I had a hard time with the loop ileo as well.   The best foods for me were smooth peanut butter and cheerios.  Yeah, not great but it's only temporary.  I did drink electrolyte drinks .   Stay away from caffeine and chocolate.  Did you try prescription Lomotil?  

Thanks - I have not tried Lomotil but I will talk to my doc about it.  Did the output slow down when you got the J Pouch?  Thanks for the advice.  Doug 

Yes, it is better.  It's been a few months and I continue to improve very slowly.  Doc said it takes a year.    When I had the ileo I had to drink a lot of water in order to get my bladder to work - everything dumped out the ileo.  That is not happening any more.   

Lomotil works better for me than Imodium. 

It’s not clear to me what you mean by “feel unwell”. Most of the bowel slower alternatives can make one feel a bit sedated - if that is what you mean. I personally think you may have a spasmodic bowel (if the frequency occurs right after eating, with bursts of output, that is the issue). That issue is easily corrected by taking antispasmodics like bentyl and levsin, but those drugs can make you feel loopy - again, because you haven’t defined how Imodium makes you feel, it’s unclear if this would be the same effect.

I had a spasmodic bowel when I had the ileostomy, but that was after colectomy and creation of the J Pouch.

Thanks for the advice.  Thanks Girlunky, Scott and CTBarrister.  Girlunky I am glad you are feeling better.  Scott thanks regarding the Lomotil.  CTBarrister, I have been told a long time ago that I had a spastic small bowel.  Maybe it’s been highlighted and got angry when I got the Ileostomy in July.  I will look into it.  For the Imodium- I get muscle cramps.  Best Doug 

Hey Doug, I had the same issue and my output was very liquify. I did take Imodium with a combination of meats mucil fiber. It hardened the output there by slowing it down. Drink lots of liquid!

Hi Doug, my loop was only for 8 weeks, but I remember it being more liquid than the end.  I took Lomotil religiously with the loop.  I am 3 years out and now use Lomotil 2 times a day and it has worked well for me, better than Imodium in my case, and I’ve used both.   I also use Benefiber once a day. Everyone is different as far as what works best.

Thank you CTB23 - the Lomotil seems to be very helpful for people.  I will try it.  Best Doug 

Thanks JPouchinseattle - seems like some sort of fiber supplement helps. I will add that in also.  Thanks 

Doug, I suggest you make one change at a time. Both of these changes work (for the most part) reasonably quickly, within a couple of days, which makes it easier to find what combination works best for you, as long as you don’t make two changes at once.

Yeah that’s a good idea.  I just used Lomotil with the loop ileo,  started Benefiber with the pouch.

Good advice - one at a time.  Smart.  Thanks a ton.

CTBarrister posted:

It’s not clear to me what you mean by “feel unwell”. Most of the bowel slower alternatives can make one feel a bit sedated - if that is what you mean. I personally think you may have a spasmodic bowel (if the frequency occurs right after eating, with bursts of output, that is the issue). That issue is easily corrected by taking antispasmodics like bentyl and levsin, but those drugs can make you feel loopy - again, because you haven’t defined how Imodium makes you feel, it’s unclear if this would be the same effect.

I had a spasmodic bowel when I had the ileostomy, but that was after colectomy and creation of the J Pouch.

CTBarrister, can you please describe to me, what your 'symptoms' of a spasmadic bowel we're?