Has anyone experienced pain in their rectum during a bout of pouchitis? I have a lot of pressure in my rectum, have a hard to eliminating, and feel stabbing pains in my rectum when I push. I've had pouchitis before, but these symptoms are a bit different.

Are you sure you do not have a fissure or cuffitis?

Jan

How do I know if I have fissure? Also, it was my understanding that I can't get cuffitis if my rectum was scraped during the 1-step - is that true?

You might have a stricture which has caused some irritiation in the anal canal. If you have trouble completely emptying or only pass a small amount of stool at a time, this could be the case. Have your doc do a digital (finger) rectal exam to check. Pain from that or pain from a fissure could cause muscle spasms and pain down there. Try sitting in a hot bath, on a heating pad, or put some regular white rice in an old tube sock, tie a knot on top, and put in the microwave for 1-2 minutes. Put the sock where it hurts and sit for a while. If it's too hot you might need a towel in between though!

This will only help the spasms. If you have a fissure you will probably need topical medication to treat it.

Keep us posted!
Lori

The sad truth is that the rectal mucosa can grow back if some cells were left behind. Doesn't happen often, but it does happen. If you have bleeding, then you probably have a fissure or cuffitis. The pain on defecation is sort of a classic symptom of a fissure. If it is a fissure, it doesn't sound like a very big one, otherwise you would be screaming about the intense pain you had when you emptied your pouch. You can do a mini digital exam yourself. If you cannot slip a lubed finger in past the first knuckle, then you may have a stricture.

Jan

Every time I go off my antibiotic regimen, I get that pain. When I go back on the ABs, it slowly goes away.

I'm starting to wonder if it isn't cuffitis.