Ok, I need some feedback. I have been having stomach cramping and diarrhea for a week straight. I have been eating 1/2 cup of creamy chicken soup some evenings but it still happens when Im not eating any dairy. It is not much inside to come out if you know what i mean, but the intestinal cramping and feeling like I have to have a bowel movement is painful and uncomfortable. I went to get seen and I was given imodium to take to stop the episodes. I didnt take it the fist day, but i ended up taking two pills because i am at work and cant keep going to the bathroom! It helped slow down the bowels but I was still having intestinal cramps and some stomach aches. I even tried the tums and gas x but nothing. I finally took some tylenol and it seems to help the pain. I guess I will be doing tylenol until the pain stops all together. Is this normal?? Has anyon else had the same issue??

I had surgery on tues and have been having the same problem.... I am anxiously awaiting an end to it.....

liquids in, liquids out.

Yeah, diarrhea is normal. When I spoke to my surgeon about it, he said that unless I was going like 7-9 times every day, he wasn't worried about it as it was normal. If I had been going that often, then he would be concerned about a complication (not lactose intolerance - but something else that I forget the name of).

When I had some episodes of lactose intolerance - it happened within an hour or so of my ingesting a particular weight loss shake and it would only happen then. The doctor that I was seeing at the time suggested that I take lactaid tablets and that helped.

Well I was going quite a bit on Monday and tuesday but I guess i will email my doc and see if there is something I should be concerned about. Its just the sensation of feeling like I have to go gets uncomfortable and then I feel a little gas build up. It makes me feel like I need to go...sometimes I do go and other times I dont. I took tylenol to help the intestinal cramping pain and it helped. I was able to sleep and not get up every 30-45 mins.

I recommend getting some probiotics. I developed lactose intolerance post-op, but could tolerate some cheeses and yogurts. I had the liquids in, liquids out issue as well, but I found that probiotics helped with the cramping more than anything. Yogurt (greek yogurt) was my main staple in my diet, and I could tolerate it even though I could not tolerate milk, or protein shakes. Creamy soups were a little too heavy for me, and I used the reduced fat of the cream of celery, broccoli, and thinned them out with water.

The gas build up is something you are eating that your body is not digesting. So the bacteria in your intestines are breaking it down for you and giving off gas as they work away. But if you are on liquids then the saying goes liquids in liquids out. I had similar problems in the beginning for the first 4 weeks (I am sure it was the protein shakes for me). Do not get the episodes as often now (maybe once a month) and I get all my protein from food. Check with your doc as to what he/she thinks.

Diarrhea the first few weeks is pretty normal, but the gas part makes me think lactose intolerance. Just cut out the dairy for one day and see how you do.

Diaherria was horrible for the first couple of weeks for me. After I started eating some solids it slowed down. I found that the Protein shakes and milk became impossible to drink. I am 3 months out and still have dumping after my first meal every day.