My son had his appendix out 2 years ago and is having terible problems. Thanks for all the advice- I will make sure he gets the info. Oue GP says he has adhesions and needs to manage them. He is embrassed at school when he needs to go and has missed alot of school.

Thanks everyone for posting -- it has been about 18 months since the appendix was removed and he still has more frequent bowel movements which are much more urgent than in the past. There is no doubt that the appendectomy triggered something.
I know doctors say the appendix doesn't serve a purpose, but I wonder...
He has gone through all kinds of tests a while ago e.g. endoscopy, stool samples etc.. and nothing has been found, except for the diagnosis of IBS, which is used when they can't figure it out. All suggestions are appreciated and will definitely try them.

Mumwithheadache ---I wonder about the adhesions, what caused them and how do you alleviate that problem?

The only positive thing is that some days are better than others.

They are when your bowel sticks together after it has been operated on. There isnt anything you can do to get rid of this- just manage it with diet and exercise.
Anyone can get them when bowel surgery has been performed.
He has good nd bad days and he knows what he has to eat to be ok but how can a 13 year old be good all the time when he is out and about with his friends!

I am 70 years old and I had an open appendectomy on June 22, a large incision about 5". I have experienced the same loose bowel described here as well as feeling like I have to go most of the time and just a little bit comes out. I've also experienced a lot of pain in my right abdoman, around my side and into my back, so much so I have to hold my abdoman when I walk out to get the mail. I will try the cranberry juice and yogurt suggested here, but I don't know when I'll be able to go grocery shopping due to the pain.

Now a month out from surgery and the upper stomach pain is debilitating. Been doing probiotics, aloe vera whole leaf and cranberry juice - nothing helps. There is no way I will ever be able to return to work with this pain that doubles me over. Yes the surgeon has been watching me and playing dumb to all my questions as to what this could be.. All I know is that I did not have this problem before the surgery but now? OMG! The imagination can run wild - now I wonder if maybe they inserted a toothy worm in there that starts biting me when he gets hungry! Eating or not eating - it comes on me mid-day and I am useless until it passes - often cannot sleep until the wee hours waiting for it to pass.

Now how can the doctor not know what this is?

Here we are creating a data base for them in case they wish to claim ignorance.

i had my appendix out on july 6 although my IBS started after i had my galbladder removed 11 years ago. i had it under control for the most part. after my appendix was taken out (it did not rupture or leak) i noticed new symptoms that are not very fun to live with. i find that eating dairy or high in fat foods are a trigger. i still eat yogurt for the good bactiria. it does help i also eat some bran to try to stay regular. IBS isnt something fun to live with more a pain in the butt. but you can control it.

I had an emergency appendectomy the last week of April of 2009. Following my surgery I had multiple infections which resulted in a lengthy recovery. Since then I have been experiencing bowel problems and I am looking to see if anyone has experienced the same problems following their surgery. I have been having very painful bowel movements which result in bleeding and a lot of discomfort. After a month of this problem I went to my doctor and she suggested to buy stool softeners and drink plenty of water and healthy foods. It has now been 3 full months and nothing has changed. I recently went to the hospital for an Xray of my abdomen to see if there was an internal problem due to my surgery. Please let me know if anyone has had a similar issue. Thanks

My bowels are not right either. Still irregular and loose, not diarrhea though. I generally avoid eating dairy but Activia has provided some relief of the stomach pain and so I went and bought yogurt that I plan to mix with fruit on my own.

Have reinitiated psyllium for regularity as I was getting backed up. Basically take an 8 oz glass of water with 1 tsp psyllium and 1 tsp molasses (blackstrap) prior to each meal. Must follow this drink with 8 oz water or it could jam you up worse. Slippery elm bark powder is a wonderful gentle bm stimulator and it cleanses mucous from the lungs as well, convenient because I find that if I am backlogged I will also have lung congestion. I make the Slippery elm as a tea with cinnamon and honey but it does get very mucilaginous and lots of folk can't handle that and so take it in gel capsules. I try to avoid the gelcaps too as I have read that for some they don't digest well and form a mass in the intestine.

