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Hey all, thanks in advance for all the awesome advice on this site. It's helped me get through so much!

I have a diarrhea/very loose stool question. I'm two months post takedown, and though my progression is slow, it is good! I've seen week by week improvements, and am already often on a reasonable bathroom schedule of 6-8 times a day (down from 15 plus). I can even sleep through most nights, and have often gone well int the next morning without emptying my pouch. With that said, I still struggle with late afternoons/evenings. My stool is often very loose and/or diarrhea the later in the day, and I often have a lot of gas grumbling. I take Citrucel a few time a day, and am on a very benign diet that often is good at not producing gas (bagels, cheddar cheese, bandannas, etc). Though some of this feels transit time related, I do not take Imodium, as my surgeon wants my body to adjust for the first few months without medicine intervention.

The question... With a good diet, has this generally improved for you as time goes by? I know I'm still somewhat early in the process, but at two months, it doesn't feel that early. My stools are fine (thick) through the early afternoon, and I find it very manageable. But come many evenings, that "diarrhea" feeling and the associated irritation can get discouraging. I don't feel urgency usually, but it does feel like diarrhea. There's a difference from how I feel in the morning, when things are thicker, if that makes sense.

I'd love to hear your thoughts!
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I had my takedown in May of 1991, and I was commuting to nursing school by September of 1991. Things got on track for me pretty well by that time (4 months later). I never felt like I had "diarrhea," just still went to the bathroom more than average people. I could defer going. The types of food I ate definitely influenced (and still influence) the consistency of my output (ie. salads sometimes loosen things up; potatoes thicken things up; beer = loose, pretzels = thick, etc.)

Have you tracked your diet? Are you eating things that make you particularly looser in the evenings?
Benefiber is wheat dextrin, while Citrucel is methyl cellulose, so they are different. Metamucil is also different, psyllium husk. I found no difference with wheat dextrin either, but Methyl cellulose was quite thickening. Psyllium just gave me a lot of gas and increased my output.

I never found any fiber supplement useful in reducing frequency, just thickening the stool. Since I had no issues with leakage or incontinence, I stopped the fiber because it was more hassle than it was worth for me.

Imodium worked best for me and helped reduce dehydration.

Jan Smiler
Hi,

Scott, I do take citrucel before each meal. I stayed away from the others like metamucil, as they made me pretty gassy long before I had the conditions that led to my jpouch (diverticulitis and a botched surgery). I think I might increase how much Citrucel I'm taking, as it was extremely helpful when I started taking it. I'm only taking 1/2 the max dose right now.

Rachelraven, I do track my diet in the sense that I'm keeping it extremely simple right now. I'm really just sticking with bulking type foods during the morning and lunch (1/2 bagel w/ cheddar and similar), and adding a bland protein in the evening (chicken, pork dumpling). I am slowly trying to add veggies in the evening, which I'm sure causes some of the looseness. Where I get confused and flustered is when I eat the same thing (IE, skip the veggies and stick with the bulking type things) and get different results on different days.

Today, I stuck with an extremely bland diet, and was very carful about portion sizes and have been doing pretty well, so my guess is my body is still pretty sensitive to very small changes in new food/amounts of food. It seems like even the bland stuff can loosen me up, and even small changes in how much I eat can also do so, as well. I'm hoping this will pass.

One additional thing that may be affecting me is that I think I have a light cold. Perhaps that's making me a bit sensitive, as well.

My biggest concern is/was that I'd be living with this "diarrhea" feeling forever. I know I'm still early on, and things are changing quite a bit, but there's always that lingering feeling of "what if this is the best it gets"? It's not usually a bad feeling with extreme urgency, but it is a little uncomfortable. I suspect it will pass or I'll get used to it with time.

Thanks for your help!

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