Immodium, making the switch from Lomotil

Generic is fine, I think I've read that a lot of the people here who take it longterm buy the giant generic Costco bottle. I use the pharmacy brand myself (I take 5-6 per day).

I've never used Lomotil so I can't really comment but Imodium has worked well for me. Don't be scared to go up to two or even three tablets if one doesn't work for you. Also, Imodium sort of "builds up" a level in your bloodstream, so even if you don't increase your dose, it will work better after a few days of taking it consistently. Something to keep in mind.

I wish you the best of luck I have tried all of them and non seem to work that well other than percocet however i do not like nor want to be on it long term.

I dont seem to have a big problem with really loose stool at all, it looks formed anyway..im just trying to cut down my nighttime trips.

It is possible that your stool is too well formed and that is interfering with complete emptying. Sometimes it is better to be more on the loose side. I take Imodium daily, and have done so since my surgery. But, that is because my stool is just pure water without it. Even with the Imodium, it is quite loose.

As far as night time visits to the rest room goes, it is time that is going to be your best medicine. Look for improvement around three months or so, with continued improvement for a year or more. Adaptation takes time, regardless of what you do. For me, it took more than 4 years to sleep through the night, but I had chronic cuffitis that went untreated.

Jan

jan, i had a feeling that time is going to be my most important med..will gas calm down as well?

I took one immodium last night, and when i did wake up to go to the bathroom i could hardly go, little if nothing other than gas came out on 2-3 occasions and i went prob 4 or 5 times..so if i could cut the gas out as well i think that would help a great deal. ..but will time healing help gas too?

Time helps with gas only in respect to how well you adapt to a varied diet. Some fare better than others. If you have chronic pouchitis or small intestine bacterial overgrowth (SIBO), gas is a constant issue until the underlying problem is taken care of. Also, if you have IPS (similar to IBS), which is a functional disorder, gas issues are commonly a predominant symptom.

If it helps at all, most all intestinal gas is due to bacteria acting upon undigested food, and those are mostly carbs. So, if you can identify what you are eating in the 8-12 hours before the gas, you may be able to pin it down. Unfortunately, we often eat a carb heavy diet post op, because it seems easy to digest, thickening of the stool, and basically comforting. But, when you eat more carbs than your tempermental gut can handle, the bacteria have a field day, creating a virtual gas factory.

Many have found that reducing carbs (both simple and complex) and eating small frequent meals have helped a lot. Probiotics may help by restoring a more normal gut flora, but sometimes there is more gas initially, so it is easy to be discouraged by them.

Hope this helps. Understand that none of these tips may be useful for you, but are worth trying.

Jan

And just remember that all of this you are experiencing now may change in time. For me the first six months were difficult with gas, difficulty with some foods and frequency. There came a time when I turned the corner and all of these problems went away.

Sue

I did notice that my gas died down quite a bit after the first few months... it never goes away completely, though.

Jan is right about time being your best medicine. Right at four and a half months, I suddenly started sleeping through the night. I was very excited about this until I got my first bout of pouchitis a couple weeks later that threw that whole idea out the window. Now whether I sleep at night mostly depends on what I ate that day. In attempts to get healthier, I've been eating a diet very low in carbs and high in veggies lately, so increased fiber means more bathroom trips. And if I eat any dark chocolate, I'm screwed.

I have tried both Lomotil and Imodium, even doubling up on doses and taking them in combination, and neither seem to do much of anything for me to reduce number of trips to the bathroom. To be perfectly honest, the only drug that seems to help decrease bathroom trips and anal pressure for me is medical cannabis. If I suck on one of those hard candies (from a dispensary) before bed, I sleep much more soundly.

Bootstap, we dont have medical cannabis here in South Carolina..not to say i dont have any but i for sure dont have the hard candies lol. i have not tried smoking before bed, if i wake up and things are really loose then i tend to smoke a little and then go to bed, maybe i will try it more before bed than anything.