Hi, my name is Tony and I'm new to this site. I've found a lot of helpful information and thank you all for sharing your experiences and knowledge. I'm about six months post takedown and am still having problems with fully emptying my pouch and having really strong urges to go. As strong as the urges are, I would think that my stool would come out quickly but that's generally not the case. Most of the time, I do nothing for the first minute or so I'm in the bathroom. It's also not uncommon to have these urges not long after using the bathroom. I think this is because I'm not fully emptying the pouch but, I'm not 100% sure. I take imodium and have varied the dosage without a noticeable difference. Is this common and something I have to live with?

Are you certain you do not have a stricture? An anal stricture can cause those symptoms you describe.

Jan

Jan,

I do have a stricture. I had it ballon dilated under sedation back in February. That helped. When my surgeon examined me in April, he said the stricture was still there but mild so he didn't do anything at that time. I have an appointment with him in three weeks and I plan to bring this up to him again.

Thanks.

TonyB

I would tend to think that you are more sensitive to the effects of a mild stricture than your surgeon thinks is possible.

Jan