Anyone have chronic diarrhea while on digestive enzymes?

I take ZENPEP. I had chronic diarrhea. I learned from this blog to take Imodium AD three times a day. After two dys the diarrhea stopped. I also raised my Zenpep from 20,000 units per everything to 40,000 units and that is working fine. I didn’t ask the doctor, but told him what I was doing and he said it was all right. My recovery consists of a lot of experimentation. If a food doesn’t work, I never touch it again. I have a same boring diet every day; however, rarely any problems unless I get upset.

Good luck. It’s a long journey to fit it to your individual needs and what your body will accept. You will get there with perseverance!

Thank you, judithbramson12,
Do you think the Zenpep was the cause of the diarrhea and the Imodium resolved the problem or the increased amount of enzymes (ZENPEP)?
I have experimented with foods as well and had a little success but the goal is to get as much nutrition into your body and absorbing it that is the challenge.
Thanks again for sharing your experience….. I will try the same combination.

@altc321, here are related discussions in the Pancreatic Cancer support group that may also offer tips https://connect.mayoclinic.org/group/pancreatic-cancer/?search=diarrhea%20&index=discussions

I don’t know what worked. The Imodium did make a difference. Maybe increasing the Zenpep helped. I keep experimenting now for the occasional diarrhea. I really believe my state of mind and emotions play a role. I don’t eat if I’m upset; I wait until I have become calm. It seems it is all a crap (no pun intended) shoot. Good luck, just keep on trying until you find one that works. We are all different.

Thank you….. I also believe state of mind and emotions are a big factor as well as each individual will respond differently. Just keep “experimenting “ until you find the best combination that works.

I am on Creon 8 a day severe stomach cramps watery diarrhea Have to wear a nappy My stomach makes noises all the time sometimes don’t make it to the bathroom Always got to be near a toilet Can’t eat much lost a lot of weight always dehydrated

altc321, christinekaranges, I was put on Creon 24k units 2 with meals and my gastro doc said it was just my old pancreas that had stopped making the enzymes. The enzymes are needed to digest fat. I actually experimented to find the reason for my diarrhea. I cut out milk first with no luck and then found a no fat diet rid me of the severe symptoms. The Creon helps but I still have to watch my fat intake. I seem to need to increase my amount of Creon and will ask this on Monday. I have read another's post that said he was taking 5 25k at meals and could eat anything at all and does. I take Dicyclomine to help with the gas and the pain and bloating. Before I found out that my tumor had blocked the pancreas duct the only way I could leave my house, and bathroom was to not eat. Imodium did nothing for me. I found that the specific term for this is steatorrhea. It is not the enzyme replacement meds that cause this. It is the lack of having the enzymes to process your fat intake. Your body did this automatically when you were healthy. Now you will need to match the amount of enzymes to your fat intake. Eating the same thing all the time is one way to do this and taking the same amount of replacement enzymes with meals. Or you can count the fat in your meals and adjust the number of enzymes accordingly.

I just get the 2 with meals and as I said this does help but only if I watch my fat intake and keep it under 60 grams. under 50 grams is actually better.

Good luck to everyone in your fight against cancer.

I’m on CREON but unfortunately I have a different affect from it.
I’m having a hard time having a bowel movement 😩🤦🏾‍♀️
But I also don’t really have an appetite - I smoke cannabis to help me with this issue.

I take creon twice a day. I eat often and little by little. I have diarrhea, but sometimes I don't have diarrhea. I'm gaining weight because of this. I'm eating even while I'm writing. I only stop eating 2 hours before bedtime.

I made a discovery yesterday re: fat. I saw the fat content of peanut butter is 18, at least my brand. So I took a chance and increased my Zenpep from 40,000 to 60,000. I had the first “real” BM since my journey began. Right color, right size and, if you’ll excuse the expression, clean toilet paper. I don’t know if it will hold, but it’s my first good news. I am going to adjust my dosages to fat content. I’ll post again in a week to see if it truly made a lasting difference. I don’t ask permission, I just experiment. Sugar I gave up from the start; I didn’t realize how important fat is to my new system.