I had the J-pouch surgery back in 2016 and since I had the closure a year and a half later I’ve only had one review 6 months after the closure, before being transferred to my local hospital, where I’ve not had a review at all. At the moment I’m taking 10x Loperamide a day and 60mg of codeine a day to supposedly slow down the pouch. I have had on average between 15-20 movements a day since having the surgery, and because of not having a follow up I thought this was the normal and wasn’t untiL my partner looked into it, we realised that this was not the normal at. Have tried a lot of diets, to reduce certain foods and this doesn’t help either, and had notice that in my stools are whole tablets to reduce my sugar levels. If anyone has any advice or point me in the right direction of who to speak to would be very much appreciated.
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I am sorry you are going through this. See a good GI doc. You are way overdue for a scope and a good doc can help immensely.
That’s a lot of loperamide and codeine. Have you tried delaying bathroom trips? Over time by gradually, gently increasing the interval between trips you can generally increase your pouch capacity. This is sometimes called “stretching the pouch.”
Psyllium fiber can add bulk to the stool, which might enable you to gradually reduce the loperamide and codeine.
@Andrew Fletcher, are you in the UK? If so, the nurses at St Mark’s can help.
Scroll down to the heading that says “Pouch Service”.
https://www.stmarkshospital.nh...ices-a-z/stoma-care/
Have you tried smooth Metamucil (fine psyllium husk powder), a teaspoon mixed with minimal water right before main meals or fibrous snacks? It can have a very nice cushioning effect and cut down the number of bowel movements (BMs).