I had j pouch surgery 5 weeks ago and the last week when I have a bowel movement I feel like I don't get it all out and then 10 min later I have to go again. I can't really push to get it out because i have hemmriods, but I am wondering if this happens to anyone else and what you do for it? i am also taking fiber twice a day too. Thanks

I am six weeks out from take down and I also have difficulties emptying at times. I usually shift around on the toilet or get up and move around staying by a toilet so that I can finish emptying rather than trying to force the issue. Sometimes all it takes is standing up and sitting back down again or leaning forward with my hand on my abdomen and then sitting up straight and that works. I don't know if others beside us had had this problem or not?

Can I join the five week club? My takedown was 7/20. I definitely have the not fully emptying syndrome too. It's usually accompanied by intense itchy though, so I can't just sit and wait. Have to go through the whole clean up process and then hang out near the bathroom for a while. It's frustrating at best. I have not been brave enough to add fiber yet though, for some reason it just makes me nervous. I have no advice, just comforted by the fact that this must be normal!

Carrie

What you are going through is normal. I had my takedown done in January 2009 and the first few months it can feel like you cant get everything out. It does settle down. Have you tried taking gastro stop to slow things down a bit. I can help with the it never feels like it empties feeling.

Since my takedown I still have the occasional day where I feel like my pouch never empties but it comes good the next day. Hope I was of some help to you. Good luck with everything.

Gravity! Try not to be concerned. You empty what you can and then stand up, walk a bit or just wait a few minutes until the effluent moves on down!

I am nervous to take fiber supplements too. I did take a little Metamucil with lots of water and then start bloating and had some intestinal pain and then was okay again. I though maybe I took it too soon after the surgery that was at week 3 and so I am nervous to try again.

Thanks for your responses!! I am so happy that others also have the same problem. I just worry a lot about getting pouchitis or something else.
I have been taking Benefiber since a week after surgery. My doc said to take it morning and night. He said it is most important to take it at night because it helps to soak up the liquid, which helps with night time leakage. Maybe try switching, to Benefiber. I take a tablespoon twice a day. Good Luck!!!

Linda,

I am 4 weeks out from takedown and I take fiber supplement 2-3 times a day. I was having gas/cramp issues but my doctor told me to get sugar free metimucel and it seems to help. I also take 6-8 immodiums per day, 2 at a time and somtimes I will crush them up with a spoon so my body will absorb it easier. I was around 8-12 BM's per day since takedown, but since I started with the sugar free a few days ago, I'm at 6-7. I also bought some Fiber One cereal today, it has 15 g of fiber per serving. My doctor is huge with the low sugar, high fiber diet. He even wrote a book called the SOS Diet (Stop Only Sugar).I still have some issues with not emptying my pouch completley too, seems like after dinner.

I've posted about this in detail. My daughter is 7 weeks post td, and had the same "not emptied" feeling just a few weeks after surgery. We were concerned about pouchitis, so she had a scope on 8/11. Everything looked normal, and the pathology confirmed it. I think it is part of the adjustment. She's eating a fair amount of fiber (mostly soluable) and we're adding Benefiber slowly. She's taking 3 immodiums/day, about 8 hours apart. She is feeling well, and having 8-ish stools every 24 hours, getting up once at night. Her GI thinks this is excessive (see my post on the '6-8 times per day' thread). I think she has the incomplete feeling most often in the morning, before school. Being a teenager, I know she consumes a fair amount of sugar and caffeine when I'm not around to police it. I'm sure that she would agree that sugar is no bueno; it's just a quality of life issue for her In my limited second-hand experience, I would offer that these symptoms are probably typical. Hang in there; I have much admiration for all of you!

I just want to caution some of the prior posters in this thread to not get head faked into thinking that every instance of incomplete evacuation down the road is not a symptom of pouchitis, because it has been established that it isn't a symptom currently. While it may not mean that you necessarily have pouchitis, incomplete evacuation is a hallmark symptom of pouchitis, and should it recur months or perhaps years down the road, don't dismiss it as nothing.