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Hi there
I'm 39 male with a J pouch for 17 years.
About a year ago I woke up from my sleep with a stabbing pain slighting below my ribs on my right side.
It lasted for a couple of seconds.
I didn't have a reoccurrence until about six months ago during the day.
Since then it's been on and off. There's a feeling of slight pressure without pain sometimes. Most recently I had a similar feeling on my left side. There is no blood in my stool and I feel healthy.
I think it's too low to be gallbladder.
I've tried gas x and it hasn't worked.
Just wondering if anyone has had a similar complaint and might be able to shed some light on it?
I'm having a check up with my family dr but I expect it will be a month or so before I can get an appointment with my Gastro Dr.
Thank you

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Sounds like adhesions, particularly since these pains are rather fleeting, intermittent, and random. Still, worth getting a general exam. They probably won't do much unless the pain is fairly consistent, associated with meals or certain activities. You may want to keep a diary on this, noting what you ate in the previous 12 hours, what you were doing when the pain started, and what you were doing when it stopped.

 

They might run some standard screening labs to rule out gallbladder, kidney, and liver ailments. Sometimes pain is not where you might expect it to be. But, anyone with a history of abdominal surgery is at risk for problematic adhesions. As long as it is self limiting, they don't do anything about it, because the solution is surgical release, which may lead to more adhesions.

 

Jan

Jan Dollar

I was going to say adhesions as well, especially considering that the pain is fleeting and doesn't seem to be associated with other symptoms. I have had similar symptoms. In my case, I will occasionally get a very sharp, split second pain in the area of the old stoma site, where I almost surely have adhesions. We already know I'm an adhesion former, since my surgeon had to cut several of them down to make my pouch (my initial surgery was an emergency, so I had a 3 step. My pouch was created during Step 2).

 

As Jan already mentioned, though, if the pain is becoming more frequent or more severe, it wouldn't hurt to go for some routine testing to rule out other issues.

Spooky
Last edited by Spooky
Thanks for your replies everyone.
I saw my Dr who's more holistic type so I'm going to try the apple cider vinegar for inflammation and do a cleanse to see if that helps.
I got a referral to see a Gastro, so I hope to see them in a month or so.  Is it common to get adhesion pain so far down the line? I would have thought it would be more post op than 16 years later?
Just curious!
Thanks again
J

There is no "time" for adhesions to become apparent. They form within the first few weeks of surgery, but they can cause symptoms at any time. Your intestines are in constant motion and all it takes for them to try to zig when they are tied into a zag position. I doubt that anything you take orally will have any impact one way or the other. 

 

But, just know that without a colon, there is no colon to "cleanse." No harm either, just saying... Now, if you are talking about a few days of a partial fast, like all liquids, then if there is any foodstuffs hung up in there causing you gas and pain, you might feel a difference. Just be careful with juices, as they are likely to cause diarrhea.

 

Jan

Jan Dollar

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