Explanation: Why many BMs when TI is inflamed? And: How often do you go?

[Charlotte.]

I'm wondering why many of us "Crohnies" have diarrhoea and many loose stools when the terminal ileum is not the part of the intestinal tract that absorbs the watery content. It's the colon in fact, right? So, maybe that's a stupid question but I don't really understand it.
Can someone help?

And: I know, this question has been raised in older threats but I don't want to write the question in an old threat.

So, how many times do you go to the bathroom when you are in a flare-up?
Is there any number for what is "normal" in a flare? It might differ, right?

 

[DustyKat]

The terminal ileum is also the area of the bowel where bile salts are reabsorbed back into the body. When the bowel is inflamed it doesn’t allow the normal absorption process to take place and this why many with ileal Crohn’s are also nutrient deficient.

So, when the bile salts aren’t reabsorbed in the terminal ileum they get ‘dumped’ into the large bowel. As you already know the large bowel is where the stool goes through a process of having the water drawn in and out of it so by the time it reaches the rectum it is solid. This process is disrupted when there is the presence of larger than normal amounts of bile salts moving through the large bowel as the salts cause the opposite osmotic effect…rather than water moving out the salts draw water into the bowel and keep it there.

I don’t have Crohn’s, my kids do, but you are right in thinking that there is no normal number when it comes to how many times a person goes when flaring. It varies from the extreme of some having constipation when flaring right through to the other extreme of some going as much as 20 plus times a day.

Dusty. xxx

 

[Charlotte.]

Wow, DustyKat, thank you so much for the explanation. It's much more complex than I expected it to be.
Yes, for me it is once a day right after I got a high dose steroids i.v. up to 20 times... And this process of increasing can happen really fast, quite frustrating.