One month post takedown.

That's pretty normal unless you also have pain and/or bleeding.  You'll keep improving for at least a year as your body adapts.  Do stay hydrated - if you're not going #1 very often,  or if it's darker yellow,  you'll want to drink more fluids. 

Have you tried a fiber supplement, like psyllium? That would have a more direct effect on stool consistency than loperamide.

Thanks for the prompt reply Scott and Girlunky, really appreciate it!

Girlunky- Theres not been any pain/bleeding just a lot of gurgling noises haha. I’ve been going quite a lot at night as well. Luckily I keep on top of fluids religiously from my experience with the ostomy!

Scott - I’ve not tried any fiber supplements as of yet but heard about them. What strength should I go for and when is it best to use?

kind regards,

Nick

I think the simplest way to start fiber is to try smooth powdered Metamucil per the package directions twice a day (once with breakfast, once with dinner). You can tinker with the sweetener (sugar, artificially sweetened, or unflavored psyllium) or the kind of fiber (psyllium, CItrucel, Benefiber, etc.). You should be able to tell within a day or two if things are changing for the better.

I couldn't live without metamucil

I also can’t live without psyllium husk…..I use unsweetened and take it with every meal….

Hi Nick I'm nearly a year out and am still finding what works .It gets better but it takes along time.I wasn't taking that many loperamide though only 2 a day in the morning,Bananas thicken it up or wholemeal,wheatmeal bread.Im finding everyone's different but for me eggs, sugar ,lots of cheese, Chinese stir fry veges are off limits.and I don't drink beer ,coffee or fruit drinks or carbonated drinks anymore.just vodka and sugar free drinks.

Smart bran cereal has a lot of fiber and also is delicious, at least for me

@Former Member posted:

Smart bran cereal has a lot of fiber and also is delicious, at least for me

Elif, I looked around for Smart Bran at Big Y and local health market and could not find it.  Do you order it on Amazon?

Hi Nick. I know what you're going thru.  It's very frustrating and so complicated because the symptoms that we all feel and go thru,  the remedies depend on each person individually. You have to figure out what works for you.  In the beginning it does feel like you're helpless but it does get better.  You should stick to a fiber diet.  Peanut butter helps,  bananas, brown rice. Whole wheat is better. I even switched to a whole wheat pasta. I use psyllium husk, unsweetened and mix it into my yogurt. You can mix it into your favorite beverage. It's kind of like trial and error. Good luck!

Thanks for the reply everyone. I’ve been avoiding high fibre and maybe that’s where I’ve gone wrong. I’ll incorporate new foods with fibre and see how it goes. I find my bowels are most active at night so I’m trying to reverse that with Imodium in the evening, though my surgeon said it can take a month to retrain them. I used to eat a lot late in the evening with my ostomy so I need to get it out of bad habits. Thanks for your suggestions everyone 👍

Nick,

In addition to the Smart Bran recommended by Elif, which seems to be a cold cereal, you might want to try Bob's Red Mill Oat Bran, a hot cereal which is very high in fiber and delicious:

https://www.bobsredmill.com/oat-bran-cereal.html

I make it with oat milk, but you can also prepare with water.  Really great tasting cereal.

Hey CTBarrister, thanks for the advice, I’ll look into getting that, just been having the regular oatmeal at the moment.

tried the psyllium husk the last few days, really made a difference with consistency and helped to thicken things up. Got the best night sleep since takedown too.

had one to two drops of blood, last few days, noting substantial. Surgeon doesn’t seem too alarmed as it’s only 4-5 weeks since take down but he’s arranging a pouchoscopy just to be sure.

great advice on here, appreciate it, thanks everyone 🙏

Nick

@CTBarrister I buy SmartBran from Wholefoods on Amazon. It is free delivery after 35 dollars. To my surprise, I found a few items there that are cheaper than my local grocery store, and combine my order to get free delivery.

I tried All-bran cereal too. It was not easy to digest, so it does a great job of slowing down digestion, but I cannot eat for hours after eating that. Smart bran has wheat bran, oat fiber, psyllium seed husk, oat bran and whole oat flour, so I find it easier to eat and digest than all-bran. It still has 17 gr fiber in 40 grams of cereal, which is a combination of water soluble and insoluble fibers. I usually warm it up for 30 seconds it microwave, which makes it softer.