Question:
What is the mechanism that would cause a person to have diarrhea?

I read on Daryl's website that eating and drinking at the same time can cause diarrhea. My question is why? I had my surgery on the 12th of July and have had diarrhea since. I do eat and drink at the same time and was just curious how and why this could be the problem. Thanks!    — terri S. (posted on October 8, 1999)

October 8, 1999
The main danger with eating & drinking is sabotaging your wt loss. Diarrhea can be from fats or oils or from milk or sugar. Try avoiding milk for a week, then go back. Try avodiong sugar for a week, then NEVER go back. Then skip fatty snacks for a week. And so on. Eating & drinking will ultimately ocst you several pounds of wt loss, long term.
   — vitalady

October 8, 1999
Terri, If you've had diarrhea since July try some Lactobacillus Acidofilis. You can buy it in any health food store, drug store etc. I had the same problem after my VBG and went 3 months with terrible diarrhea. I was taking all kinds of meds to stop it. Finally a friend insisted I take this and after 1 or 2 doses it stopped. When I asked my surgeon if it was possible this could have worked so quickly he replied " oh yeah...if we removed all the good bacteria from your system during surgery...this would replace it" duh...why didn't he suggest this??? Good Luck!
   — ellen R.

October 8, 1999
What type of surgery did you have? Are you eating high fat content? or Maybe a lot of Dairy? or Maybe items with high sugar? These things can cause diarrhea as well. If it frequent since your surgery and you're following instructions to the letter and not eating high fat, sugar or dairy items, you need to check in with your doc and figure out what's up!? If you're a distal bypass, this could be too. I am a distal however, and have been constipated CONSTANTLY since my surgery, just goes to show ... we're ALL different!
   — Sherrie G.

October 8, 1999
Hi Terri. i'm not sure this is correct. I eat and drink liquids at the same meal and have never had diarrhea. The rational that makes more sense to me is that drinking a liquid fills up your new pouch so you can't eat as much. This may be a problem is you are having trouble getting enough protein anyway because you'll eat less of what you need. If you're drinking anything with sugar in it you may get diarrhea from the sugar. Hope you find some help from the answers you receive.
   — Penny W.