J pouch surgery recovery

The answer is yes I did because I had an ileus. Is your bag filling up or not?

Yes, but all I produce is green stuff they said was bile.  But just got home from hospital and throwing up that same bile.  I have not eaten because I feel so sick.

If your bag is filling up that rules out an ileus. Have you spoken to your surgeon?

If your bag is filling slowly and you are throwing up your bowel may not be awake. I was fine for 3 days ready to go home and had a similar issue. I was told my bowel didn't want to wake up and I had to get my first ng tube which sucks in more ways than one. You should probably go back to the hospital if you are throwing up bile.

I always went downhill on day 3 after each of my 3 surgeries,I think that's when the anesthesia wears off.I had an ng tube inserted after my second

( took  ten tries to get it down by 3 nurses and then a doctor who did it in one go by telling me to gulp ) but the relief was instant .i had the tube for 5 nights and by the end I was heaving and then the nurse took it out,but she ran out the room after I started heaving and put full ppe gear on like I had Ebola .I always say be careful on day 3 and dont eat much .

Thank you so much!   I called the after hours for my surgeon and at first a resident recommended that I came back to hospital ER.   Then I got a call from physician that she felt that I had no cause for alarm that I am throwing up the same bile as below.  She said my organs may not be in sync as of yet and to give it the night (due to snow storm).  I don’t know if I am done, but my stomach feels horrible -like the day after a stomach flu.  I have not thrown up again, but then again I have not eaten either!!

I have the NG tube in twice in the past for operations and it’s not fun.  But it did it’s job so for that I was thankful.  I was not sure my stomach would ever bounce back!!  Your experience sounds horrific, but glad you can joke about it.

will my stomach always feel like I have diarrhea moving forward??  

I just wanted to follow-up and thank you all for feedback.  I never went back to hospital, but limited bulk in what I was eating.   I believe that the change of diet was too soon for me.  I went back to soup for a bit.  I wish there were more references to what people transitioning eat.   Thanks again!!!

I threw up after all 3 of my surgeries. Had takedown on a Wednesday and Saturday night was throwing up like crazy. I think for me it was the anesthesia or meds used during surgery.

There's a guy on youtube who on the night of his takedown asked what he was allowed to eat and he was told anything he liked so he ordered a roast dinner takeaway.big mistake.my uncle had KFC coleslaw which put him back in hospital.

I am glad you feel better and figured out it helps to go back to a liquid diet. If I feel nauseous or if my guts just feel weird or messed up, I revert to a clear liquid diet (broth, jello, popsicles, hard candy, gummy bears) and then slowly advance to gentle solid liquids like warm almond or soy milk, then broth-y soups,  then move forward to watery cream of rice or other super gentle foods. When I am able to tolerate soft food like scrambled eggs and  white toast, I know I am out of the woods.

The morning after my jpouch surgery, my surgeon told me I could enjoy a steak dinner at the hospital. I should have reported him to the board for malpractice. Arrogant SOB. The nurse standing behind him was shaking her head noooo. I had a PICC line and was on TPN and stayed on it for another 2 months, so not only was I not eating steak, I was NPO for two more months. Sheesh. After the PICC line came out, after sipping herbal tea for a week, the first food I ate was cream of rice made with chicken broth.

Why do they say that about the type of food to try??  I don’t think it’s good practice and thank goodness for the nurses… they know!  

Thank you so much for your comments.  I have found that coming from the ileostomy to Jpouch  is a whole different path and one that there is not a lot of references.  Thank you for sharing.   I have been having grilled cheese sandwiches with soup and that is as aggressive I have gone. My new stomach seems to have issues with milk… like cream of chicken soup so I have just backed away.  If figure it’s a lot of trial and error, but so nice to have a reference of what others are experiencing initially.

It is super helpful to have this forum, I agree. I don't have friends in real life who have a jpouch, and neither my surgeon nor my G/I doc have jpouches, but you are right - the nurses seem to know.

After his "eat steak" remark, I told my colorectal surgeon I would no longer be his patient and immediately transferred all my post op care to his colleague. At our last appointment, I was still NPO, and she told me that down the road, when I was ready for food, to take it super easy. Start with herbal tea, and non-acidic, non-spicy liquid broths, then broth soups, then add super soft grains like white rice or white grits or cream of wheat in lots of water or milk, and eventually add soft foods like mashed potatoes, mashed cooked vegetables, pancakes, scrambled eggs, toast, yogurt if you can tolerate dairy or if not, one of the nut yogurts like cashew or almond milk yogurt. There is also liquid yogurt,  called Kefir or the Skyr version is called mjölk. It is in the dairy section. I like the peach flavor, but it comes in other flavors.

The new surgeon told me two more important things: 1) cheese would be my friend - and she was right. Cheese is my friend. Grilled cheese was a great idea for you to try. I like to have cheese and crackers as an easy comfort food. 2) She told me my body would adapt over time to having a jpouch instead of a large intestine, and would learn how to function more and more like a regular bowel over time. It has. It is much easier going now than it was at first. I have learned how to "baby it" - like - literally with blended foods one would feed a baby - when I need to and eat more adventurously when I am confident it can handle it.

