liquid stool suggestions?

[sheila]

for anyone that has had or has a colostomy , besides immodium do you have any suggestions for firming up ? or is it impossible?
Since mom has had this last surgery they said she wll have alot of verry loose. she has trouble now with the leaks when she gets her once a day loose -now it will be always. and the flap that holds it temporarily back from small to large is gone too.
Also she may have a nurrient absorption problem now. (that will be determined later) anyone have suggestions for the nutrition or the firming?

[blessed1]

I use metamucil. I dont have a colostomy but the mighty met helps greatly in firming my stools up.

[jcondit]

I had a colostomy done in May. I too had periods of very bad liquid stools. They had me on diarrhea medicine like your mom. Finally they had me take EndoMune. This is an over the counter supplement that needs to be refrigerated that contains "good" bacteria. That helped ALOT. I would also recommend she be on a multivitamin. Try to have her drink an Ensure with her meals.

That's been my experience. Hope that helps.

[sheila]

jcondit-thanks didnt hear about that one yet-I will surely ask one of her doctors. metamucil kaopectate=dont seem to be strong enough bimmodium works best out of those she hasnt tried endomune good suggestion, she does drink boost is that as good as ensure-(I know that ensure tastes awfull) we are still waiting to see how her digestion will work-she just has slightly audible bowel sounds not strong enough to get the ng tube out yet nor eat-they are iv-ing her nutrients rigt now. thanks again both of you

anything different than those mentioned will be appreciated we do know about the BRAT diet etc.

[jcondit]

Another thing I encountered was bacterial infections. I'm sure the doctors are all over that. I found a bad abdominal infection (which I got from the hospital) and several common intestinal bacterial infections gave me prolonged diarrhea. A simple stool test can rule that out.

[sheila]

jcondit-good to know Ill keep that in mind also-thanks!

[JodyB]

Since my surgery in May, I have waged this battle with loose stools. Early on I had as many as 20 a day. The doctor started out suggesting Kaopectate and Fiber in my diet so I took Benefiber tablets. Kaopectate was like plugging a dike with a finger. It did nothing. Then the doctor said try Imodium AD and forget the Kaopectate, but continue with the fiber tablets. I was only taking 4 a day of the Imodium AD as the package recommended, and finally the doctor told me I could take 8 safetly in 24 hours, so I tried that. Yogurt replaces good bacteria in your diet so I tried Yogurt, but couldn't eat it fast enough to keep up. Then the doctor perscribed Lomatil for me, and said I could have 6 of those a day and 8 Imodium AD a day.

Finally a resident doctor said, "Since you know you're going to have loose stools, don't wait for it to happen. Just take one of each when you get up each day," so I started doing that. Generally, the second week after the long chemo, my stools have some substance and form to them, and I only have maybe three or four stools a day. The week of long chemo, I just have loose stools, anywhere from 8 to 12 a day, and I just have to ride it out and take the meds, and watch my diet like crazy.

Let me clarify, Long chemo, to me, is the week I get Flouroricil, Oxaliplatin, Leucoverin, and Cetuximab. The next week, I call short chemo, I only get the Cetuximab. Usually, the week I get the Cetuximab, I have relatively few problems with my bowels and I feel pretty good.

However, I have noticed the further I go into treatment, the longer the diarrhea lasts. I have chemo on Wed. and usually the loose stools would begin Friday afternoon or Saturday morning and last through Monday. Then it was Thursday afternoon and it lasted through Tuesday. Now it's sometimes right after I start infusion and lasts until the following Wednesday or Thursday.

My oncology nurses tell me chemo has a cumulative effect, builds up in my system, and so the symptoms last longer.

I have to be very cautious about fresh fruits and vegetables, avoid things like peas and corn, and consume sugar cautiously. Sugar, by itself, will cause loose stools, but if I'm craving it, I give in simply so I don't overdo it. I crave pastas with tomato sauces, and rice is a close second. I can eat potatoes, and they are great for you because they are rich in potassium, one of the things that diarrhea can dilute in your system. I also mix a drink every morning in the blender with LACTOSE-FREE MILK. It's the lactose in the milk that causes the diarrhea to worsen. Anyway, I use the carnation instant breakfast mix, 8 to 10 ounces of the MILK, one medium banana, and two packets of Splenda. The drink is loaded with things that are good for you, and also helps hydrate a person who is dehydrated. Hope something I've said helps.

However, it is a continual, ongoing battle about the loose stool thing. The good news is I'm still at the weight I was at following my reconstruction surgery so I must be doing something right.

Best of luck with whatever you decided to try, and just hang in there and don't give up.

[sheila]

thanks JodyB that was very helpfull and I will pass this on to mom,

[gwilliamhouse]

I have an ileostomy and just finished my 3rd cycle out of 8 of Folfox. After my 2nd cycle I too started getting loose stools like every 2 hours my bag would fill up.

