Hey Lynne,

Long time, still remember your kindness though.
Gratz on the perm ileo!

I'm still fighting to have a life, though with my temp ileo, I can tell you I experience the same thing. And although more difficult to clean, I feel more confident when it's firmer that a leak won't be as crazy if it happens. Though for sleeping, the thicker it is can sometimes cause blow outs. So for that time I always hope it's finished emptying for a while. I try to plan my eating habits accordingly.

That's the best I've got at the moment. It's kind of a situational thing answer.

So happy the bad times are(hopefully) behind you.

Ad

I prefer thick. It takes a little more time to clean the bag, but 1) it fills more slowly, so I empty it less often, and 2) I lose less water, so I'm less likely to become dehydrated.

I use Immodium primarily at night, or if I'm doing something unusual - flying for example. Or swimming in a public pool. Otherwise, I don't bother. Over time your body will adjust and your consistency will vary depending on what you eat. I prefer a thin paste, just because then I don't feel like I'm dehydrating, but I just let things happen naturally, so sometimes I get a real liquid period that helps "wash" the bag.

my preference is toothpasty consistency. however, like jill, I really don't bother worrying about any of it now. Seems it just varies on its own so very much. Plus I have SIBO, very bad, so I had to stop all immodium.

I don't like the real liquidy bag, but I just empty more when its like that.

Ad, it has been a long time! Glad to hear from you. Thanks for the helpful post. Hope things are improving for you.

ISeeUC, Liz and Jill, your posts have consistently helped me in meaningful ways during my transition to perm ileo. I can't imagine I'd be doing this well without you!

My opinion is just let it be.I dont use anything, though I could see there might be special situations where I would.I havent had hydration issues. My output varies a lot, from liquid to paste. I just want it to keep working and not plug up. The one partial obstruction I had was with a loop ileo, before the J pouch take down, and I was using immodium at the time perhaps coincidence but maybe not.