Hi,
First let me say I'm so glad I found this site. My husband and I have felt alone for awhile. My husband had reconstructive surgery a little over 3 years ago and since then he's had a recurring problem. If he gets highly agitated in any way, angry, scared, anything that would elevate your adrenaline, a few hours later he develops stomach cramps and then is unable to have a bowel movement. The only thing he has is water. Sometimes if he lays in a hot bath or puts an ice bag on his stomach it helps, this time it's been 4 day's and little relief. Does anyone else experience this and if so what could it be?

He may be suffering with irritable pouch syndrome - i.e. irritable bowel syndrome affecting his pouch. He should think about getting anti-spasmodic drugs to see if that helps.

Hi Mike,

Thanks for responding. He's actually already on anti spasmodic drugs, he's got a severe case of RLS which he was diagnosed with during the UC. Those don't help either because he still has this problem. Any other ideas? I appreciate anything.

You should get him to try putting a hot water bottle or heating pad on his lower back/tailbone where his pouch is and on his stomach. Also, tea works great for relaxing the stomach and getting things moving.

Thanks for the advice. I wasn't aware that the pouch was located on his back. After the operation and still to this day he has a large area on his stomach that sticks out so I assumed that that's where they tucked everything in. We'll try that from now on.

It sounds to me that he is having a small bowel obstruction. I can relate...anytime I get really stressed out my stomach seems to knot up, giving me an obstruction and I can't have a bowel movement and have extreme pain.

What seems to help is really focusing on my breathing and relaxing and trying to calm down. Also, drinking some tea or grape juice and walking a lot has helped a lot of people here.

Sounds like he just needs to find a way to manage his stress when he's angry or upset. Much easier said than done but you can use certain techniques to try and relax and clear your mind.