Hello
I had a right side hemicolectomy in January this year after the discovery of a cancerous polyp. The op went well and I recovered without concern. 6 months down the line however I am experiencing a lot of bowel movements, at least two in the morning and often one in the afternoon as well. Yesterday I had 4. I raised this with my consultant at my 3 month check and he said if it was becoming inconvenient I could have medication to control it. I have to say it is definitely inconvenient when I am racing for the loo because I don’t have much time from the initial feeling of needing to go, to actually needing to go. I walk my dogs most mornings for an hour and feel I can’t leave the house unless I’ve had two poos, and even then I end up racing to the car towards the end of the walk. I’m not sure if the exercise is stimulating my bowel, or if it’s in my head now. Once I sit in my car, the urgency goes - until I get home. I considered my food intake and wondered if I should reduce portion sizes so there’s not so much going through my system all at once, but this hasn’t made much difference. I wonder if anyone else here has been offered medication to control their bowel and if it works well? I’d appreciate any advice, especially advice on food intake if I can work this instead of medication.
The reason the cancer was found in the first place was because of bowel movement changes so now I’m beginning to forget what was normal.
Thank you for reading.
