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Hi folks: I've posted before about my husband and you have been a world of help. I'm Baaaack!

Hubby John had a colectomy with a pull-through procedure back in 1988. He has been managing pretty well until about the past year. He had a bout of pouchitis, which is Dr.treated with one round of flagyl, and lots of (cripplingly expensive) VSL. John had a sygmoid at that time and was told he had ulcers in his pouch. At his original surgery, they left a ring of his rectal tissue, so I guess that is what can act up with sypmtoms of ulcerative colitis (John's original diagnosis way back when.

This doctor is not one of our favorites. Spending time in his office is---suffice to say---like falling down the rabbit hole with Alice in Wonderland. He explains nothing, and follows through on nothing. We have an appointment with another gastroenterologist next week. Our fingers are crossed.

One of the things John has been discussing with his doctor (who just tells him to eat only solid food and avoid liquids...) is that he has been leaking more in this past year. He never had a problem with that before, but now, he leaks anytime he is on his feet, and he is incontinent at least once a night. He used to wake up with the urge to "go," but now he says that it just flows out with no warning. The volume is such that nothing he's tried can contain it, and John is very demoralized about this.

He takes lomotil 4 times a day, which does not seem to help much. He tries to not snack in the evenings, but this still does not keep him "dry" at night. Off and on, he suffers stomach pain in a particular area of his stomach. He's not a happy camper these days, and so, of course, I'm not either!

Any suggestions?
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In my body this would mean I had pouchitis still/again. I'm on antibiotics all the time, and that's working out okay. Not everyone's pouchitis stays away.

If he has cuffitis (UC in the remaining rectal cuff) that would need to be treated, usually with enemas or suppositories of UC meds.

Did you try to get insurance to cover the prescription strength VSL (VSL #3 DS)? I had pretty good success with that, and all insurance has an appeal process, but you'll need your doctor's help to appeal successfully.
Scott, thanks for your reply. The two things you mentioned---antibiotics and UC medication---had been on my mind all along. I don't think my husband was treated seriously enough for his ulcerated pouch many months back, and I believe he still has the problems he originally saw his doctor about. We'll bring up both those things at his meeting with his new doctor.

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