Hey guys, I'm new to the forums, but have had a jpouch for almost 16 years now. I've never had any issues, not even pouchitis up until about the last year. I had a case of pouchitis a year ago that cleared up easily with Cipro. Now, for about the last 3 months, I've had a ton of pressure and pain in my rectum. It even gets achy down my tailbone, legs and across my lower back. No blood, but I'm curious if this may be cuffitis? Or maybe pouchitis again? I don't seem to have more bathroom trips than usual, just this constant pain that is always there to varying degrees. Also, the pain does get better with ibuprofen, but I try to use it sparingly. The pain in my legs and back and rectum also gets worse at night. Just wondering if anyone else has experienced this type of pain or discomfort? I go see my doc, Dr garofalo at the Cleveland clinic on March first. Just wanted to get some input. Thanks!
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Since your bathroom habits are unchanged I’d guess that this probably isn’t pouch-related. As one possibility you could have something like a herniated disc in your spine. I hope it turns out to be something simple!
Is your stool of the same consistency as before ? Are you holding back longer than before ? I have the same kind of pain when I have to hold back gas/stool for longer hours of the day and cant pass gas while sitting. I thought of it as pouchitis but my surgeon rejected that given I have the same consistency and no leakage and same number of bms . He said its the excess pressure on the butt causing the pain on spinchter muscle and is carried all the way to back and legs. Gas is pretty devious you never know what part might get affected. He asked me to change my diet , to lower the protein intake and lesser gassy foods. Its too soon to say but its kind of working.
Thanks for the replies! Raj, that kinda makes sense. The pain definitely increases when there's more gas. My stools have been pretty consistent, just this constant pain.