Hello,

Starting February 5th, I started getting increased urgency, increased bathroom visits and 100% liquid stools. I discussed it with my surgeon and we both agreed that I had pouchitis. He put me on a dose of Flagyl and it made me feel terrible. I was always dizzy, tired and irritable. Those are normal symptoms, I know. Afer 8 days of Flagyl, I called my surgeon to let him know the symptoms hadn't completely gone away and he suggested I tried a dose of Levaquin. I did the Levequin for 10 days and at the end of it I felt all better. The urgency went away and bathroom visits decreased; however, the liquid stools still persisted - even to this day. Does this sound normal? Do I still have pouchitis? Is there anything I can do besides Flagyl? He also decided I should take VSL#3 DS (which the insurance company will pay for). Does anyone have any suggestions? Just to clarify, the only symptom that persists is the 100% liquid stools. Keep in mind, I'm taking 8 lomotil and 8 ammodium per day in addition to 1 packet (2 wafers) of Metamucil Fiber. I generally like to post shorter topics so people will read them in full but there was no way to abbreviate this description.

Thanks for your help.

Does it actually cause you any problems (e.g. leakage)? If not I wouldn't worry about it.

Hi Blake,

I'm sorry you've had this little bump. I think you should go back on a bland diet of thickening foods for now (rice, pasta, bread, potatoes etc) until you can get some VSL#3. When you start taking the VSL start very slowly with maybe just half a pack for a few days and gradually increase to a maximum of 2 sachets. Some people get bloating and increased frequency if they start out on too big a dose. If when you get to 2 sachets you experience this then cut back to 1 packet and see how you go from there.

I'd carry on with the Lomotil and imodium and maybe increase your metamucil. Are you on the powdered metamucil or the wafers? A lot of people say the wafers are much more effective in thickening things up.

Hope things improve for you soon.

Take care.

Shell

I've tried metamucil 2 times per day and my stools are practically solid. Easy solution.

Liquid stools by themselves do not mean pouchitis. If you feel fine, you are fine. You can use Imodium, bulking agents, and dietary changes to try to thicken stools. This is just a functional thing, not an illness.

Jan

I started taking apple pectin capsules about a month before I was officially diagnosed w my first bout of pouchitis ( after 8 years)- It has definately helped with the thickening process. I'd say that my stool quality has improved by 70%. I just started the probiotic Align today and hope for even better things. Must also mention that I was prescribed flagyl for 1 mo., but had to call it quits after 2 weeks due to the side effects. While taking the flagyl, I did not feel any improvement, yet as soon as I stopped the med my stools decreased considerably.

Jaybo--How many apple pectin capsules are you taking daily ?