COVID-19 and J-Pouch

Covid-19 frequently causes digestive issues. We can’t know when your test turned positive - were you well-masked in the hospital? It takes N95 or KN95 with a reasonable fit to provide decent protection against Omicron.

I am fully vaccinated 3 doses and I wore a regular medical mask as did the hospital staff but no N95. I am just wondering if my abdominal pain, vomiting and diarrhea that i suffered Saturday and Sunday were Covid symptoms or if I had just had a bad stomach flu and contracted Covid from being at the hospital because I did not test positive until Tuesday evening the cold like symptoms did not start until today Thursday.

I want to know how if anyone else in this group suffered digestive symptoms from Covid

I had Covid with no pouch symptoms and no stomach pains.  In fact no GI symptoms other than mild nausea.

I was watching the BBC and they were talking about the immunocompromised and interviewed a lady with inflammatory bowel disease but didn't say which one.I suppose it meant anyone taking prednisone or biologics are at risk or are people with ileostomy or jpouch immunocompromised as well?

Having a j-pouch doesn’t make you immune compromised.  But- the reason for getting a j-pouch usually is because of ulcerative colitis or chrons disease, both are auto-immune disorders.  And it’s not unlikely that people who have auto-immune disorders will develop further issues like pouchitis and arthritis.  Biologics that you may take for those problems, like Humira, and corticosteroids like prednisone , do suppress the immune system and therefore take you further down the road toward immune compromised (it’s a range) and increase your chance of complications from Covid.

Anecdotally- I take Entyvio and Methotrexate, was fully vacced and boosted, and still caught Omicron.  But it was mild for me- far milder than some bad colds and flus I’ve had.

Update. I just spoke to a nurse from our local public health centre and she informed me that abdominal pain, vomiting and diarrhea is most definitely a sign of Covid and that fact that I have UC and a J-Pouch that is most likely the 1 st Covid symptoms to show up. So be on the look out for gastro symptoms of you have IBD it could be Covid.

I had Covid in October and didn’t see any change in my routine - I had a horrible headache, fever, chills, severe sinus issues, cold symptoms. I still had the same number of bowl movements per day, no additional abdominal pain.

I’m sure the symptoms are different for everyone given their strain, so take it for what it’s worth. Hope this helps.

Covid Finally hit our household & on day 2 now, the body pains, pouch spasming & stomach pains are all out of the ordinary for me.  My partner who has all his parts also has had terrible emergency diarrhea with this variant.   How long did it take for you to feel ok again?

I was about 3 days before I felt better and then I started mild cold like symptoms that lasted about 5-6 days

@Denise D I ended up in the ER with horrible abdominal pain and severe diarrhea. I was extremely dehydrated. That's where I found out I had covid. I was told by the Dr that covid does effect crohns and UC.  It causes it to flare out big time. It took about 8 days before I started feeling some kind of relief.

Hello I also had very bad digestive issues, pain diarrhea, after testing positive for Covid. It seemed to come in stages first digestive, then sinus and chest cold and then fatigue. This has been going on for three weeks. I still have a pretty good head cold with dizziness and ear pain. I was wondering if anyone had these type of  symptoms and how long it takes to feel normal again.

My primary care Doctor would have put me in the hospital, but with the care and support of family I avoided it.

I want to get back to work but the type of work I do is very physical and being dizzy is not an option.

My pc Doctor says rest and keep drinking and exercise. It will take time. At this point I need to know how much time. I can't keep telling work maybe next week and then still not feeling well.

Any advice will be greatly appreciated!

Hi I had Covid and was positive for over 12 days. I was admitted to hospitals but absolutely no beds and the wait to be seen was over 12 hours so I went home as that would have made me worse. I got the infusion ’ SOTROVIMAB’ and I felt amazing after it and for two days but then I went back down but after a few more days I was negative.
it can take a while - Iv been off work over a month and just going back on phase return.
It’s really important to keep hydrated and rest. Maybe tell your work you need another couple of weeks off and then reassess how you are feeling as that pressure is too stressful and could potentially delay your recovery. I was severely ill - high temp and chest infection and I couldn’t eat and my pouch was very watery and obviously increased output. I was prescribed antibiotics for my chest and I just drank lots and took paracetamol and ibuprofen plus pain killers and some cough medicine and throat tablets. Lemsip helped as it contains paracetamol. Just really take it easy and try not to rush your record as frustrating it is and don’t let work pressure you.
I really hope you are soon over it.

Take good care,

Linzalisha.