Question:
WHAT IS CAUSING ALL THE DIARHEA????

I had my lapband Aug 7, 2008 and now that i am introducing foods back -- i am experiences alot of diarhea -- like within 10 - 20 min of eating -- the newer things i introduced within the last few days have been grits, cheese, turkey chili pureed in blender etc. I have been reading this website for hours and hours and never posted before. I have found a world of information and love the daily Q&A emails that i get. I would appreciate some help or ideas or if this is normal .... would also like to know why this is happening as this is foods that i have eaten in the past and im just confused because once it goes through the band, doesnt it just go to the rest of my stomach and process that way? shouldnt my body already be used to these foods? thanks to everyone for any input that you have time to share    — kitkat2008 (posted on August 31, 2008)

August 31, 2008
I go from diahhrea to constipation and I'm only 5 days out from my lap band surgery! I really don't know what causes it I just wanted to respond that it happens to us all and think you're doing a great job with your journey. Count me as a friend if you'd like, jeri
   — wildj

August 31, 2008
Best thing for diarrhea is a good "liquid" vitamin / mineral supplement like VEMMA. Excellent for "irritable bowel syndrome". Go to www.TrySomeVemma.com
   — [Deactivated Member]

August 31, 2008
Everyone responds differently but believe me once you are doing all the protein....you would love to have the runs back.....as you will have to do stool softners or increase your fiber.....there is another web-site that you might be interested in....I do both as it gives me a wealth of info and this one I am going to mention is mostly lap-band and has a WLS nurse as a moderator so I find it really helpful....go to Yahoo Groups and type in Bandbuddies.......they are a great group to get some really good info also.
   — pphillips4720aol.com

August 31, 2008
I think a key word that you mentioned is "re-introducing your body to these foods. Your body is no longer used to these foods. This is a good time to re-introduce foods with very low fat and low sugar. Sounds like your doing a great job so far.
   — bariatricdivalatina

August 31, 2008
Oh, the diarrhea. I had LapBand 2 years ago and still lean that way. Initially my surgeon blamed it on the antibiotics in the hospital and I thought that as well. However, even though I didn't have any plumbing changed, a lot of things about me changed like the minute I was banded. I could no longer drink any type of tap water, had to go to bottled only and have since had to go to only distilled as the minerals in the bottled water raised my BP too much. I have always LOVED milk... grew up on a farm and have grown up with it "fresh squeezed"... now, I'm lactose intolerant for the most part. I try to only use lacotse free products now. Baffling, but these things do happen. Immodium AD help any? Kaopectate? You could have also contracted an infection in the hospital called c-difficile which can be detected in a stool sample...but, it would tend to be that you would have the diarrhea all of the time and not just after meals if that were the case. If +, your doc would put you on a course of Flagyl. You would think your body would be used to these foods, remember them and tolerate them, but sometimes it just doesn't happen that way. It sounds like you have been eating pretty well with the exception of the grits and beans in the chili... too many carbs. Different surgeon's/nutritionists recommend different things so use them as your first resource, not me. If they encourage them, then ok. Are you staying below 30gms carbs/day? Have you discussed the diarrhea with your surgeon? I would highly recommend it if not. You might want to begin tracking your intake and times of day and your reaction of how you tolerate them as well. Very helpful info to look back on and see if you can detect a particular food/drink that you can't tolerate and should avoid. You didn't mention what you are drinking? Only sugar free, non-carbonated beverages right? Lots of water? Good luck, Dawn Vickers, RN, BLC, CLC
   — DawnVic

August 31, 2008
Thank you everyone for your responses. My chili was turkey chili without beans. And I was only eating 1/4 cup with my meal so I thought I was doing all right with that. Maybe I just stay away from that and grits for a while to see. I am drinking water and protien shakes. The protien shakes are low low carbs like 3 grams and sugar is 1 gram. i do have kellogs flavored protien powders to put in my water. I am staying below 30 carbs a day. Trying to stay 40 g protien or more day and minimum sugar and 400 - 600 cal a day. I do not drink anything carbonated or fried etc. Again, thank you everyone for your help!!!
   — kitkat2008

September 1, 2008
You need to check in with your doctor/surgeon about this. Diarrhea after eating sounds like dumping, which is common with some foms of WLS, but not usually gastric banding. Sugar alcohol can cause diarrhea... even in small amounts. They're often found in foods labeled low/no sugar or low carb. Make sure you read the ingredients on the protein shake. Sugar alcohols include malitol, sorbitol, xylitol, and isomalt (google it for a complete list). One thing you could do is go back to liquids until the diarrhea goes and then add foods back one at a time... that way you can pinpoint what exactly it is that is causing the diarrhea.
   — mrsidknee