What do you do when your stool is just sludge? I have been irrigating forever and I have to take the tube out every time then clean it. Exhausting and starting to be very frustrated with this pouch.

Vanessa,
Sludge...meaning very thick stool? Prune juice or grape juice, tons of weak coffee or green tea. (see my previous post to you)...If you have to keep pulling out the tube that usually means that pieces or fiber or unchewed food is stuck in it...chew, chew, chew...or if you are like me, a really lazy chewer...I use a hand blender on foods that I know are going to cause me problems...things like pumpkin, carrots, zucchini etc...I just put them in a bowl and puree them with the mixer or if not throw them into a blender...
You have to drink more than when you had a j pouch because you Need your stools to be liquid...so carbs are not good for that...Everything that you did to keep stools thick is off the books...liquid is what you want...if 'plucking' stuff out of the tube grosses you out, keep a pair of tweezers handy in your kit, it makes it easier...
Keep away from milk products other than yoghurt because it will probably give you thick, bubbly and gassy stools (empties out easily but really uncomfortable if you are trying to wait between intubations. Limit veggies (for now) to things like peeled cucumbers, skined tomatoes etc...do not eat veggie skins, fried potatoes (really thickens things up in there), salads (those leaves are going to get stuck in the tube)...
Hang in there...This period of time is a learning experience...And keep a log of what and when you eat and how it comes out...we are all different so your pouch may not function like ours...
Hang in there and happy New Year
Sharon

I thought I was good. I ate what I ate in the hospital and drank at least 100oz of liquid with small bites big chew. And my foley i had in for my trip was draining. Got
Home to irrigate before bed and just slidge. Took about 2 hrs to get stuff out

Sludge means that either your output has 'dried out' in your pouch...meaning that the liquid was sucked out...or that you are not drinking enough for your pouches needs...just because you drink a lot does not mean that you drink enough...or at least not enough of the right liquids...if you want it to be liquidy then it is in this order: prune juice, grape juice, coffee, green tea and then other juices like orange, madarine etc...water hydrates your body but does not necessarily liquify your pouch and you took a very long car ride...so go back to more 'productive liquids'...generally if it is just sludge with no pieces you should be able to empty out with only a couple of irrigations (how much liquid do you inject in? I use the full 60ccs at a time but you may not be able to yet..it could over fill you. Also try using lukewarm water instead of cold...you are probably not allowed to aspirate yet (pushing in and pulling out the water with the syringe usually about 20ccs at a time +/-. It sort of swirls everything in there around so that it gets better mixed up with the water...From what I remember, you aren't allowed to do it for the first 3 months of so. Once you can, it makes it so much easier to remove the sludge)...
Keep sipping hot tea all day long. I like liquorish/mint...it likes my pouch too.
Keep me posted on how it is going and get your rest.
Sharon

Do you irrigate with hot water? I find it works better than cold. Like washing dishes with hot water works better. Also if you squirt water in (say 40-50 ml) and hold it in for a count of 10 or so, I find that seems to help the water mix with the pouch sludge better. All the stuff that Sharon said is good esp about carbs and such, but each person does react differently. Even pureed pumpkin and carrots make thing too thick for me. coffee and tea do not thin things for me enough. I don't care for juice so I don't drink it, just lots of Propel. for me greasy food keeps things thin, of course, its not very healthy hang in there!

I drink about 30 oz of water, the rest is juice. Grape mainly since that is what I was told to do over prune since prune causes gas. For me I notice broth, chicken/veggie/ yucy beef helps move things along so I drank a few cups and it is liquidy now. I also used a different catheter that is slicker and I love it. I had 2 given to me, I guess this one is a newer one and the tip is a slick plastic bullet almost so it goes in with less lube that is for sure.

I just hope I can keep this pouch. I didn't want the surgery at all and this was the only one I could do since jpouch was out of the question and everyone else said ileostomy. Just a tough first week starting this whole process. Have to get up at night so not sleeping well at all and the every 2 hours is exhausting in itself. Since I have interstitial cystitis most juices flare my bladder. All the liquids in general are making life pretty difficult. Just hope everyone can learn to get along in there otherwise I dunno...

Have you tried cranberry juice? Works on the pouch and on the cistitis too...just a thought.
Sharon

Cranberry is actually the worst thing for Interstitial Cystitis. False information, I just have to say since so many think it is good and it is actually very harmful. I wish I could I love cranberries.

How are you doing today?
Sharon

Hi Sharon, Thanks for checking in. Being so depressed, human interaction of any kind always helps. I am doing better I suppose. The Marlen catheter makes my life so much easier actually in the early stages on intubating. I actually am just trying to stay busy, and I made a video about the things to use with the BCIR. Will post in a different thread. Thought I will makes videos since there aren't that many out there for pouches and it keeps my mind occupied.

My surgeon suggests I go back on Nerontin for my bladder and see if that helps since I have been off it since before surgery Dec 9th. Going to break the capsule open and shug it down

Vanessa,
just curious, as someone who also has IC, what meds do you take to treat it? I am on Elmiron and under control. I also take Lyrica, a drug used similarly to Neurontin. I do not take it for my IC, but for a nerve disorder, and maybe by luck it is helping my IC.

As for the sludge, at the beginning, I was eating small frequent meals. I stayed away from any food that could potentially make my stool thick. I love PB & J and only eat it when I can wash it down with a glass of grape juice! potatoes, especially sweet potatoes get me, I have finally learned my lesson.Holiday meals...oh my...I started bringing a small jar of juice with me to make my life easier afterwards.
The beginning is trial and error. It's a learning curve and some of the stuff sticks with you. Some you realize is temporary.
Take a deep breath.

Ugh today was ok then I tried muscle milk since I am not getting in enough protein. HUGE mistake my pouch and bladder keep filling up non stop in one big flare and I think I might puke :-/

As for IC I have been on everything and nothing really works. Every doctor tells me interstim but I am not putting that in me, bad enough I now have a fake colon! I filed for disability mine is just to bad. I wanted to go back to work but I am in the bathroom all the time. Just went 10 times in an hour from that muscle milk. So sick.

there is a doctor doing stem cell treatment in Palm Springs for IC but all that money I saved I had to live on when I got diagnosed with all of this.