My doctor prescribed Lomotil for me and also told me to get some immodium. At first, I was just taking the immodium as indicated on the bottle (2 pills the first time, then one every 6 hours.) When that wasn't working at all, I started taking the Lomotil which is 2 pills every 6 hours. That wasn't really changing anything either. I didn't really change my diet, and I do eat a lot of candy, so I'm sure that isn't helping.

Sometimes during the day, the loose stools would get a little less loose, but at night it is terrible. Weird that the nights are the worse. I would have to wake up every 1 1/2 - 2 hours to empty the bag.

I talked to my dr and he prescribed Tincture of Opium, but my insurance woudln't cover it and it would cost me $500. So me dr instead substituted Paregoric Liquid which is a watered down version of Tincture of Opium and my insurance covered. I take one ounce every 6 hours and it's the nastiest tasting stuff ever. It sorta helped, but not as much as I thought it would.

So now I am taking all three, and during the days again, it's ok. In addition to the loose stools, i now have tons of gas that fills up the bag as well. Weird, I never had gas before and usually people iwth ileostomies dont have it.

So, I dont know if I should take some Beeno or something else for the gas. Every few days I will get some "normal" consistancy, but then it's back to loose. It changes so often.

At least by taking the medication, it makes me feel like something should be working, right?

[JodyB]

I've struggled since the surgery May 8th, 2009 with this. My team and I discussed treatment this morning. I told them I am taking an Imodium AD and a Lomitil togethger, starting with the first thing when I get up, and then every time I have a bowel movement after that as long as they are a half hour apart. I take up to 6 Lomitil tablets a day safely as okayed by my oncologist, and 8 Imodium AD tablets. A week ago I started taking Benefiber with it again, up to 9 tablets a day, and I was taking one of those Colon Health tablets from over the counter at Wal-Mart, one a day, but my oncologist says quit it now that my stools are halfway reasonable because it all will sack my white blood count.

I'm trying to eat some fresh fruit or fresh vegetables in my diet every day now, and have even extended this to things like nuts. I was worried about the diarrhea but craved these foods, especially tomato juice and orange juice. They say approach them with caution because they are acidic, but I am having at least two of each a week and trying to eat a banana every day some time.

I've average about 3 bowel movements each day this week, all with some form and shape to them, so I am ecstatically happy about that. I started chemo again today, so we will see in the next 4 or 5 days if the chemo is going to start causing the diarrhea again. I hope something I have said here helps somebody, maybe even you, and I'm open to suggestion. I truly don't know about the Beano. My doctor told me to eat anything that I craved in moderation. I've craved fruits and vegetables and sounds like you crave sugars, but eat them, just in moderation. They are calories for a body that isn't get enough probably thanks to the chemo.

Best of luck, all of you. We all know it's though, but there is a light at the end of the chemo tunnel. We all eventually get to stop taking it, some of us sonner than others, but keep up the faith one and all.

[sheila]

thanks for the response gwhilliamhouse and jodyb-
sounds like you guys are having a rough go of it too. mom takes about 3 immodium and 2lomotil a day plus has to drink qwestrien for digestive enzymes -shes started to have an absorption problem since this last surgery her 4th colon surgery left her with only about 1/2 of the normal colon hardly any large left and most of the small. shes on tpn drip trying to keep her going untill her food intake starts absorbing on its own-if it ever will. we have some hope.-she has to watch what she eats because of the colostomy which is almost as bad as a watery ileostomy shes somewhere in between, but she is also having blood problems since her first surgery april 06. and is on coumadin too. and b.p. pills
The doctors told her it is a very slow process to turn things as normal as possible and each individuals body handles recovery differently(in other words they cant say if it will ever work properly again or if she will be on these nutients for the rest of her life. but shes a fighter and Im proud of her. I took into concideration all of your suggestions and mentioned them to her doctor. some were acceptable and some arent because of her electrolyte problems. thank you again for sharing your stories and suggestions-thoughts and prayers to you all!

[JodyB]

I'm guessing the 8 Imodium, the 6 Lomitil, take them with each bowel movement as long as they are 30 minutes apart, and the benefiber, 9 pills a day. But it might give some other people on here ideas too. Also, eating yogurt which has a natural enzyme in it, Activia for sure does and quite a few of the others do too, helps replace what your body flushes out with lose stools. Besides it's a source of calcium and very nutritious when chemo is wrecking havoc on your body.

Thanks for responding, and good luck finding something that gives your mom some relief.

[sheila]

moms immodium was dropped and they upped her lomotil to every 4-6hrs depending on her output. and the two things that seem to work the best isrice of anykind or toast with peanut butter and bannas sliced on it.(that is-the times that the food doesnt bother her to eat it) were still trying to get some kind of system going that will be more controllable

[topazil]

Sheila, speaking of food, when she can handle it do you try cooked rice? I have found as far as foods go when I have diarrhea (no colostomy bag) the only food that seems to "settle things" is cooked rice. (Am going to try your suggestion also re's the PB, bananas and the toast)