Managing diarrhoea with a stoma

Hi Amy

Sorry to hear that your dad is having problems with his stoma output being high and having the occasional diarrhoea all of which can be caused by the combination of the treatment and the medication we have to take. It seems like to win one battle we have to fight a few more before we get to see some progress.

You may remember back in August that I suggested that you joined our Bowel (colon and rectal) cancer forum and our Ileostomy, colostomy, urostomy and any other stoma support groups and I think this maybe the time to join them and ask this question and why you may ask, simply because as you've asked this question in the carers only group you have reduced your audience for replies as only carers only can respond but over in the other two groups you will have a larger audience and with a lot of practical experience in helping with your question as many will have been in a similar position and will share with you.

Would you like to click on this Bowel (colon and rectal) cancer forum and when the page opens click on join this group then start a new discussion then paste your above question into the box and press send. The Ileostomy, colostomy, urostomy and any other stoma support group maybe to help but it might be worth waiting to see what the bowel group comes up with before joining us.

I take it that the GP has prescribed immodium for diarrhoea, if he is only taking the recommended dose of 8 tablets per day providing the GP supervised it this quantity can be increased quite considerably, have a word with GP about the dosage.

Diet obviously takes a big part in this and eating a low fibre day is a good starting point providing the meal plans give him the protein and vitamins he needs.

I like to suggest that a food diary be started  noting everything that enters dad's mouth including the sneaky snack and drinks and also his output volume and  consistency and trying to build up a picture of what is going on. His medics will be interested in seeing the diary as well.

These may be of interest to you.

A guide to eating well when following a low fibre diet.

Low fibre diet

Your dad should aim to keep his fluid levels to about 2 litres per day made up with water, tea, coffee, soups and sauces but avoiding fizzy drinks like canned drinks and alcohol.

He may also need to take an extra vitamin tablet daily such as a multivitamin type to replace the electrolytes and vitamins he could be losing through the diarrhoea.

I'm sure that the friendly members of the bowel group will rally round you and give you the benefit of their experience on this.

I look forward to seeing over in the other two groups and hope that together we can help you to make life a little more comfortable in the future.

Ian

CC

Hi Ian,

I joined the group as advised, I’ll wait and see if there’s any further advice over there. 
The diarrhoea tablets have actually been prescribed by Christie’s and not the GP and 8 is the maximum dosage, as it’s stronger medication than Imodium. 
We are following a low fibre diet and he is definitely getting the needed protein and vitamins. We have also been recording a food diary for several months now and regardless of what he eats at the moment output is the same, definitely not a food issue. He also is very good at fluid intake which is important due to the volume of output. Christie’s have advised again other vitamins at the moment so that isn’t an option for us. 

Thanks for the help,

Amy