Severe diarrhoea

[slapstick]

Anyone else prone to uncontrollable diarrhoea ? I have stage 4 kidney disease. My renal consultant doesn't seem to think it is linked to renal disease.

[Jayhawker]

I definitely used to have quite the problem with the runs!!! It was not related to my CKD. In my case it was related to a gall bladder removal.

I was referred to a gastroenterologist. He said that lots of people my age had this problem following a gall bladder removal; in essence it takes the body of an older person longer to adjust to working without a gall bladder. He thought it would take approximately 5 years for my body to adjust.

Sure enough, 5 years and 3 months after my gall bladder surgery my problem resolved. No more runs now unless I’ve got an intestinal bug of some sort.

Jayhawker

[slapstick in reply to Jayhawker]

Interesting! I had my gallbladder removed some years ago during a liver transplant. Will check with my liver specialist. Thanks

[Hidden]

Similar to what Jayhawker said with regard to the gallbladder removal surgery. I was diagnosed with CKD two and a half years ago and my kidney-friendly meal plan called for a minimal amount of fat consumption. My gallbladder was removed on Oct. 7th of 2019. My systems were messed up for only about 3 days post-surgery, and then because of my specific meal plan I didn't have any bowel issues. When I met with my surgeon, PCP, and nephrologist about 30 days post-surgery they were all in agreement that I would/had adjusted quickly because of having CKD and very low-fat content in my meals. So benefits of CKD, chalk up a win for the solid bowels.

If as Jayhawker suggested and you do see a gastroenterologist let me give you some information to speed along the process. Begin writing down your meals and include any specific fat content foods, like dairy, oils, etc. in your journaling. Also, make a list of your bowel movements and if they were watery, loose, or solid. Once the GI gets a look at that they can more than likely give you a direction. If not, then the first thing they are likely to tell you is to write down what you are consuming, and record your bowel movements.

Best of luck and I hope everything comes out alright.

[slapstick in reply to Hidden]

That makes sense to me. I suspect I am consuming quite a lot of fat. I will certainly start to keep a food diary. I know I will feel much better if I can sort out this problem. It's exhausting!

[Jayhawker in reply to Hidden]

Yes, I, too, was already following a very low fat diet prior to the gall bladder surgery. I only ate boneless skinless chicken breasts, etc. I did use olive oil some for salad dressings but that was about it for fat. Nevertheless, I still had lots of problems. I did write down everything I ate and drank to give my GI. He prescribed Creon, a really expensive medication, that I took before every meal. That solved the eat and dump problem. He periodically had me discontinue the medication to see if I would be able to eat without it. He would then restart it for me as I continued to have problems. In October of 2016 I was finally able to eat without much difficulty. My gall bladder surgery happened in July of 2011.

I still eat a low fat diet. And there are some foods I just no longer eat, eg, mayonnaise, butter, peanut butter, fried food of any sort, etc. but I’m able to eat most other foods without any difficulties at this point. I could probably eat some of those I just listed but essentially choose not to eat them due to their fat content.

Jayhawker

[Hidden in reply to Jayhawker]

Peanut butter, mayo, butter, and other fat containing oils were never part of my meal plan. For the 15 months prior to my CKD diagnosis, I was on a diet that helped me lose 146 pounds. My then PCP did my exam that morning, and told me I had to make further changes to my eating. When I questioned, "Why?" she said, "Because you have CKD." So many of the foods I had been eating to lose the weight were no longer going to be healthy for me. I had an afternoon appointment with a nephrologist who confirmed the CKD, and provided me with a referral to a renal dietitian. Based on my previous years labs we developed a meal plan that among other benefits kept me eating a very low-fat plan. Even with that I had developed gallstones, and this past October, had to have my gallbladder removed. As I said, after the first few days I've not had any bowel issues. I think the biggest plus for me was getting off certain types of seafood, primarily fish with a higher content of fat. Still, even those fish were still low in fat. Other than that I'm at a loss to explain why I haven't had any loose or watery stools.

[Jayhawker in reply to Hidden]

That’s just great news for you🐶

I have a friend who has nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. She had some eat and dump after her gall bladder surgery that lasted about 6 weeks. She, too, follows a strict low-fat diet both before and following the gall bladder surgery. Fortunately for her, it didn’t last as long as my experience...

My GI felt pretty strongly that my intestinal tract was out of balance in addition to the gall bladder surgery. I’m not sure whether that was a part of my problem or not. I was really sick for 5 weeks nonstop before they finally did the gall bladder surgery. I wasn’t able to eat or drink anything without vomiting. Even sucking on a few ice chips caused vomiting. I became dangerously underweight and was severely dehydrated. Ultimately they put me in the hospital and got IVs started.

It was after this whole situation that my renal function suddenly plummeted from normal range to CKD low Stage IV. My nephrologist was able to achieve some rebound in my renal function but only to very high Stage IV or low Stage IIIb.

My kidneys were in trouble following this issue. They had been functioning consistently in the normal range until this gall bladder attack. Also, as soon as my renal function plummeted my mild anemia shifted to severe anemia with hemoglobin of 5.6 as compared with 10.6 prior to the gall bladder attack. I’ve had severe anemia ever since.

Obviously, my situation was a pretty extreme situation. Clearly they should have pulled my gall bladder out sooner. Of course hind sight is always better than foresight. But it’s clear that my renal function would be in much better shape had they handled my gall bladder attack differently. I try not to dwell on this issue as it does me no good...

Jayhawker

[Dragondog]

About 8 months into my ckd diet I developed explosive diarrhea. After extensive testing eliminating everything else, my PCP decided it was caused by my high fiber diet. Adjustment to my fiber intake solved the problem.

[Bassetmommer NKF Ambassador]

Hi Slapstick,

I too had gallbladder surgery and it took a while to adjust but that was years ago for me. I have suffered bouts of the "OMG's"...when you eyebrows shoot up and your clench as you run for the nearest facility. For me, I found it was stress and medications that were causing the situation. I got off a medication and that helped immensely. The stress induced response turns out to be common with my family. However, the last two years at my job, it was a real problem. I was living on Imodium per doctor orders. We had three bathrooms, nine seats, for over 250 people, mostly women, and they were at opposite ends of the building. So if one was filled, you had to run through the building to the other side and either up or downstairs. It took strong muscles....... Talk about stress.

One thing I would suggest is that you check out is your water. Believe it or not, that can be an issue. Do you drink right from the tap? We had an issue in our area many years ago when the water supply became contaminated with zebra mussels. There have been other issues too that they request water boiling. When I lived in the city with their water supply, every spring I would get this issue. I do not here in the burbs; different water system. If you drink water from a refrigerator hook up, like a through the door tap, they too can harbor bacteria, even with the filter. How old are your pipes in your home? Always run the water before you fill the glass. You might try switching to bottled water to see if that helps. (I do not normally suggest people use bottled water as I think it is wasteful) Another culprit is dish soap. If you do not rinse your dishes well, especially glasses, the soap can give you the trots.

The thing I want to mention is that you can become dehydrated very easily with diarrhea, especially when chronic and acute. This is very bad and dangerous for people with CKD. Go see your doctor soon.

[daxielovinglady]

Have you considered Stress., ? Anxiousness screws the brain & body in so many ways.

[slapstick in reply to daxielovinglady]

Yes. I think stress is definitely playing a part here. I am now making a definite effort to keep calm. Yoga and walking help me clear my head!

[daxielovinglady]

Excellent thinking Slapstick, Yoga & walking are really good & easily done , so well done. you. Take care & don't beat yourself up (easily said I know !) however., remember there is only one of you & you're most important . I wish you a peaceful New Year