do taken it 3 times a day. With meals. Also a prescription anti diarreal medication. doctors have ruled out Ibs, ulcerative colitis and any other digestive diseases.??
I will start the food diary. To be honest I really have been eating whatever I want just to put some weight on. A lot of fast food etc.... But it just goes right through me.
And also start eating properly maybe a lot of chicken, fish etc...
Thank you for responding. I am taking a probiotic daily. My doctor said no fiber. Because it makes you go regularly which is something I am not having an issue with.
I need to slow down the urgency to go whenever I eat.
Have you been tested for infections such as c diff, h pylori?
Has your doctor mentioned Bile Acid Malabsorption? A SEHCAT scan would confirm it.
Good suggestion Philippa, worth testing for (i was diagnosed with it early 2015). only thing is Sonji is already on cholestyramine which is one of the treatments for bile acid malabsorption, but there are 1 or 2 other treatments as like all meds, some work for some people, but not others. but definately worth testing for as if Sonji had severe bile acid malabsorption, dosage of cholestyramine may just need adjsuting to perhaps more in one go less times a day-just suggestions. x
BAM is often overlooked by doctors so people often get their symptoms missed. Did you have to wait a long time to get your BAM diagnosed?
No I have not been tested for that, but I can suggest it. He does have me in the cholystermine for that though. As I said it is helping a bit. Maybe if I ask instead if taking 3 times a day With my meals. Maybe I need to take 4 times a day. I know some people that can take it up to 6 times a day. I will speak to my doctor to see. My concern is my weight loss too.
I can't seem to gain it back??? I thank all of you for your help and suggestions.☺
You're spot on with it often being overlooked. many people get told its ibs without being tested with a sehcat scan. i have a history of colitis & ibs-d, & was experiencing symptoms of colitis without blood. my colonoscopy was clear, & ibs-d controlled with diet yet still getting symptoms(all back in beginning of 2015) my consultant decided to test for fructose malabsorption & bile acid malabsorption - both came back positive. the sehcat test came through within a couple of weeks - i just had to swallow a tracer pill, then have a quick specialised scan. then go back 7days later for a 2nd scan. they can then tell if you have bile acid malabsorption & treat the condition with meds. very non-invasive simple test, & so easily treated. i think they should do it in all cases of chronic diarrea after normal colonoscopies BEFORE diagnosing ibs-d, as it is common & would relieve many peoples misery if no other conditions going on simultaneously. x
Hi Sonji, are you on the cholestyramine sachets that you mix with water? x
You could suggest a dosage change to your doctor to see if that helps more. Maybe the diarrhoea is causing the weight loss and stress on top.
Fortunately, I have IBS C in the main. Although, I did have short bout of loose stools which suddenly cleared up. I noticed BAM had featured in newspapers in Britain so hopefully it will raise more awareness of the condition.
Also Sonji, I noticed soon after starting cholestyramine that i naturally lost about a stone without dieting of any kind over about 6mths, then it stabalised. aas i knew how cholestyramine works (& i put this suggestion to my consultant who agreed the logic) its probably because this med helps to digest the fat in your diet better whereas before having the med fats aren't so well digested. they also use this med to reduce peoples cholesterol so again see the logic? so in your case the weight loss may partly be down to being on the cholestyramine, & partly the chronic diarrea. as you've had good tests of a colonoscopy & small bowel study (so cancer or crohns or colitis would've been seen) the weight loss is more likely to be down to what i just suggested. if you think back to when you started cholestyramine did the weight loss start around the same time....? i am on the cholestyramine sachets: 2 sachets together morning, & 2 sachets together evening. so maybe a dose adjustment may be the key for you like less often times per day & more in one go. its also VERY important with this med (if you're on the same sachets as me) that you take any other vits or meds either 1HR BEFORE or 4HOURS AFTER your cholestyramine or the other meds will get stuck in your system. xx
Thank you so much for telling me about the medication factors. I did not know to wait 1 hour before or 4 hours after. I started the weight loss a little before surgery due to eating caused excruciating pain. After surgery I was able to eat normally. I eat everything now and my weight fluctuates between. 105 to 100 Pounds. I will start. Taking other meds an hour before or 4 hours later from now on. You would think the doctors or pharmacy would have told me that?? Go figure. Thank goodness for these patient. Forms to exchange experiences and give advice. Thank you.
Sonji you could try what i said too about taking 2 sachets at once then 2 later in day(in line with the other medication/vits time constraints) and see if that makes a difference to you hun. maybe try it for a week & see if it improves...... so if you're on 4 a day for example split it into just 2doses. it was a bit of trial & error in the beginning for me to see what dose & how many a day did the trick. x
Oh thank you. I will try that. When you say sackets are you speaking of the little packets that come in a box of 60? Right now I get a big box with sixty individual packets. So I have one packet in the morning with breakfast, one in the afternoon with lunch and one in the evening with dinner.
So would I take 2 packets in the morning and one at dinner?
I just want to make sure I understand your advice properly.
Thanks for the clarification. Also did you put weight back on while doing this treatment?
If so how long did it take before you got back to a healthy weight?