3 Weeks Post-Op - will this ever end?

I don't know what a "Bm" is.

This is my 13 week into post-op from gallbladder removal and pancreatic endoscopic surgeries.

Several times per day I'd have urgent need to rush to the bathroom, always resulting in diarrhea and gas, accompanied by cramps in the lower guts.

Since last week, I have seen some improvements to my symptoms as a result of eating a meal of spaghetti daily. My guess is the soluble fiber in the spaghetti helps to absorb water in the lower guts, and the supplemental iron helps to slow food motility in the small intestine, thus allowing more time for the fibers to absorb water.

Subsequent to eating one meal of spaghetti daily, I have been having only one or two bowel movements per day. Urgency is greatly diminished as well as lower gut cramps.

I haven't tried psyllium husk or acacia fiber supplements and am curious to hear from others who have tried them.

I don't necessarily follow low-FODMAP diet as some foods listed don't work at all for me. Instead, I've been testing various foods to determine what's good or bad for me. I also stick to ultra lean foods as a general guideline.

I do think soluble fibers in foods do help to reduce diarrhea symptoms. For me the spaghetti has been a huge help. Also helpful are grilled chicken, tofu, rice, kidney beans (even though I do get slightly gassy), and miso.

I avoid coffee, milk, sweets, barley, flax seed, leafy green vegetables, and all fatty/greasy/fried foods in general. The list grows daily as I test more foods.

I do think the body heals and the digestive system recovers, but for diarrhea, I don't yet know if it is a temporary condition or will be a chronic problem for me.

I hear of patients having this dreaded symptom for years after gallbladder removal, and it is only 13th week since my surgery, so it remains to be seen whether I'll be over it. However, I am hopeful to at least finding a workable method to keep it under control through a healthy diet.

Thanks for your reply.  I'd be interested to hear what happens when you try a food that 'doesn't agree with you'.  Do you just get diarreah or do you also get terrible pain?  I get pain that lasts upwards of 24 hours - feels sort of like somethine stuck under the rib cage that shouldn't be there - really uncomfortable. So far I've found that the only foods i can eat are grilled chicken, cod, prawns, some fruits, carrots, courgettes and peas, bran flakes, soya milk and brown bread. I'm also still getting the daily D but to be honest I'm more concerned with the pain and discomfort I've still got nearly 7 weeks on.  I've not tried spaghetti/pasta yet - mainly because i don't think i could eat either of them without sauce and i know that if i ate any pasta sauce i would get terrible pain for at least a day. 

First, to answer your question regarding eating foods that don't agee with me. Answer: I end up with severe diarrhea within half hour and throughout the day. I also get lower abdominal cramps with diarrhea, but that lasts only until the bowel is cleared, then I'm fine till the next urgent need.

During my 2nd month of post-op, while I was able to eat moderate amount of food at mealtime, I usually had general discomfort around my pancreas and GB area. Pain was sort of crampy and prickly, but the intensity was never acute. Also, my stomach still felt somewhat bloated. If gallstone-attack pain is a level 10, I'd say my pain after a meal during that time was about 1 or 1.5 at most.

This is my 3rd month since surgery, and only since last week have I been able to eat a full meal without having diarrhea attacks. This is solely due to starting a regimen of eating a meal of spaghetti on daily basis, and also by carefully avoiding foods that give me problems.

From day one post-op I have avoided all fatty foods, so I honestly don't know how eating such foods will affect me. Sausage, hamburger, steak, or fried chicken, I have no clue how my body will react.

The pasta sauce I use is Ragu brand. Not low-fat or organic-made, just the plain Ragu brand pasta sauce. I checked the label and it has 3.5 grams of fat (from soybean oil) per half-cup serving. The serving portion is about the amount I use when I eat spaghetti. I add nothing else to the sauce and eat the spaghetti with Ragu sauce plain.

I find it surprising just how much my spaghetti diet has helped me since last week. Due to the positive result, I have kept it as a daily meal. So far, it has not only significantly reduced my diarrhea, it has also stopped my abdominal cramps during bowel movement. Also since I've been on this diet, I haven't felt an urgent need to run to the bathroom.

It isn't a cure by any means, but for me the simple spaghetti has become my savior out of a very depressing and debilitating condition. Hence, my query on psyllium husk and acacia fiber supplements. I'm planning to try either or both of them eventually and if they have the same effect as pasta, then I'll be free from having to eat a meal of pasta every day, lol.

I hope your pain dissipates soon, and unless you have complications from surgery, I'm sure you'll recover well. If the pain is moderate and manageable, my guess is your body needs more time to heal. Despite the pain (unless of course it is acute), I suggest pay attention to any sign of fever as it can be an indication of an infection.

p.s. Why not just test pasta with Ragu sauce and see how they react in your digestive system? Maybe it will help you just as much.

Hi webdk,  thanks so much for your detailed reply and my apologies for the delay in posting.  I'm glad that you've managed to find something that seems to be helping you and i hope the situation continues to improve.  I'll bear in mind what you said about the Ragu sauce but I'm still too scared to try it at the moment for fear of making the pain even worse which for me is now a much bigger worry than the diarreah. I hope it is the case that my body needs longer to heal.  I really would have thought that after 7 weeks the pain would have stopped but having read the comments on here maybe it can take a lot longer. Take care

As doctors usually ask, on a scale of 1 - 10, what is the level of your pain? If after 7 weeks you're still having pain in the gallbladder area, I'm wondering whether it's not from a slow recovery but from a complication. 

By my 7th week, I was pretty much free of pain. What pain I felt after a meal was a general discomfort in the abdominal/pancreas/gallbladder area, but they were mild and would dissipate within half hour.

How intense is your pain? If above 6 or 7, maybe best to visit your surgeon for a follow-up evaluation.