Hi Folks, I thought I would post this note to see if others go through the same kind of thing I do from time to time. Perhaps there's a way to pinpoint the cause, or perhaps it's simply part and parcel of having a j-pouch.
I had my one-step total colectomy in July of 2000, so it's been 23.5 years now. I'm 55, and I consider myself to be in good shape for my age. I coach hockey for a living and I officiate it on the side. I was returning home from officiating some late-night games last night. I got home around 12:30am and was really hungry. I know that eating too much at that hour right before going to bed isn't usually in my best interests! I don't usually sleep as well, nor do I feel as well if I do. Of course, if I sleep really deeply when I have a lot of food in my stomach, I can expect incontinence sometimes. So last night I decided to cut up and skin a couple of very ripe pears and I ate them along with a home-made cookie. I drank some soy milk and went to bed. I don't want to disgust anyone here but I must have woken up at least 6 times during the night to go to the toilet to have mushy bowel movements and lots of urination. In the morning I was still doing the same thing. Waking up and back to sleep etc etc etc. Eventually, it seems like just about everything in my digestive system got cleaned out. I felt really empty and didn't want to get out of bed as I didn't sleep much / well and was really tired / sleepy still.
This doesn't happen that often, but every now and again it seems my body just keeps pushing out the mushy stool several times, and lots of it, until I am empty. My weight for many years was between 160 and 165. During the pandemic is was down to 145-150. Currently I am around 147. It seems that even if I wanted to gain some weight, I can't. My body just keeps shitting out everything I eat! It's a physical issue but I find also a mental one. Generally speaking, the more I eat, the more I have to defecate. Occasionally when I make more trips to the toilet than usual, I realize that I missed my dose of codeine at the usual time. This would definitely contribute to increased bowel movements and cleaning out the body. However, I am pretty sure I didn't miss my dose last night around 6pm. [I take 300mg of codeine daily broken into 2 doses].
Do some of you go through the same type of thing like I have described here? Do any of you feel like gaining weight and keeping it on is impossible? That said, I am not too worried about my actual weight being where it is. I am more concerned with my decreased muscle mass and perhaps not having the food energy and physical energy to increase it again. I think it is fair to say that a reduction or lack of caloric energy = a lack or reduction of physical energy.
I am looking forward to your responses.
