I've had J-pouch for 5 years. Been on lomotil ever since. I don't even know if it's helping because I don't know what's normal in terms of how much I should be going with a j-pouch. I know everyone can be different. I go 5-8 times every night and probably 10-15 during the day. Should I get off it and try something else? I read alot of immodium on here. I'm open to suggestions please. I'm having alot of trouble right now. Doc thinks it could be Chrons.

Hi LisaAnn, sorry you are having a lot of problems at the moment - am also at this time, so know how you feel. Saw my surgeon yesterday and he advised me to stop taking lomotil or imodium on a regular basis - he reckoned doing so made them less effective. He told me to take them only 'as necessary' or when going out. He said they worked best when used as a 'shock tactic' and taking them continually reduces that. Am going to try and do without for a couple of days and see what happens. Dont know if this is useful and there it is. Take care.

LisaAnn,

If you're 5 years out, you should not be going that much. 5-8 times a night? You poor thing - you must be exhausted all the time. And 10-15 a day is pretty high too. 5 during the day would be a good average and 1-2 during the night is average.

Are you supplementing your diet with soluble fiber? Probiotics? For some of us, these two things make a much larger difference than immodium or lomotil.

As for possie's doctor's advice - I would look into that. I know I've read here before that immodium works the same in your body over time as it does the first time you take it. I'm not sure about lomotil since it is a controlled substance.

I take: 1 immodium in the morning and before bed, eat 1 metamucil wafer with each meal, 1 sachet VSL#3 with breakfast and dinner. I average about 6 bathroom visits/day and 1-2 at night. And rice is the biggest dietary help for slowing things down for me.

Try some things for a while and see what works.

I had great results by eating Plantain (banana),Basmati rice and yogurt (activia). I go 1 after dinner and 1-2 during the day. If I take Immodium I'll go 20-24 hrs later.

I'm 5 years post take down too. I've been taking lomotil the whole time as well. I go 5-10 times a day and 1-2 times a night. I take 3 a day with those results. If I double it I go less. I generally only do that when I am going to be out long or if my band is playing out. Taking probiotics and especially wafers do make a big difference I have noticed. So does eating and drinking properly. When I eat and drink bad, I go bad!