I've had a pouch for almost 15 years now. It's mostly ok but the odd time I do get issues. On the weekend I started with bad cramping that would come on suddenly and then release. Then by Sunday my whole stomach area was very sore. It especially hurts when I switch positiions (e.g. standing up after sitting, lying down, etc).

I saw my doctor today but since I'm so sore to begin with, he didn't use the scope to examine me. Based on my symptoms he thinks it's pouchitis and prescribed what I believe is flagly (has a medical name meth...something).

Just wondering if anyone else has gotten the tender/sore feeling in their stomach with pouchitis? How long does it take to go away?

Sounds more like a blockage situation to me than pouchitis, as the pain can be intense at times and leave you with lingering soreness from the intestines trying to work overtime. But, perhaps your doc prescribed the flagyl/metronidazole for a good reason.

Hi,
Thanks for your response. I am able to go to the bathroom, but not as much. So wouldn't this mean it's not a blockage? My doctor didn't want to irritate it more and thus didn't check me with the scope. I am praying the metronidazole works..and quickly as the cramping is worse today (have only taken the med once last night)

Give the medication a couple of days to work.

Blockages can resolve quickly, or sometimes they take a while. Have you eaten anything lately that you can think of which would have caused one? Adhesions are another cause of obstruction and would need further investigation.
If you're still having the cramps, it is possibly something other than a blockage. I've had a couple of blockages, and with my food obstruction I was still able to go to the bathroom a little bit, and of course what is already in your pouch before the blockage occurred is likely to come out. Even so, unless there is a total obstruction (which would likely send you to the ER with vomiting) you might still have small, infrequent BM's. Obstructions are generally described as a waving, churning pain, that comes and goes every few minutes, as the bowel tries to move the contents thru. It can be very intense to manageable pain.

Thanks again for your reply Shelby. Haven't eaten anything different or abnormal. I did have corn on the cobb a few days in a row last week, but I've had that before many times. I have not vomited (dr did ask that). The pain is similar to the UC (from what I remember...that was almost 15 years ago) with intense tightening like cramps. It's like someone is twisting my intesting and then releasing. Pain was very bad this morning and over night, but is cramping a little less now. HOpefully it'll just take a day or two for the meds to kick in. I took one with breakfast and another with dinner.

Thanks..so sorry you've had to deal with a multiple blockages. What do you do for them to make them go away? (just as a precausion)

Don't eat anything if you suspect a blockage (and you know what you're dealing with). It can be tricky, as you are finding out. But, rule #1 is to really limit or eliminate any food because it just makes matters worse.
Many people think that grape and apple juice will help a food obstruction, and also taking a medication like xanax if you have that available. It seems to calm the system down a bit. There was some talk about that recently, as a potential 'remedy' of sorts. Oh, and no imodium or anything that slows the system down!
Otherwise, just be careful with your chewing. It could be the corn is backed up in there. I do really well if I eat corn for elimination reasons but I can't eat it for days in a row -that will cause cramping for me.
I suggest that if you aren't feeling any relief within 48 hours of starting on the flagyl that you call your doc back... it could be something else but hopefully it isn't and you'll be all fixed up

Thanks Shelby. I'm so up in nerves hoping this goes away soon and can be 'normal' again. Maybe my doctor should have just scoped me to determine the cause. I'm to call him next Tues to let him know how I'm doing (assuming i don't need to sooner than that).