From enemy to friend

A year ago when I had a severe flare up of ulcerative colitis, I took Imodium so that I could go to work without trouble. Little did I know that the Imodium nearly would kill me. I bloated up continually but the Imodium had paralyzed my digestive tract from passing any gas. Within 12 hours I nearly burst. It would have been very ugly. The clinical name for the burst is toxic megacolon when your colon is so inflamed that it bursts, spewing feces into body cavities and blood. I recall vaguely that there is a 20+% chance of death and the surgery to fix me would have been ugly, if it would work at all. Thankfully a burst never happened. My body eventually responded to the horrible Imodium ingestion by eventually causing concurrent diarrhea and vomitting. This was not fun and Imodium became my enemy.

Now with an ostomy and my colitis "cured" I feel that Imodium rocks. I took one tablet last night and it made it far easier to sleep as my bag stopped filling up every 2 hours. It also made changing my adhesive barrier much easier and cleaner. And moreover, it slows things down so that I absorb more water than before. Remember that the colon's job is to re-absorb water and electrolytes. I don't have a colon anymore. Until my small intestine learns how to absorb water better I am losing water at a much higher rate than before. Any way to ensure hydration is welcome. Imodium is definitely my new friend!