How often are you pooping? Is your stool watery or does it have more bulk, like pudding? Have you gone through the process called "stretching the pouch," where you gradually and gently delay bathroom trips? Are you using a fiber supplement, like Metamucil? Are you trying to get to zero Imodium/Lomotil, or would you be okay with small amounts? Do you have a lot of gas (gas can fill up a J-pouch pretty quickly)?

Austin,

when you say poop less often, what is your goal?

the average jpoucher should go 6-8/day.

that’s where I am 24 months post takedown,

Since our capacity is limited to the volume probably of more or less an external appliance, I want to know that stool is leaving my body on a regular basis.

I use a bowel slower (Imodium in my case) to prevent butt burn by reducing transit time. If I have less than 6/day my body will compensate the next day with more than 6.

also, you don’t want the stool inside to solidify as evacuation can be uncomfortable.

as Scott stated above, stretching the pouch to hold more can be helpful

now of course, conditions like pouchitis and Cuffitis can lead to spasms and more BMs, but with a healthy pouch, pooping throughout the day is normal for us.

@Scott F posted:

How often are you pooping? Is your stool watery or does it have more bulk, like pudding? Have you gone through the process called "stretching the pouch," where you gradually and gently delay bathroom trips? Are you using a fiber supplement, like Metamucil? Are you trying to get to zero Imodium/Lomotil, or would you be okay with small amounts? Do you have a lot of gas (gas can fill up a J-pouch pretty quickly)?

Hey Scott, I would say about 10-15 times during a 24 hour period. More pudding, and sometimes harder consistencies; still get watery diarrhea out of nowhere though. Yes i have stretched the pouch in the last 16 years since my surgery and recently I have noticed more frequent bathroom trips. I take a prebiotic and will start Metamucil to see how that goes. I do not have too much gas, but when I do I can usually pass it with no worries. Taking Imodium a couple times a day seems the key to the problem mostly, but I remember being in high school and college and going 5-8 times a day without taking it and want to get back there. I do eat more than those times since I am building more muscle and that is most likely why I am going more often.

@New577 posted:

Austin,

when you say poop less often, what is your goal?

the average jpoucher should go 6-8/day.

that’s where I am 24 months post takedown,

Since our capacity is limited to the volume probably of more or less an external appliance, I want to know that stool is leaving my body on a regular basis.

I use a bowel slower (Imodium in my case) to prevent butt burn by reducing transit time. If I have less than 6/day my body will compensate the next day with more than 6.

also, you don’t want the stool inside to solidify as evacuation can be uncomfortable.

as Scott stated above, stretching the pouch to hold more can be helpful

now of course, conditions like pouchitis and Cuffitis can lead to spasms and more BMs, but with a healthy pouch, pooping throughout the day is normal for us.

Hey, my goal would be 5-10 times a day rather than my 10-15  times currently. Congratulations on your takedown! I am 27 right now and I was 12 when I had my takedown and I have lived a healthy and wonderful life so far. Going to the bathroom more often is the (pun intended) shittiest part, but it is a lot better life than the previous life without it. I have stretched it, but I am building muscle currently and eating a lot of food which equals more bathroom trips.

This could potentially be a bout of pouchitis that would clear up with a course of Cipro or Flagyl. This would be a good time to make a GI appointment. That’s a perfectly reasonable goal for BMs per day, but it shouldn’t surprise you to hear that your body will never again be the one you had in high school.

Agree with Scott’s assessment.

You should be able to achieve that goal.

my pouch function started deteriorating in April/May. At the same time I developed another UTI (different story for a different time). The reason I mentioned it, is because the bactrim antibiotic I was taking also cured whatever inflammation/pouchititis I was having and my pouch function returned to normal. Absolutely speak with your GI to see how they want to treat/suggest how to reduce your daily BMs.

Oregano oil can also be helpful for infection (if that is what you have) followed by some probiotics (just like you would with antibiotics).

Hi, I learned that it really helps if you don't drink anything 30 min before you eat and you don't drink the first 60 min after you have eaten. Not always easy, but it helps!

I wonder about that, except what about supplements you are supposed to take with a meal?  How does one get them down without water?  Hmmmmm....

Seconding the suggestion to separate drinks from food intake – a couple of sips won’t make much difference, but a glass will, in my experience.

Also avoid foods that consist of fluid plus chunks – sorry that sounds horrible but I don’t know how else to say it! So a broth-type soup with cubes of vegies floating in it.

A broth or puree on its own is okay for me, it’s the mixing of solids with a lot of fluid that caused problems, whether that was how the dish was or whether it was mixing a fairly solid food with a drink in the digestive tract.

I also found smooth Metamucil just before meals essential.

It's a good idea to drink little with a meal. Otherwise you would thin down your digestive gastric fluids.

If you add supplements to some already chewed food into your mouth, enveloping it a with food using your tongue, it should be no problem getting it down with no or little water.

NOTHING beats Codeine Phosphate, either 30mg or 60mg.

Makes rubbish like Lopermide feel like Paracetamol vs Fentanyl for pain!

I took Codeine for many years, and I had a few chicks who actually had NO idea I had ever had surgery at all. It basically gave me almost a normal persons life.

Naturally you have to be sensible, too much and you get blocked, which isn't much use for a pouch which relies mainly on gravity!