7 weeks post j-pouch construction, a few weeks ago my j-pouch discharge started to have some blood in it and that has continued pretty consistently. My surgeon scoped my pouch and says although the pouch is clear there is a little inflammation and bleeding in the ATZ. I asked if this was cuffitis and he said "kind of", but that it would quiet down as I healed and even if it continued to bleed he didn't think I would notice or have symptoms after takedown. I also sometimes have a pressure feeling like I need to empty my pouch.

Anyway -- lucky me, I got my period yesterday. Was wearing a tampon for the past 24 hours or so (uh, not the same one continuously, you know what I mean) and ALL day today I had that pressure feeling in my pouch. It was really uncomfortable. Not painful but kind of achey and just a bad feeling. I tried removing the tampon and since then the pressure has pretty much gone away completely.

So... does this happen to anyone else? Could having the tampon inserted be irritating the cuff somehow??? For what it's worth, prior to the pouch construction I had a pelvic MRI and an EUA to check for fistula and they were both totally negative. I've had intercourse post-op and it was pretty uneventful, maybe a little tighter but not super uncomfortable.

Thoughts??