Updates and Questions on neobladder and bowel chgs

Mike thanks for the question - and all for their answers,
I didn't have any bowel problems prior to surgery.
However since, I had quite a bit.
This past June (a year after surgery), I had my Gall Bladder remove and now I have two causes to bowel problems.

My problem is that I will have a normal solid movement one day, with four watery loose movements every hour or so right after.
Then it will be a day with out a movement before it starts all over again.

I am glad that Pat shared her tips of the food trade. I will look at what I eat and record.

This has been the hardest thing for me to get use to.

Rick

Thanks for the messages. Turns out the bowel issue was more than I expected. I'm in the hospital now (since Saturday morning). Turns out that 2 naval oranges is more than I can handle. Caused a blockage at the resection site. Hoping it is cleared today. THey are going to start me on food to see for sure.

I think the condom catheters are great. I bought mine at expressmed.com and I find it easier to travel with. I use a pad on flights though but I guess a leg bag would work for those really long flights.

Even in the hospital, I brought the condom catheters for night time and drain it to a normal night bag.

Will keep in touch.

Mike

I can definitely relate to the issues you have during the night and am interested in more info on the condom catheter. Where do you get them, how expensive are they? We have a trip planned in March. It would be nice not to pack the pads and depends to handle the nighttime wetness I have.

Hi Mike
Im over two years into the neo experience and I can realte absoloutely to your issue. I never had bowel problems prior to my surgery but im definitely more irritable since. I have long periods with no problems but definitely have very loose periods. Im much more regular than before - 3 times a day minimum. It can give you quite a sore butt. Particularly in the early days. Pats suggestion of a food diary is a good one. learn what you can handle. Tomatoes are definitely on my list of prime suspects. Grapes and juices can be troublesome too. Fortunately beer seems to leave me unaffected.

I guess once the bowel is shortened the absorption is affected and more water can come through or something like that. i heard the bowel can actually stretch back over time so your issues may change (get better). I think also since the op that ive noticed more partially digested material in my stool. which i guess is related. so keep away from the tacos!

Sounds like i have similar continence issues as you. Im 100% in the day now. Absoloutely normal. Nights are a little wetter but i can control to some degree with pads and sensible drinking. I do like a cup of tea in the evenings which can be an issue. I think caffeine definitely plays a role. And salt. Im interested in your experince with the condom catheter. I was offered it early on and poo pooed it as I guess it sounded a bit undignified or something silly on my part.

My other issue is long haul travel. Ive done a trip to the states last year and I stayed awake for the whole 10.5 hour flight for fear of leakage. My partners australian so we'll probably do a trip there next year. so that should be interesting.

Hi Mike......welcome back...sorry for the problems. I don't think this is unusal for a lot of us. I certainly experienced it. I found that things i used to be able to tolerate needed a little tweaking. I eventually made the connection to milk products with my diarrhea.
In healthy individuals, too much magnesium or vitamin C or undigested lactose can produce osmotic diarrhea and distention of the bowel. A person who does not have lactose intolerance can have difficulty absorbing lactose after an extraordinarily high intake of dairy products. In persons who do not have fructose malabsorption, excess fructose intake can still cause diarrhea. High-fructose foods that also have a high glucose content are more absorbable and less likely to cause diarrhea. Sugar alcohols such as sorbitol (often found in sugar-free foods) are difficult for the body to absorb and, in large amounts, may lead to osmotic diarrhea.
Some have said certain fruits were the culprit.
So make a little diary of foods and see if there is a connection...
Any who....ask the doc......see if he's ever heard of it....they usually look at you with a deer in the headlight look! ..........Pat

It's been a while since I've been here and the good news is that I did get the daytime continence (for the most part) that everyone was talking about. It takes a lot longer to go and I find I have to sit down to really empty the neobladder the most. I went golfing last weekend and the stall was broken so I had to stand and at least I know that works. Not having the same kind of pressure makes me nervous about dribbles but it worked ok at the urinal.

Night time is a different matter and I'd wake up with the pads/depends soaked and I'd be uncomfortable. Now I switched to condom catheters and they are great! Easy to travel with as well.

I have noticed that I seem to have bowel issues a lot when I didn't have much of a problem before the surgery. Do others have issues with frequency (sometimes 4 or more times a day), looseness, or diareah?

I figure part of the reason for more often is that I'm sitting and pushing the pelvic floor. Can that missing segment of small intestine cause all of this?


Hope everyone is doing well!