My son is 26, he had his third surgery on March 11, 2010 to close the ostomy and connect the J pouch. He has had a few complications, so it has been a long hard road for him. He is dealing with Cuffitis right now, taking Canasa suppositories at night trying to get it under control. His Bm's are usually only 5-7 per day now and once at night. He used to LOVE food..but after this last surgery he has only been eating once a day and you could fit the amount of food he eats in your hand. He says that he gets hungry and when he starts eating he loses his hunger and can't eat any more. He has no appetite whatsoever at that point. I am concernd that he is not getting enough nutrition and wonder if anyone else is experiencing this. I am hoping as he gets better he will get back to eating normally, and I am also hoping that he isn't subconsciously associating food with BM Pain and losing his appetite because of that. Has anyone else had this experience?
I feel so helpless and I just want help him any way I can. His life has been put on hold for the last year when he got so sick that he had no other choice than to opt to have the surgeries. We had hoped for him to be feeling much better by now, but not yet. His frustration level is through the roof at this point.
Any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks!

Karen - post this in General Discussion where more people will see it and you'll get more responses. Sometimes people don't make it all the way down to this forum.

There have been some here who've experienced appetite loss. It may just be a normal part of his healing process. Have you contacted his doctor? Is he losing weight? Is he taking a multivitamin just to make sure he's getting the nutrients he needs while he's mending? There's a great vitamin calledForvia which is designed for people with IBD and people with absorption difficulties. It's the only vitamin I've ever taken that I've actually noticed a difference in my energy levels.

kathy

how long has he not been eating? If it's been more than a couple days and he's losing weight he needs to be in the hospital. If you can't do that, I'd give him ensures, like 8 of them a day. They have ones that have 350 calories per bottle and they're filled with nutrients. If he's not getting calories by eating food he should be at least drinking them.
I experienced the same thing after step 2, but mine was associated with a fear of throwing up. I had a bit of nausia once I started eating solid food. after that I was so scared about throwing up after I would eat, I starved myself. My family thought it was part of the healing process so we waited a week until I went to the clinic for my follow up with my surgeon. He thought I looked like death and was shocked to hear I wasn't eating. He had me admitted to the hospital and I didn't leave for 4 days.... they gave me an appetite stimulant and had me drink a ton of ensures until I gained 5 8 lbs in about 5 days. Be firm with him, because he HAS to eat!