Constant Diarhea???

I am 5 weeks out. I was doing fine until 2 weeks out. Ever since then I have had constant diarhea....sometimes 15 times in a 12 hour period, usually at night. I was hospitalized for a total of 17 days while the docs were trying to figure out what was wrong. The consensus seem to be that the surgery looks perfect. At first they said it was from an infection because my white blood cell count was very high. But they treated me with every antibiotic under the sun and yet the diarhea continues. I now take 5 different medications to control the diarhea. It is a lot of pills that I take throughout the day. I also take an antidepressant at night now for obvious reasons. I was released from the hospital 3 days ago with these medications to keep taking to control the diarhea. I did good the first 2 days but today my diarhea was back...not as bad as before but I did go 7 times this afternoon. And I hardly eat anything because my stomach is so upset. Most people at my stage post op are constipated. I don't really want that either but I am really concerned about my health. How long can I go having this kind of diarhea? I think I am losing too fast. I have already lost 30 lbs in 5 weeks. That may not seem like a lot, but I started this journey as a "lightweight" with a BMI of 37. 30 lbs is 30% of my goal. I would really appreciate any insight that any of you have. Thank you, Jacinda

I don't know about you, but antibiotics give me diarrhea because they kill off the good bacteria in the intestines. You might just need to replace some of that good bacteria for it to go away. Things like yogurt (with live cultures) and acidophilus milk are good for replacing the bacteria. There are acidophilus capsules also, which would be my preferred method, but you should probably check with your surgeon on that as I don't know if it's ok to take the capsules after surgery. Good luck, I hope you feel better soon. Christy

I agree with the Christi.. I am actually a Pharmacy Technician and I know that the antibiotics do give diarhea.. I know that you mentioned that you didn't have it as bad but what was causing the Diarhea before you started the antibiotics? I really hope you feel better soon..Good luck Wendy

How are you electrolytes with all of this runny stuff? You really do not want to get dehydrated from it, which can cause other problems. When I was initially in the hospital w/the RNY I was on antibotics b/c of pnuemonia and it gave me the case of the runs all the time. A couple of days after I was initally discharged I came down w/the flu, admitted back and was given antibotics in the hospital that gave me the runs big time. I was also taking everything under the sun to stop the runs but it was not happening. My electrolytes were really messed up and I needed to have them replaced w/IV nutrients. Sucked big time but I slowly but surely got better. I know it really scary when you have problems but hang in there and talk to your surgeon. Make him/her listen. I know you have to pull teeth sometimes for doctors to listen but give them a root canal, ok? Good Luck. Tavia

I had problems with diarhea prior to surgery. Nothing that my doctor gave me worked. I had a colonic cleansings done which cleared up the diarhea. I have not asked my doctor yet about the possibility of me having a colonic cleansing at some point. I think I want to wait until I am a year out to have one if he gives me the ok.

Yep had the same problem...even had "accidents". lasted for about a year, adding 2 fiber tablets daily really helped. Maybe you could add the water disolving fiber and drink it. Good luck Donna

My doctor recommended baby food sweet potatoes. I'm not sure if they would be too sweet for you. Just a suggestion. I have IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome) and live with it every day. I've tried every different medicine and nothing has ever worked. So now I just live with it. Hope everything works out for you!