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I have had my j-pouch since 2003 and have had literally no issues since the surgery.  I recently (30 days ago) had a pouchoscopy with the doctor saying everything looked great.

However the last 7-10 days i've been experiencing a very dull but consistent cramp in my right lower side/abdomen.  The cramp does not hurt, more of a feeling that i know something is there.  Eating/not eating/resting/not resting does not seem to matter.  I've also been experiencing very loud stomach gurgles/sounds, more so than normal.  No increase in frequency, bleeding or anything else outside of the noises and consistent feeling of a dull cramp.

After short research on the forum and google, it sounds like it could be acute pouchitis.  Thoughts? 

And can acute pouchitis go away/clear up on it's own?  Do i even need to go in to get checked or get anti-biotics?  The feeling doesn't affect my daily life at all (as of now), so was hoping I could just wait it out w/out having to get checked/drugs. 

Appreciate any/all thoughts!  Found this forum a few weeks back after going in for my 2yr recurring pouchoscopy and think it's a great community!!

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Thanks for the reply Scott.

It's not really pain maybe the slightest bit of discomfort.  But yes the feeling persists in the general area of where my stoma used to be.  I feel it maybe 1-2 inches above my previous stoma.  The feeling persists about belly button level, about 1-2 inches to the right of my belly button and stretches to my right side.

So along with the very slight cramping feeling and the increased level of stomach "gassy" noises i don't have any other symptoms.  I'm not overly concerned but now this feeling has stretched into over a week, figured i'd get the community's thoughts.

And whether or not it's pouchitis - just in general do you know if acute pouchitis will go away on it's own w/out antibiotics?  I probably should know since i've had the pouch for 20+ years now, but like i said i've really had no issues with it in the past to even contemplate - and everything online talks about it being treated via antibiotics 

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I kind of agree with Scott that if it were pouchitis you would notice an increase in frequency and nighttime leakage issues. It's likely not pouchitis.

Acute pouchitis if left untreated will get worse and will get increasingly symptomatic. It's highly unlikely to go away on its own. Furthermore Cleveland Clinic studies (run by one of my former GI docs) have shown that in the very few ileal pouch cancers that developed, most of them were a result of severe refractory pouchitis. In other words pouchitis that became severe because it was lightly treated or left completely untreated on the notion that it would go away on its own. Those patients ended up losing their pouches.

CTBarrister
Last edited by CTBarrister

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