Hi Everyone,

I had my takedown almost three months ago and since then I've been on 8 lomotil a day and I'm still averageing about 10-12 movements a day. The wierd thing is though that they are relatively solid movements so the frequency doesn't really bother me that much.

Over the last few days the movements have become really liquidy and bloody. This happened once before and my surgeon told me that the blood was likely just from irritation due to the increased frequency and not pouchitis.

The only thing I can think of that has changed recently is that I've started working out and my diet has been a little higher in sugar recently. Could dehydration cause the stools to become more liquidy? I know that sounds backwards but is it possible? My urine output has definitely been down so I think I'm dehyrated (I've started trying to recitfy that now) but I'm not sure if that is a cause of the frequent stools or a symptom of it... the reason I think it make be a cause is because I think the dehydration started before the liquidy stools..

Thank you in advance for any advice anyone may have!!

HI Soon-to-be-J-Poucher

It is certainly possible that the higher sugar content has caused watery output. As you know, this can lead to severe dehydration very quickly. You have to be careful to rehydrate yourself with low sugar replacement, or you will continue the cycle and make the dehydration worse. I have been having liquid output since my loop ileostomy surgery in July and have started drinking low sugar replacements (like pedialyte) and that has helped my dehydration.

With the blood and sudden liquid I would be concerned about infection/pouchitis. If the symptoms do not correct quickly with rehydration, I would check back in with your doctor.

Good luck and best wishes.

AM77

Pouch consistency can vary widely with diet and exercise, but this should not cause any significant bleeding. I do know that very vigorous exercise (such as running) can lead to pouch bleeding, but still, I would not characterize it as "bloody" stools. If this is just a bit of blood on the paper or a little splatter of blood at the end of a bowel movement, that is OK. But, if you are having truly bloody stools, where the blood is mixed in and the stools are uniformly colored red or black, you need to be evaluated soon for this. It may not be pouch related at all, but be a bleeding ulcer.

Jan