Crazy/Frequent bowel movements after ileostomy reversal

jtu248

I just recently had a temporary ileostomy reversal and have 10-20 bowel movements in a day and was wondering how did people control the same.I am taking metamucil twice a day and imodium as needed but does not seem to help much.

My surgery was done 3 weeks back and was diagnosed with stage 2 rectal cancer and had chemo/radiation before surgery.

Would appreciate your help

John23

jtu248 -

Re:
"My surgery was done 3 weeks back"

When was the original surgery, chemo and radiation, and
did they resect any part of your intestines, aside from placing
an ileostomy?

There are a lot of variables for the reason for "10-20 bowel
movements in a day". Are you experiencing the lack of being
able to contain your output, or that you feel the need to defecate?

It takes time for the intestines to get back to normal after surgery,
and the placement and reversal of an ileostomy is surgery that
can shock the system into a confused state. Three weeks isn't
a long time; the healing process can take a lot longer than that!

If you're experiencing incontinence, then your surgeon should be
able to tell you just how much damage may have occurred from
the radiation that can be interfering with the ability to contain
normally.... or if no damage had occurred..

It will be all speculation from anyone here, and only your surgeon
or gastro specialist would be able to provide a more sensible answer.

To help with watery and frequent movements, sometimes a simple
thing like drinking high pulp Orange juice can help greatly. Grapefruit
juice can slow down the system too, but it often interferes with
some drugs, so check first for interactions.

Give your surgeon a call and get in to see the surgeon (or gastro doc)
as soon as you can.

Better health hopes for you!

John