Herbal Tea Cleans

Hi Peggy,
I have a k pouch and have occasionally used a colon cleanser to clear up a partial blockage or over thickening of my pouch contents but would be very wary of using it on a full blown blockage.
If I remember correctly it did cause a lot of cramping and urgency so it is not to be taken in the evening or if you have to go out or to work...
The big danger is dehydration.
You have to take it slowly and use a tiny bit at a time until you know the effect that it has on you...overdoing it can really irritate the pouch.
While on vacation in Turkey a few years ago they had baskets of different herb teas...one was called "health & diet"...I tried it. So, apparently it was a high speed train to the washroom...I stayed in there half a day.
Sharon

Sharon,

Thank you for your reply. I get blockages often and about 2 to 4 times a year have to go to the ER (no other choice after it gets to the vomiting stage). I go to the same hospital (Toledo Hospital) where I had my 3 surgeries and was there for a solid 2 months and every time I go to the ER, the docs and nurses have no idea how to treat me, and some don't know what a J-pouch is. I have to tell them..... pain meds per IV, saline per IV, sipping hot tea is good. They always order all kinds of x-rays and many kinds of tests. Ugh! Expensive. Last time I put my foot down and said "only an x ray so YOU can see that I have a blockage. No other tests are necessary. And they always bring in my surgeon to get ready for a surgery - which never happens and I don't plan on it happening. My GI doctor was against me using that tea, but he didn't really explain why. You're explanation is probably what he meant. Turkey! Wonderful. My son-in-law was stationed there (Air Force) and the family of a wife and two daughters were all there with them. They loved it but had to leave earlier than planned due to the war. My daughter and granddaughters with hundreds of other moms and kids had to leave (emergency) in the middle of the night on big plains. Sorry so long. I get carried away.

Peggy,
Blockages can have a dozen different origins and not all of them are obvious nor easy to clear up.
From what I can tell the most common are Ileu (when your bowel 'falls asleep' due to surgery (anesthesia) and takes it sweet time waking up or stops functioning post op) which can take days or longer to resolve, a twist or elbow in the intestine (think watering hose and a kink) and can resolve itself or require surgery, adhesions (out of control scar tissue building up inside of you (sometimes the surgical removal is needed but can aggravate the situation and cause a vicious circle effect), thickening of the intestinal wall, swelling of the intestine due to truama or infection, stenosis which is a narrowing in one spot (can be a surgical site like where they reattached the small bowel to the pouch), a food or matter blockage (like a traffic jam caused by too much of something like fiber, pills or other stuff)...
And I am sure that I have missed a lot.
There is one more that seems to slip between the lines and I had a couple of times. Hernias.
I have had a more than my share over the last few years and my pouch tended to twist up into them.
There was no way to fix them other than surgical and no way to prevent them either...
You need to get your surgeon to go over all of the possible causes and then check-list them off.
There must be a central cause because they keep returning and that is not good for you or your body...
Other than painful and a pain these things can be very dangerous.
See him while you are not blocked and have him cover all of the bases with you.
Good luck
Sharon
ps...I miss Turkey too...just won't risk going back there any longer....Sigh....a shame