short bowel disease

by jim bain
(toledo ohio usa)

anyone have this

Comments for short bowel disease

Click here to add your own comments

Short Bowel Disease NEW
by: Annette Young

Hello there,

Thanks for your question. I don't have short bowel disease personally but I have a friend who has and I can appreciate what you might be going through.

Essentially short bowel syndrome is an umbrella term for problems experienced by those who have had half or more than half of their small intestine removed. Problems include absorption difficulty. The bowel is made up out of the small and large intestine and it is the small intestine that digest most of the food and absorbs most of the nutrients. Those with this condition struggle to absorb enough vitamins, mineral and water etc.

Symptoms include diarrhea in the main but will also include bloating, fatigue, heartburn and cramping.

Eating smaller meals but more often is one way to cope if the symptoms are mild. Also having additional fluids and supplements. It can help to take medication to ease diarrhea but discuss this always with your doctor first.

For more severe cases, treatment can be with intravenous fluids and electrolyte supplements. But anyone who has this condition should always seek the advice of a doctor/specialist who understands it and the nutritional requirements.

It is always good to talk to others who have similar symptoms as I know it can be an isolating condition.

I attach a link to a site with more information.
http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/193391-treatment

I hope this helps?

Best wishes,

Annette






Click here to add your own comments

Join in and write your own page! It's easy to do. How? Simply click here to return to Ask A Question About Crohn's Disease.

Enjoy this page? Please pay it forward. Here's how...

Would you prefer to share this page with others by linking to it?

  1. Click on the HTML link code below.
  2. Copy and paste it, adding a note of your own, into your blog, a Web page, forums, a blog comment, your Facebook account, or anywhere that someone would find this page valuable.