I am glad you have had the experience that NG tube is not fun, but not the enemy. I have had a few small bowel obstructions since the jpouch surgery and wow - an NG tube will provide almost immediately relief and is super helpful. It sounds like you got through the post op phase without the NG tube.

How are you feeling now? Did you stop vomiting bile? Any other questions?

Sending support to you!

3 years ago when my UC progressed beyond the help of medications, I had my first ileostomy surgery and a week later I herniated and had to go right back to surgery for repair.  I had an NG tube put in twice, was NPO and had a PICC line also.   Due to the hernia, I had to have my ileostomy moved when they prepared me for the Jpouch.  I did the Jpouch surgery in 3 steps.  So since all that, I have not had to have any further assistance with bowel blockage, but it sounds like you are progressing and that is really great to hear.   What timeline are they looking for for you?

I am a week and a couple days out of the surgery and so far my biggest issue is the stomach pain…I guess when the Jpouch is filling or things are moving up to fill??  I have been taking Tylenol because the pain is intense …like gas but much worse.   Also, I have been going so much that my butt hurts, but they told me to manage that with Imodium.   No throwing up or nausea thank goodness.   When I first had the osteomy surgery, my butt was so torn up and I am so afraid I am heading back there.  I have been apply desitin.  Any recommendation?

One other thing, do you do what they call Kegel excersize to work out the muscles that have sat for so long?   Does it work?  My surgeon told me that I should also resist going to the bathroom all the time to train the Jpouch?  HUH?  Does that work?  Thank you so much for providing more food suggestions also.

Do the exercises, it's easy enough to do and you should have been doing them before surgery. Resist going but don't let yourself get to backed up. It's a bit of a fine line and with a new pouch don't push it.

It's amazing what some Dr's tell people or don't, I went to a specialist because a Dr told me not to do it at the hospital I was at. I am glad I followed his advice, the before and after care information was great. It sucks being sick and you need good support to recover well.

Oh, wow. Ouch. I'm sorry. That sounds very post-op painful and bewildering. Your surgeon suggested that you "...resist going to the bathroom all the time to train the j-pouch""? Um, er, uh, does he/she think you go to the bathroom just for the sport of it? Sheesh. I am NOT a doctor or surgeon, but if my body wants to pass stool, I want it out, otherwise I get a stomach ache and become nauseous.

I don't remember having post op stomach pain, so I am afraid I can't help you there, darn it. I could only suggest eating anything that would produce gas or burn - no soda, carbonated drinks, tomato juice or tomato sauce or soup or oranges (too acidic), no beans, broccoli, cabbage, onions, garlic. Just google "what foods are acidic" and "what foods produce gas" and you will get a better list.

I definitely remember having the burning butt pain. I used a fragrance free wet wipe that I was super gentle with - kind of gentle wipe/patted around the area, then patted gently dry with tissue, then applied an ointment. Kind of a pain to go through that three step process, but better than straight tissue paper. Too ouchy. I also had a spray I could use to clean before the ointment. Do you have a spray or an ointment? If you don't, you might ask your surgeon or surgeon's nurse or G/I nurse about it. If Desitin works, great - I never tried it.

As for kegel exercises - those are GREAT to do no matter if you have had surgery or not, but especially after guts surgery. I wish I remembered to do Kegel exercises 3 or more times a day - I am lucky if I remember once. Thanks to you, I am doing them now and will do them more often! Kegels are super helpful, thanks for asking about that and reminding me.

As for my timeline, I had my final J-pouch surgery in 2007 and one additional surgery in 2011 to clear a small bowel obstruction caused by adhesions. Other than that, I go in for scopes to look for polyps every 12 to 24 months. I had the surgery due to having polyposis (not UC) so my doc checks regularly to make sure no new polyps "pop up" :-)

I hope you feel better soon. Mashed potatoes for dinner maybe? Because I am super lazy, I will peel, cut up and microwave a potato in a cup of chicken or vegetable broth or just water and salt. When it is cooked, I add plain yogurt, mash it up, and I have potato soup. If I didn't need all the liquid I can get, I would just microwave the potato and mash it up with plain yogurt for mashed potato, but I have trouble staying hydrated so I sneak broth and water in wherever I can. 

I hope you feel better soon!

YIKES> I need to edit the above comment to say "I would suggest NOT eating anything that causes burn or gas!"

It’s common advice to delay bathroom trips to gradually increase pouch capacity. This is quite helpful for folks who want to aim for 4–6 poops per day. It should be done gently but persistently.

Just about any barrier cream will work, applied *after* every bathroom trip (so it’s in place when needed). Plain old zinc oxide is fine and inexpensive. Some people swear by Calmoseptine, but I found the menthol too strong.