Saturday, November 14, 2015

The Power of Imodium


As I may have mentioned earlier, thickening up ileo output is key to prevent dehydration (which is not only annoying in the sense that it can cause you to be dizzy and may contribute to leaks underneath your ostomy wafer, but it can also lead to serious kidney issues for more severe bouts of dehydration over significant periods of time).  My output was really runny at the beginning, then sort of runny, and I was able to gradually thicken it up by keeping certain staple foods in my diet - mainly bananas, applesauce and mashed potatoes.  As I've expanded my diet, however, I've had to pop an Imodium or two to get me through a rough patch.  

It helps me almost immediately!  I don't know if this is the case with everyone but Imodium is typically recommended for folks who no longer have their colons and have loop ileos especially in the post-surgery adaptation periods.  I know some people who have active UC use Imodium to help control their symptoms as well; however, my GI is completely against using it for active UC because it is simply masking symptoms and therefore can screw with a treatment plan as you'll likely underestimate the amount of inflammation and severity of disease.  Also, I've heard it can contribute to toxic megacolon, something you definitely don't want to have to deal with.  

Anyways, after surgery, for whatever reason - maybe because I am simply loving this no med thing and taking Imodium feels like taking a med as compared to the act of eating a banana - I tried to rely solely on the thickening foods to help beef up my output.  It would be great if that tactic worked off the bat all the time, but since it hasn't, I've (thankfully) come around to using Imodium occasionally.  No sense in resisting help when it's needed!