Diarrhea after colon resection: How long does it last? Any tips?

I had my surgery 9/11 and was home by the late afternoon 9/13. I did experience some diarrhea so when I saw my surgeon 9/18 he put me on Align for one week and then Imodium as needed. Have only had to use the Imodium initially and then twice over the past two weeks. Feeling a bit better every day and energy is returning slowly. I’m on the mend!

To fisch: Yes it happened to me also, except I had blood in my stools every time I went to the bathroom for 5 days. They weren’t alarmed & said that happens. Kept saying I’d be released the next day, but then it changed. I was finally released when I quit bleeding & needing IVs for dehydration & nausea. I live 300 miles away, and was glad they kept me. The diarrhea has been the big issue since I got home a month ago, and dehydration. Anything sweet even gatorade sets it off. All the electrolyte drinks have so much sugar. Tried a spoon of ice cream the other day, and paid the price! It’s a l o n g l o n g recovery!!

Thanks so much for your reply. I’m sure there are many of us in the same boat. I’m so grateful that I found this site. The blood was frightening to me, but they said it was normal as they told you. Are you following a low or high fiber diet? Friday they told me low, then switched to high yesterday, so a bit confusing. ( I live 100 miles away, so I get it) Best Regards

Thanks for your reply, and I’m so glad to hear that you are feeling better every day. That’s encouraging! I will ask about the Align. My surgeon said that he didn’t want to start the Imodium yet, for fear of creating the reverse problem..so we shall see. Best Regards

I was on low fiber for at least 2-3 weeks. Anyway a long time it seemed. Glad to help, and wishing you well from here.

I think the Align jump started eveything to start working as it should. I have been having nearly normal bowel movements and the Imodium the two times I felt it necessary could have been triggered by something I ate. If I can figure out what triggers the minor bout of diarrhea I will for sure not eat that again. A little hard right now as family and a wonderful neighbor are bringing meals. I’m am sole caregiver to my life partner who is 83 so have needed help with meals and house cleaning.

I am being released this morning, and I appreciate the Align suggestion. I’m going to get some on the way home. I understand about being the sole caregiver, as I had that role for many years, and it’s not easy. I wish you strength, and continued improvement.

So glad you are getting to go home and hope you see improvement everyday even if it is just a little. Appreciate your understanding about being a caregiver. Fortunately I have family (his and mine) that help. I would love to hear how you are getting along in the days ahead if that is something you would be comfortable doing.

I had a complete proctocollectomy at the age of 38. Your bloody stool is completely normal, and it will be normal for a while, not all the time, but you're going to see that here and there and you're also going to see some pus or what looks like pus when you have a movement. That's completely normal. Things are healing in there, and its irritated and agitated, there's only one way for blood to come out and that's through your stool. Abnormal would be continuous bright red blood and coming out even when you're not trying to have a bowel movement.

Like I said I had all of my large intestine removed: I had to have an ileostomy bag for 3 months and then they did the hookup and I could start going to the bathroom normally. But I remember for many weeks after I had bloody stools and pus when I had a bowel movement. It was scary. I have always had more runny stools now, which is normal because things are not the same anymore. Sometimes they Will be more hard depending on what I eat. If you add things like apples and fiber to your diet, you should be able to get your stools little more hard. But for at least a while you're probably going to have diarrhea.. Totally normal. It's your body's way of making sure things go through. I also just had a resection of my small intestine in March because of cancer. I have a real rare genetic disorder that causes cancer of the: and intestines called Lynch syndrome. It causes other cancers too, but the main ones are the two that I mentioned. Anyway, you're doing great! Everything that you're saying in your post is totally normal. Nothing to worry about. If you have any other questions I will answer them to the best of my ability! Good luck healing. I'm glad they got it out!!)
Angela

It’s good that you have family nearby. My family is eleven hours away, but I do have friends who are willing to help me over this bump in the road. I would be happy to let you know how I’m doing, and I would like to know how you are getting along also. Thank you so much!