Question:
Is this normal?????

I am 5 days post-op and have been home since Friday night. Also since Fri night, I have had VERY, VERY loose BM's. I'm not sure if I'm doing anything wrong...it's not uncontrollable, but when will the BM's get better? Thanks so much for helping with such a personal topic. You guys are the best!    — LaRayne H. (posted on March 18, 2002)

March 17, 2002
I was checking your profile to see what kind of surgery you had but couldn't find it... I had RNY and had the same problem for the first 6 weeks or so but everything's back to "normal" now... Good luck in the rest of your journey!
   — Elizabeth D.

March 17, 2002
I had open RNY 5 weeks ago, and my BMs are totally normal. For the first week and a half they were loose, but then I went about 4 days without one, but I wasn't uncomfortable. After that I have gone about every other day and they are normal. Just my 2 cents! Good luck!
   — Jennifer G.

March 17, 2002
Your Doc should of warned you, this is NORMAL. Once your eating solid regular food it will go away. Relax, how many pounds have you lost?
   — bob-haller

March 17, 2002
LaRayne, my experience was exactly the same. The first week or so, I had the loose bowels but without the cramping or urgency that I had pre-op. I attributed it to the fact that I wasn't on solid foods at that time. It tapered off over several weeks and now, for the first time in about 20 years, I have what I consider to be normal bowel functioning. Its been a HUGE benefit of my RNY. Be patient with your body, its doing some major adjusting right now. Congratulations to you and good luck.
   — Donna L.

March 18, 2002
Check with your surgeon and see if you are allowed to take Imodium AD. I had the same problem post op and took this with great relief. The caplets are INCREDIBLY tiny and went down with no problems. I used this for approximately 1 week and it worked wonders!! Shelley
   — Shelley.

March 18, 2002
I am 3 1/2 months post op and I still have loose BM's --- they float too! I also have problems atleast once a week with severe diarrhea. I hope it gets better in time.
   — Terri H.

March 18, 2002
My BMs got better when I started using Citracell every day, and also when I finally was able to add veggies to my diet.
   — Kathy J.