I'm out of surgery 3 weeks tomorrow...I had my J pouch converted to a K pouch by Dr Launer. I've got severe cramping despite keeping my diet to the bare minimum...I intebate and flush as directed, but the cramps persist. Has anyone else experienced this? If so, how long does it last? HELP!

What does Dr. Launer tell you?
You shouldn't have cramping. Try liquids, making sure you are including Gatorade, for 24 hours and see how you do...but again,what has Dr. Launer said?

Hi - nice to see another kpoucher! I agree that you shouldn't have cramping and to call Dr. L.

Sometimes it takes time to see how far to insert your cath to get good flow. Try hot green tea and drink some 100% grape juice to see if you can get your pouch clear (along with irrigating). And, the new G2 has less sugar then gatorade if you're watching calories, and vitalyte, stamina, etc. are good.

Are you having diarrhea - there is a nasty gastro bug going around and that would cause cramping. Either way, please call Dr. L.

Please keep us posted and continue to ask questions- welcome to the kpouch group!

Dr. Launer kind of blew me off. He didn't have very long to talk to me, but he said it was just the pouch growing, and that I could be having pain as it expands over the next 6 months. I have an appointment with him on Thursday. Hopefully, I can get a better explanation.

But this is really painful. Peaks at 11 on the pain scale. It feels a lot like the pain I was having with the J-pouch that prompted the conversion to the K.

The pain is of building pressure and cramping, followed by a gurgling noise and a release of the pressure and pain, but often the pressure starts building immediately after the gurgle. It sounds like gas, but even when I was on the J-pouch, I could never pass more than a little bit of gas.


I've always had a real hard time with nausea on the liquid diet. Phenergan doesn't quite cut it when all I have is sugar water in my belly. Besides, I've had a couple of blockages, and this doesn't feel like one.

Janice,
As far as diarrhea, that's true, and I had some a couple of days ago, but I seem to be OK now. The thickness has been varying a lot. The Dilaudid, of course, makes it thick, the grape juice and green tea alone don't always cut it, so sometimes I use some Mylanta (which can cause cramping).

Plus I think the UTI I had in the hospital is coming back (which can cause cramping).

But this is a different kind of cramps.

Ok..let's see..a couple ideas:

Zofran works great for nausea and Bentyl can help with cramping. The pouch will cause cramping as it grows - it will mature in about six weeks - that is why it's important to continue taking the pain med. Maybe dilaudid is not working - maybe another type of pain killer would be better. Dr. L should be able to prescribe new meds if it will help. If you feel he blew you off, insist on talking with him before your thur appt. Surgeons are not always the best at bedside manners - I've met him personally and I love him, but you need to push sometimes.

I suggest you drink chicken or beef broth - the sodium is important if you feel dyhydrated - too much of that sugar water makes the diarrhea and cramping far worse. I love broth and good ole soda crackers when I'm cramping.

Please PM me if you want to talk - I'm in Orange County too and available anytime to help.

Hi Rachel,
I am so sorry for the pain and the cramping...I ususally tried to use a heating pad or hot water bottle to ease it off a little (just check to see if it is not too soon for heat this early post op)it worked wonders for me. Also...prune juice and black coffe are my best forms of drainoo...work wonders...Dr. C in Canada was the instigator of it for me and I have been using it for 30 years..cleans me out really well and limits the sediment and residue so much better than green tea but you have to like it to use it (I love it!! ). Camomile tea is good for cramps too. You may have to wiggle around a bit to find the right tube position to get all of that hot air out of you. sometimes it finds a nice little pocket and gets stuck there...very uncomfortable.
Can you lie on your side? Use different positions before you intubate to try to move it around a bit if needed....
Other than that...low residue protien diets help along with fresh juices for the vitamins...just avoid the gas producers.
hang in there
sharon

Hey,

Thank you all so much for your help on this issue. I finally have the problem under control, and it wasn't what any of us thought!

I went to see Dr. L that thursday and he still blew off my cramping. The next day the pain was so bad, I went to the E.R. After a CT scan, we had the answer. A very large abscess was attached to my small intestines and growing so big that it was pushing on my intestines and blocking me up!

I had to have a tube put in my tummy in order to drain all the fluid. I was in the hospital for a week! But within 5 days of the tube being put in I had an immediate cessation of the pain and cramping. And it has continued now for 14 days! I feel great! The tube was taken out Monday, just in time for me to go to a wedding this weekend. This wedding (of my best friend) has been my point on the horizon these last hard months. I wanted so badly to be well enough to go (its in Vegas) and now I not only can go, but I feel great and I don't have to hide that bulky bag under my dress!!!

Unrelatedly, I have been having a messy intubation issue. I'm gonna make another new post so others will see this question.

Thank you all again

Rachel

Hello Rachel,
I'm so glad that you sorted out your problem and I hope that you had a great time at the wedding.
A few weeks after my surgery I also experienced a great deal of pain and bloating. I had to have an x ray just to check that I didn't have a blockage. The x ray was clear and it turned out to be pouchitis. After a course of Ciprofloxacin it cleared up. I have had several episodes of pouchitis and the symptoms are always the same. The output becomes quite foamy and this is also an indication.

Julie