Bowel problems after cystectomy

ive had various intermittent problems with this but seem to be settled. One thing I've found to be tremendously helpful with all my GI ailments are probiotic drinks and yoghurty things. In fact I'm convinced that if I have a day without them that I really notice the difference. In UK we have a brand called Actimel. Two of the little pots a day works for me. I haven't had spicy food yet but I can eat almost all of what I did before now.

I am 6 weeks out after RC/neobladder, and thought things were doing reasonably well from the GI point of view. I had had a lot of gut pain, but it had settled. My (Indian) wife gave me my first spicy food 4 days ago, and the whole loose bowel thing has flared up. Does anybody else get crampy pain when they need to go to the bathroom? The pain passes soon afterwards. I never had any issues like this before, at all.

im 3 weeks out of surgery today and still have intermittent bowel problems but i do feel they are getting better. i have a couple of probiotic yoghurt drinks a day and an occasional dose of acidophilus (sp?). I think it helps. I feel that at least the nasty explosive "loose tail" of the early days is behind me although i do know people local to me who are several years out of this surgery and still have issues which are controlled with drugs and dietary changes. im a bit careless about my diet right now and am doing a lot of comfort eating! But actually this morning a had a semi decent poo (yaaaay!).

Hi,

If you haven't already, I would suggest consulting with your surgeon's office and ask them what you can do about this problem.  I'm sure they're experienced with solving these sorts of problems, since they must have other patients who've had this surgery.  It's a common problem, although not everyone has it to the degree you are experiencing.  I do hope they're able to give you some answers for your problem, because being housebound is not fun.  I was housebound for several months except mine was for incontinence, not loose stool.  No matter the problem, none of us wants to be out somewhere and have an emergency we are unable to handle with whatever supplies we might have with us, it can be quite embarrassing, to say the least.

Good Luck,

Lou Graham
RC/Ileal Orthotopic Neobladder 2/2004

Interesting to read the comments of you all. I am 2 1/2 months out after having the surgery and have an ostomy. I am having loose bowels almost daily and have become house bound. Does anyone have any advice on when this might end? I didn't expect this side effect and I don't want to leave the house anymore.

Astro & Mike,


Both of you sound like you're doing great even with the bowel problems, and I know from my experiences that it does take time to figure it all out.  I remember the first time I ate a McDonald's Cheeseburger (I know it's not the greatest choice, but I was running errands and was very hungry all of a sudden), within about twenty minutes I had an emergency.  Fortunately I was at one of my stops and there was a bathroom close at hand.  Part of why the Special K is good is because it contains fiber, and that's going to be a very good friend to you now that you've had this surgery.  I know that if I don't keep the fiber intake up there are problems, an easy way to do this is to use a product like Fiber-Con or any of the store brand products of the same sort but remember to follow their directions about drinking plenty of water.  Of course the best way to keep it up is by eating foods that contain fiber, unfortunately if you were to eat enough to meet those standards you'd probably gain lots of weight, something I'm sure you don't want or need to do.
Keep up the good work, especially asking questions as it's the only way we can find answers.  Something you'll probably find plenty of here is lots of different answers to the same question, then just pick the ones that work best for you and your situation.  

Best of Luck.

Lou Graham
RC & Neobladder 2/2004