I had my takedown 6 days ago and I am experiencing severe pressure and "heaviness" in the rectal area since home from the hospital. I have no abdominal pain and otherwise feel good but the pressure is so bad I am unable to sleep and the pain meds don't help.(advil or vicodin). My BM's are down from 30x day to about 15x day but I also have alot of urgency and little relief after I go. I have a call in to my surgeon but wondered if others have had this and what can be done to get some relief. Thanks, Lisa

Hey i have the same problem, i phoned up my surgeon today as am at ma wits end but he says its normal it passes over time but to be honest in my opinion this j pouch was a big mistake as a dnt think it was worth all the problems after gettin it connected, i actually miss the bag and my sleep as wen i lye on ma side a get a sudden urge to go evrytime n a hav to sleep sittin in a chair n am 2 weeks post takedown, a hope it gets better for us x

Hey Lisa,

Completely normal. This will pass. The first 3-4 weeks after take down can be pretty uncomfortable.

Stay up on your pain meds and take lots of warm baths. The baths were a Godsend for me and still are.

Take care

Derek

Hey guys,
That was an old post from right after takedown but unfortunately I am still having problems. At first it was from a chronic stricture, then I had chronic pouchitis for 6 months and today I just had my pouch scoped due to extreme pain and pressure and they found I am not emptying my pouch. They think it is either due to problems with the sphincter muscle or a functional problem with the pouch like it may be collapsing on itself when I try to go. I have to go to Beaumont on Thurs for a defecation study (not sure I spelled that right) and then decide where to go from there. I am kinda scared but yet the past year with the pouch and this kind of pain has been tough especially because I have to work full time thru all this which is not an easy thing to do. I just want to finally get some answers and help. I havent been on the site much mostly because I come home from work and just crawl into bed, but I thought I would check in and I will try to find some old posts on this. Lisa

Lisa-
I had similar symptons immediately after takedown. ANd after 6 months of hell I got to Cleveland Clinic. They discovered that the pouch was too large and in the defecogram (the test you are talking about where you poop and they see the pouch working while you are pooping, I call it the pooping on the throne in front of the TV with an audience test.).. it was so very obvious that the pouch was collapsing on itself and therefore wouldn't empty AND the efferent limb was too long.. meaning there was a kink which wouldn't straighten unless I was in a contortionist position. So hopefully this test will get you the info you need, so you can make decisions to get your health back on the right track.

Thanks Liz, I was getting ready to go to cleveland clinic but my surgeon said we can at least do all the tests here. Yes that is the test I am having Thurs. What did they end up doing with you there? Alot will depend if my sphincter muscles are not functioning properly or if it is exactly what you said your pouch was doing. My surgeon said it is one or the other. Just wondering how they handled your issue. I have no idea what they will do if it is the sphincter muscles as I already did pelvic floor therapy once. Lisa