I have had my pouch for 10 years. In the past year it has not stopped leaking. At times I wake up with a full load in my pants. Has anyone else had this experience? What have you done?

I have had the jpouch for over 12 years and from time to time I get leakage (pouchitis most likely) but you should get checked out by your doctor if you have had it that long- you need to be scoped at the least 'cause something has changed but I'll bet it can be helped when you get the proper diagnosis.

Yes I get this most nights. I have chronic problems for last 7 months with pouchitis or cuffitis. I am not sure which. I go through loads of pads, sleep on a towel, wash a lot of undies. Codeine helps a little bit to slow things down for about 4 hours. I eat and drink little at night, but problems persist.

Depending on your age and whether you ever had children vaginally (even pre pouch), this may just be part of your natural aging. While incontinence does not usually become an issue until you are pretty old, with us it can happen sooner because our stools tend to be loose. Age and vaginal deliveries tend to lead to sphincter weakness as we age.

They can test if your sphincters are weak (anal manometry) and go from there. Of course, you need to rule out chronic pouchitis or cuffitis first.

Jan

I know I eat too much and too late. No self control! So, I frequently pay the price with leakage/seepage during the night. I am always prepared and it is never that much. I wake up if I really need to use the toilet, thankfully! So, I always wear a sanitary pad/undies and I sleep on a washable, leak-proof pad.....I bought several right after step 2. I know I'd do much better if I'd eat like a normal person. Me, normal? I don't think so!

Thanks for all of your replies. Yes, b-sure pads do help. Also, my doctor has put my on asacol suppositories. This leads me to question if the original crohns/colitis has reappeared in my pouch. The asacol does seem to help.

Just looked this up online. Has anyone had either of these procedures?
Sphincter repair. During a surgical procedure called a gracilis muscle transplant, a muscle is taken from your inner thigh and wrapped around your sphincter. This restores muscle tone to your sphincter.
OR
Sphincter replacement. An artificial anal sphincter can be used to replace a damaged anal sphincter. The device is essentially an inflatable cuff, which is implanted around your anal canal. When inflated, the device keeps your anal sphincter shut tight until you're ready to defecate. To go to the toilet, you use a small external pump to deflate the device and allow stool to be released. It then reinflates itself about 10 minutes later.

I had my surgery in 1981, for FAP. As time goes by, the leakage gets worse. When I go to sleep, it's like I lose all control. My hubby has woken me up on several occasions to tell me I need to go to the bathroom. Embarrassing! I can't even take a nap during the day without putting on the Attends. Yet I have a very tight sphincter. I cannot have a colonoscopy without anesthesia because the pain is too awful. Sometimes, passing stool is painful. I wear incontinence underwear at night every night. I may go a week or more without an accident or I may have one every night for several nights. Sometimes light leakage; sometimes enough to need a shower in the middle of the night. Sometimes it seems related to what I eat and sometimes not. The past 6 months or so, quite frequently when I bend over, I find myself having to run to the bathroom and change my underwear because of leakage, even if I don't feel like I have to have a bm. More and more often, I find myself thinking about getting a permanent ileostomy.