I had UC for 16 years, then had my colon removed 36 years ago and was given a j-pouch. I have had pouchitis almost since the beginning. Because of the way the pouch was constucted I have had a very small opening at the anus. I have used various meds including cipro, flagyl, all which became ineffective overtime. Many other things didn't work from the beginning because of side effects. Over the last year I have done acupuncture 3x a week. At first it was just symptom relief ie I had much less cramping & could empty the pouch more easily. This week I had a pouchoscopy/sigmoidoscopy. My GI doctor was surprised how much better it looked this year than last year. Last year I had three areas of ulceration; this year just one. Without any other treatment, I assume it must be due the acupuncture. Trt has involved about an hour three times a week & considerable money. I got a reduction thru my health plan & my acupuncturist reduced the fee slightly because I was coming so often. At $170 a week it has been worth it and I will continue because the pouchoscopy suggested that acupucture actually caused physical/functional changes to the pouch. I had no side effects from treatment. I am finally gaining some weight as well. Problems: I haven't been traveling because cortenemas which I used to use short term no longer work. I still have gas & bloating & the pouchitis hasn't disappeared completely. My diet is limited--no dairy, no raw fruits & vegetables, avoids sweets etc. I will keep you posted.