Question:
Im worried about the diahrea sometimes associated with bpd/ds. I already have it

bad since having my gall bladder removed. Would ds make it worse since I am predisposed to it now? Thanks.    — Dianna N. (posted on January 27, 2003)

January 27, 2003
I am 12 days post op from my BPD/DS. I don't think anyone had more bathroom issues pre-op than I did. I knew where every public restroom was everywhere I went. I use to refer to it as an "oh my God I need a bathroom now" moment, complete with cramping and sweating. I never knew what would set it off, sometimes it was dairy sometimes fried food, but there was no real pattern so I just learned to live with it. Post-op I am experiencing none of this. I have one or two BM's in the am right after I wake up and then I'm done for the day. They are soft but not urgent. This is what a lot of post op DSers experience. So post op things have greatly improved for me. Saturday afternoon I went shopping with some friends and I had a chocolate shake with no worry that i would need the bathroom, pre-op I would have been running to one. This surgery is amazing, go for it!!! Good luck, Lisa BPD/DS 1/15/03 -15 pounds already!!!
   — Lisa S.

January 27, 2003
I am 5 months post-op DS. Pre-op, I would have the same problem during/after a meal, RUN for the bathroom. Since surgery, my bowels are a normal consistancy all the time. No urgent rushing for the bathroom. I wish I had always been this regular!
   — [Deactivated Member]

January 27, 2003
Hey there. I'm almost 7 months post-op - I had the BPD/DS with Dr. Baltasar in Spain on July 2nd, 2002. Before surgery I had horrible bathroom problems - not the same type, though - my rectum and colon were compressed due to my weight - and having a BM was painful and difficult - often resulting in a pretty significant amount of rectal bleeding. Since surgery that problem has been completely eliminated (sorry, bad pun) - I have a BM probably twice in the early morning (usually within about an hour of getting out of bed) and that's usually it for the day. Before surgery I'd go some in the morning, some in the middle of the day, some at night - sometimes during the middle of the night, too. Now, everything is as regular as could be. Gosh, I sure like that part! I've heard much the same from other post-ops, too. Previous bathroom problems are a thing of the past.
   — Dina McBride

January 27, 2003
Dianna, for the vast majority of BPD/DS post-ops, diarrhea is only a problem in the very early healing stage, when the gut is still somewhat discombobulated. Things get progressively better with time, and for most of us, the new "normal" BM is softer than pre-op, but not urgent like diarrhea. There's more fat being passed in the stool, so this is why. Occasionally we do see a further-out post-op with a bout of diarrhea, and in those cases, it's usually an imbalance of the gut flora that can be corrected by taking antibiotics and/or acidophilus. I know of very few DS post-ops who have ongoing problems though. What I see most often is people saying that they have several BMs in the morning, and then perhaps another in the evening, but that it's fairly predictable and certainly not problematic. I have seen lots of people say that the post-prandial diarrhea that occurs after gallbladder removal is cured after DS -- this is even documented in Dr. Hess study on the DS that can be found at this URL: <p> http://tinyurl.com/4zof <p> The pertinent excerpt follows: <p> "One interesting finding is that in taking our patients' history prior to surgery, we find that of the patients that have had a cholecystectomy in the past, between ten to fifteen percent of these patients are troubled with post-prandial diarrhea since having their gallbladder removed. Our first encounter with this in our obese patients was the one who had a very high cholesterol, which caused us some concern for fear that the post-pranial diarrhea may become more severe after surgery. In this cohort of 440 patients we have had 21 patients who complained of post-pranial diarrhea since their gallbladder was removed. Some of them were very severe. After the BPD with the duodenal switch, 18 patients (85%) said the post-prandial diarrhea was much improved and some claimed to be normal since surgery. Three felt that it was unchanged. Because of our results with our surgery on this particular patient problem we no longer feel that post-cholecystectomy, post-prandial diarrhea is a relative contraindication to this surgery. In fact, obese patients who have the problem of post-cholecystectomy, diarrhea would probably be markedly improved by a biliopancreatic bypass with a duodenal switch procedure. Post-cholecystectomy, post-pranial diarrhea could be considered as an additional indication for this surgery."
   — mmagruder

January 29, 2003
The answer to this is simple. No.
   — Pamela C.