I am new to this site and have been suffering with dehydration since my j pouch surgery October 13th, 2015. I have very low energy and struggle to keep weight on, I've tried metamucil, theureputic imodium and nothing has helped with slowing things down. Any advice would be great, thanks !
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How much Imodium are you taking? You can take up to 8 a day. Lomotil might work better for you, and of course, there are opiates after that.
Jan 
In the meantime, if water alone isn't doing the job, you can buy (or mix up yourself) Oral Rehydration Solution. It tends to improve fluid (and electrolyte) absorption. This isn't Gatorade! If you choose to buy it, Pedialyte is adequate (and easiest) but I think the powders may be a bit better.
Severe diarrhea can make almost anyone temporarily lactose intolerant. You may want to stay away from dairy until you get things slowed down.
give your body a chance to adjust and heal. it took me at least 6 months to come close to my former self.
and give your mind a chance to heal also... you've been through alot even before the operation i bet... i know i have.
peace
Ditto that. You're only a few weeks out at this point. I could barely function for a long time after my first surgery - couldn't walk 100 feet without nearly passing out because I was always hypovolemic and my BP would plummet. It took me the better part of a year to bounce back after my takedown surgery in 2013. Even now I still suffer from chronic dehydration - I drink 3-4 liters of water a day, but I still have a hard time keeping up.
One thing I found helpful was grazing rather than eating meals. Just a little something every couple of hours, with a lot of water. What you might notice is that you no longer get hungry the same way you did before losing your colon. It's hard to explain, but for me, I never get the gnawing "gotta eat NOW!" feeling I used to get when I was intact. If I don't remember to snack and drink, like if I get busy working outdoors, I just stop - it's like I've run out of gas. I remember walking in the woods once, alone, and I found myself just standing still. Not really unable to move, just unwilling to spend the energy. I had to force myself to walk back to the house, and while I shuffled home I realized I hadn't had any lunch. Once I had a snack I just perked right back up. Described it to the doc, said losing your colon will definitely change the way you perceive your hunger state - lots of nerves that monitor the state of your gut went with the colon when it got sent off to the incinerator. Confirmed the effect with a friend who lost his colon to cancer - no pouch for him, but he gets the same "running out of gas" problem.
Something to watch out for, in addition to the dehydration. Life is fun for us, eh?
dpm64 posted:Ditto that. You're only a few weeks out at this point. I could barely function for a long time after my first surgery - couldn't walk 100 feet without nearly passing out because I was always hypovolemic and my BP would plummet. It took me the better part of a year to bounce back after my takedown surgery in 2013. Even now I still suffer from chronic dehydration - I drink 3-4 liters of water a day, but I still have a hard time keeping up.
One thing I found helpful was grazing rather than eating meals. Just a little something every couple of hours, with a lot of water. What you might notice is that you no longer get hungry the same way you did before losing your colon. It's hard to explain, but for me, I never get the gnawing "gotta eat NOW!" feeling I used to get when I was intact. If I don't remember to snack and drink, like if I get busy working outdoors, I just stop - it's like I've run out of gas. I remember walking in the woods once, alone, and I found myself just standing still. Not really unable to move, just unwilling to spend the energy. I had to force myself to walk back to the house, and while I shuffled home I realized I hadn't had any lunch. Once I had a snack I just perked right back up. Described it to the doc, said losing your colon will definitely change the way you perceive your hunger state - lots of nerves that monitor the state of your gut went with the colon when it got sent off to the incinerator. Confirmed the effect with a friend who lost his colon to cancer - no pouch for him, but he gets the same "running out of gas" problem.
Something to watch out for, in addition to the dehydration. Life is fun for us, eh?
I'm not alone, this is exactly what i experience!
Chronic dehydration and no feelings of hunger my body just stops and i have to force myself to either get home or eat something. I mainly manage the 'no hunger' issue by eating at the same times in the day, but my safety net is my wife, she knows i have to eat and will check on me and just make me a meal if she sees that i look weak or faint. The hydration issue is hard to manage, i drink 4-5 litres per day, and i still feel de-hydrated.
I'm a big fan of water for hydration, but it really is critical that you not stubbornly limit yourself to water if it's not working adequately. Dehydration is very, very bad for you.
Scott F posted:I'm a big fan of water for hydration, but it really is critical that you not stubbornly limit yourself to water if it's not working adequately. Dehydration is very, very bad for you.
I have never been able to drink those electrolyte drinks they cause my pouchitis to flare up, i think its the sugars. Any other non sugar suggestions?
A small amount of sugar (glucose) turns out to be what increases the water absorption of ORS. If you mix up the solution yourself you could control the amount of sugar, and keep it lower than something like pedialyte, but eliminating the sugar entirely would be an error.