Info needed on diarrhoea post-bypass

[IslandBreeze]

Hello
Sorry but I'm back again to ask you lovely people for help and advice.
I had an operation on my oesophagus 2 months ago. In order to fix my oesophagus they wrapped a small piece of my stomach around it, so the results is that my stomach is slightly shortened.

They only use a very small bit of the stomach, nowhere near as much as for a gastric bypass but it does mean that my stomach has been slightly shortened and I could get some of the side-effects of a bypass.

Anyway, for 7 weeks all was fine, no side-effects whatsoever and I was eating an entirely normal range of food. Then I got a very nasty dose of food poisoning and had awful diarrhoea and so so. Antibiotics fixed it and apparently I'm now clear of the bug but it seems to have set off some problems and I'm getting very urgent liquid poo (sorry!!) rather a lot.

As some of you will know, I live on a remote island that is 6 days boat trip to the mainland so I have no access to a specialist or a dietician. I have to work this out for myself and have been trying to online but not making much progress.

I'm thinking that the bug upset my stomach and it isn't quite back to normal again and what I'd like to know is, if this was happening to me after a bypass, what would be the advice?

Do I need to go low-fat or low-sugar? And how low is "low"? Do you get a recommended number of grams a day? Is it about having a meal that is balanced overall and could contain a high-fat item, say cheese for example or does every single thing that passes your lips have to be low-fat in its own right?

Oh and do you think I would be able to have a fibre supplement? I was thinking that psyllium or higher fibre foods might help but I'm not sure if that's a good idea at this stage.

As I say, I don't have access to any medical professionals who know about this so any help you guys can offer would be much appreciated.

 

[Caroline101061]

I think you need to call your surgeon or post op nurse for advice - you cant compare the two surgeries. Sorry I cant be more helpful other than to say get some imodium in the shortterm!

 

[Snowcrystal]

Hello
Sorry but I'm back again to ask you lovely people for help and advice.
I had an operation on my oesophagus 2 months ago. In order to fix my oesophagus they wrapped a small piece of my stomach around it, so the results is that my stomach is slightly shortened.

They only use a very small bit of the stomach, nowhere near as much as for a gastric bypass but it does mean that my stomach has been slightly shortened and I could get some of the side-effects of a bypass.

Anyway, for 7 weeks all was fine, no side-effects whatsoever and I was eating an entirely normal range of food. Then I got a very nasty dose of food poisoning and had awful diarrhoea and so so. Antibiotics fixed it and apparently I'm now clear of the bug but it seems to have set off some problems and I'm getting very urgent liquid poo (sorry!!) rather a lot.

As some of you will know, I live on a remote island that is 6 days boat trip to the mainland so I have no access to a specialist or a dietician. I have to work this out for myself and have been trying to online but not making much progress.

I'm thinking that the bug upset my stomach and it isn't quite back to normal again and what I'd like to know is, if this was happening to me after a bypass, what would be the advice?

Do I need to go low-fat or low-sugar? And how low is "low"? Do you get a recommended number of grams a day? Is it about having a meal that is balanced overall and could contain a high-fat item, say cheese for example or does every single thing that passes your lips have to be low-fat in its own right?

Oh and do you think I would be able to have a fibre supplement? I was thinking that psyllium or higher fibre foods might help but I'm not sure if that's a good idea at this stage.

As I say, I don't have access to any medical professionals who know about this so any help you guys can offer would be much appreciated.

I'm no medical expert but I do know that this could be because the antibiotics have wiped out the flora (good bacteria) that lives in your bowel.

The simple way to explain this is; There is good and bad bacteria in your bowel, the good bacteria fights off all the bad bacteria...If the bad bacteria is allowed to prolificate you will get the liquid poo you describe.

I'm a great lover of psyllium husk and hope I can have this after surgery...In your case I cannot see it hurting as it does help to gel the poo...

Hope this helps a bit.

Oh yes...and all the pro-biotic stuff you can get your hands on will help.
ps: where do you live?

(((hugs)))

 

[tesmaralda]

Also going to back to really basic and simple food such as mash or plain boiled rice and nothing spicey or rich may help if your stomach is still inflamed and irritable. As for sugar and fat post op bypass people are recommended to have food that contains less than 5g per 100g.

HTH xXXx

 

[candie]

I'm no expert, but am wondering if those pro biotic yogurt drinks like yakult and actimel could help

 

[shelbell]

The fat and sugar content won't affect you, as your intestines haven't been altered at all. It's more likely to be the bacteria, so a combination of yakult or similar for a good few weeks, and a fibre agent such as psyllium or benefibre should get you back on track.

 

[IslandBreeze]

Thanks very much guys. The bacteria is an excellent point. I do make my own live yoghurt as you can't get that or actimel etc here so I will increase the amount of yoghurt I'm eating as that will be full of lovely friendly bacteria. I will probably also try some psyllium - just a very small amount at first though. I've always found it useful in the past.

 

[teen]

No expert here but a lady I look after had C-dif (Clostridium difficile ) and I was told by her doctor once you have had it it stays in your system and can flare up at any time

 

[teen]

Ignore last post I just re read your thread and it says you had food poisoning sorry

 

[Snowcrystal]

No expert here but a lady I look after had C-dif (Clostridium difficile ) and I was told by her doctor once you have had it it stays in your system and can flare up at any time

Hi Teen

Everyone has C-Diff in their system whether they are ill or not....

C. Difficile is a spore forming bacterium which is present as one of the 'normal' bacteria in the gut of up to 3% of healthy adults. It is much more common in babies - up to two thirds of infants may have C. Difficile in the gut, where it rarely causes problems. People over the age of 65 years are more susceptible to contracting infection.

C. Difficile can cause illness when certain antibiotics disturb the balance of 'normal' bacteria in the gut. Its effects can range from nothing in some cases to diarrhoea of varying severity, which may resolve once antibiotic treatment is stopped, through to severe inflammation of the bowel which can sometimes be life threatening.

It is possible for the infection to spread from person to person because those suffering from C. difficile -associated disease shed spores in their faeces. Spores can survive for a very long time in the environment and can be transported on the hands of health care personnel who have direct contact with infected patients or with environmental surfaces (floors, bedpans, toilets etc.) contaminated with C. difficile.

Hope this helps.

(((hugs)))