So my bowels are moving artificially, not normally. Will I have to do this for the rest of my life?

I am very angry that the doctor plays dumb and won't answer my questions as to the cause of these problems. Will this stomach pain ever go away? And why is it there to begin with? There is no question but that it is related to the surgery.

I am 26 and had my appendix taken out at 12 years old. I had the cramping untill about 20-21 then that stopped. I am still the same as everyone else with having to fly to the bathroom in the morning. but now because of 14 years of problems I am starting to have blood vessles rupture inside my entire digestive system and need surgery again. so yes it can cause problems later. But I also had my appendix rupture in the hospitle when they were testing me so my surgery did have some nasty complications.

TO HELP-
1. empty out in the morning(coffee helps)
2. for the cramping quickly drink (chug) a non acidic liquid as hot as you can handle
3. dont eat anything hard like peanuts or corn meal on an empty stomach.
4. try to only go once a day, if you over do it you could have problems down the road.

Jac 89
Hi, I had my appendix removed 7 years ago when I was 32 weeks pregnant. I began suffering with somach and bowel attacks within a year. I have been to specialists and they couldn't find out what was wrong. It was only when I was watching DR. Oz the other day and this came up. I can't believe that my suffering is related to my appendiz removel and all the Dr's that I have been to have neaver made the connection.
I will now be trying some probiotics to see if that helps. Is anyone affected by certain foods more than others???? Some things that have not been bothing me are now starting to bother me more..

activia, homemade sauerkraut, probiotics - this type thing has helped me to get somewhat normalized and reduce the pain. The doc emphatically insisted that I needed to see a gastroenterologist - that this new development had nothing to do with the appendicitis. The doc is WRONG! Recently there was an article posted even on mainstream news sites like Yahoo that they now understand that the appendix is a reservoir for digestive bacteria in case yours get depleted for whatever reason. I have had to learn my lessons about doctoral idiocy the hard way - how many people get sent on many years of expensive wild goosechases by this misdirection?

I had mine out for some time, I think it is stress related because when i go on vacation the problems go away. My problems are flattened stool, long think stool, twisted stool, having to go to the bathroom every hour for 3 to 4 hours. Ive gone to a few Gastroint dr. and its useless, even got scoped! Try different foods, try to go on a Gluten Free diet for 10 days (dont stop after 2). Sometimes this helps, if it was a wheat based product that caused the blockage that caused the appendics to go, your body may have formed antibodies that are fighting it. If you avoid gluten for about 2 to 6 months, those antibodies should weaken or dissapear! Ive gone about a week without gluten, but i always fall of the wagon, its hard!

Try to relax, go on vacation and take it easy, it really helps.... Also try doing situps, about 25 to 100 a day until your abs regain strength, they pump your internal cavity with CO2 and it stretches the muscles, and basically puts them in shock! The most important thing is to not get depressed!

I had my appendix removed when I was 10 and I am 24 now. I have had bowel problems ever since the operation. 90% of the time I have a bowel movement it is diarrhea. Sometimes it is also accompanied by constipation and almost always cramps. I've just learned to live with it.

I have had similar problems, but they don't seem to be as bad as other people's.

I'm 32, and I had a lap appendectomy about 5 weeks ago. I took Percocet for a couple of days, but never took any stool softener. My bowel movements before then were normally harder than average, but after the surgery, they have almost always been soft and loose, almost diarrhea-ish at times. I tend to go at least once a day, sometimes twice if it's diarrhea-ish. I don't have any pain, thankfully, either during the movement or otherwise, but I know the soft/loose bowel movements are definitely related to the surgery. While I'm happy that I don't have to strain (and my hemorrhoid isn't irritated), I am wondering what the trade-off is for soft stool. Is it not absorbing nutrients as efficiently?

I haven't noticed myself eating more or less than before.

Anyway, just my experience.