I'm almost 2 weeks post-takedown and will see my surgeon July 1 for the staples to be removed from my incision. He has asked me to wait until then to start experimenting with Imodium to slow things down and thicken them up.

Any suggestions as to how much Imodium to take and how often?

Thanks.

You can try one in the morning with breakfast and one at night before bed. That would be a pretty tame start. I am over a year post takedown and i take two in the morning, one at lunch, one at dinner and one before bed. That may be a bit over kill but it is working for me.

Good luck!

Mike

Ironically, I'm in the same situation as you, had my takedown 2 weeks ago and will see my surgeon on July 1st for stitches removal. During the 2nd week after surgery he told me to start taking 1 Immodium in the morning and 1 at night, did not see any improvement. I went to see my GI last Thursday and he prescribed Lomotil instead of Immodium, I started taking 2 per day and see that the stool thickened and also frequency is better, I used to go 2 - 2 1/2 hours now about 3 - 3 1/2 between each bowel.

Thanks, Mike and Joe. I appreciate your replies. I'm hoping that Imodium will help me. It did when I had the ileostomy. But if not, the Lomotil sounds like a good option.

Glad to hear you're both doing well.

Hi-I had my takedown the 12th of June-while before take down I had to take 8 imodiums per day, now I rarely take any-I haven't got the right combination of food/imodium/metamucil down yet. I have found if I take imodium prior to bed it causes me to get up more with gas problems. The most I taking is one imodium in the am and a metamucil wafer in afternoon. My output is usually not watery but my problem is I constantly have the sensation in my anal area of needing to go and when I go I only go a small amt. So I end up going 20-30 times per day. I know it is still early in the recovery as it is with you but I am sooo tired of thinking about/dealing with poop, bathrooms, butt burn etc!!!! Good luck to you! Elizabeth R.

It has been six years since my takedown. I never use Immodium, etc. For me, emptying my pouch when it seems as though it needs emptying....not very often....is fine with me. If I feel I'm having too much butt burn, I eat a bowl of oatmeal or use Metamucil for a day. If I feel somewhat constipated....yes, that happens.....I eat a whole apple...skin and all. In fact, I eat an apple a day and that seems to keep me very regular. Best wishes in finding what works for you!

With using imodium slowly work your way up... like suggested 1 in the a.m. and 1 before bed. Find what works for you. You can always add one but you can't take one away.

If you take too much, things can get too thick and feel like a blockage. I learned that the hard way when I was on vacation 4 months after takedown. I was a little unsure of the bathroom availability so I popped 2 pills a couple times a day. I felt a sudden horrible feeling that everything was stuck and this food I just ate has nowhere to go but come back up. Luckily it calmed down but I'm sure it could have ended up worse.

But you might notice over time you don't need imodium or not as much but I know after takedown things are generally looser. Good luck!

I am 16 years post takedown, and found that I needed less and less imodium over time. I take it only occasionally now, and when I do I take the chewable variety, one pill at bedtime. Any more and it will bind me up.

A bigger problem for me is the pouch being spasmodic and this is controlled by the anti-spasmodic drug belladonna phenobarbitol also known as donnatol.

I take 8 a day - the maximum dose according to the packs. That's 2 in the morning 2 at lunch 2 at dinner and 2 before bed. My doctor told me to take that many after the op 5 years ago. He said I would probably forget to take them and gradually take less, but I'm so anal I never forget.
Once a year I tell him I still take the maximum and he says it's fine, and it is the UK and I get free prescriptions.
I assume it keeps me out of the toilet - I go roughly 4 times a day. Perhaps I should try stopping them and see what happens.

I am two years post takedown and I take 2 Lomotil 3 times a day. It works for me most of the time and I've never found that it was binding. Everyone is different of course and I'm told that over time, as the small intestine learns it's new job, that the there is a decrease in the need for medication to slow things down. Good luck.