Hi RJ,

A few things could be going on:

- even though your j-pouch is being bypassed with a loop, it's still possible for some stool to make it all the way through and collect in the pouch. Depending on how active your stoma has been lately (for example, a mild gastro-intestinal virus could cause increased frequency) this could be contributing to increased output from your bottom

- pouchitis. It's possible to have pouchitis even though your pouch is disconnected. If you have increased discharge/output associated with a sense of urgency or a feeling of fullness in the pouch, this is likely the reason.

- the j-pouch is still part of your ileum and the ileum creates its own mucous. This collects in the pouch and when it gets full enough, you will need to empty. It could be that your gut has just been a little more active than usual.

As for your other question about the lifespan of the loop, I believe you can live with this indefinitely. Many people on this site have had loops for years. I had my ostomy (albeit an end ileo) for over 2.5 years.  That being said, if you choose to stay with the ostomy permanently, meaning you have no intention to ever go back to the j-pouch, then most surgeons will usually recommend that the pouch be removed, an end ileo created, and your bottom sewn shut.  This is due to the fact that the pouch can still cause issues even when disconnected, as you may be starting to find out.

Best of luck! hope you can get it sorted.

It may be pouchitis.  Thanks a lot for feedback @Spooky!

It is called diversion colitis. It is different than pouchitis.  It is because there is a lack of fecal stream going through that unused but hanging out in there jpouch. Standard course of treatment starts with SCFA (short chain fatty acid) enemas. You have to get them at a compounding pharmacy. And the give "nutrients" to the thing so that it stops misbehaving. Sometimes they work. Sometimes they don't. Next line is something like rowasa enemas.  And a few other things after that. For me... after I got my jpouch disconnected cause it failed... I had bad bad diversion colitis. The SCFA enemas worked for a short while. Then rowasa worked.. but then nothing else worked so eventually I had to get the mutant jpouch organ excised.  I was being treated by the jpouch guru of the world at that time.. Dr. Shen. Good luck. Hope your docs will sort this out for you and that the treatement works.

Hi all, I was wondering if anyone had any advice or an experience with excessive anal discharge/bleeding after a temp ileostomy and j-pouch procedure? I know the doctors say it's "normal" to have some leakage... they say it's mucus or a little bit of blood. But this is more than a little bit of blood; it's quite a bit. I think the stool bypasses the loop little by little and then eventually it comes out in one big mess. The first stool is so hard that it tears the anus and that makes it bleed, but then there's more blood afterward... far more than what I've read to be "normal" for others. There's pressure and cramping also. The site is so sore and raw that it hurt to put anything on it, and if you put something on it the frequency of having to go makes it impossible to stay on there because of all the wiping you have to do. Is there anything that anyone can suggest? I've heard of coconut oil, warm baths, etc... but it's so raw that even water hurts to spray on there. The doctors don't have anything to say... they just keep saying that it's normal and to be expected. PLEASE does anyone have advice?

Hi @amistem, I had problems in past when I had my jpouch with raw excoriated skin on my bottom.  I had cuffitis and the skin on the outside was inflamed  and irritated. The pain was 10/10.  I used calmoseptine a lot as a topical.  I was told that keeping it dry would help it heal, but it was almost impossible to keep dry when you are active and have pain.  

I took suppositories which didn't seem to fix but may have helped.  Warm baths helped in the short term. I tried with bath salts in the bath tube.  But I don't know how much help they were b/c they made the area damp.

If I can remember anything else I'll update the post.  Best of luck <3 u.

Hi guys,

Has anybody any experience with passing surgical staples? I've been passing them for well over a year now, every few weeks. I get really sick, sore, urgency and really bad night sweats and then after about two days I pass 1 or 2 staples. By the the next day I'm feeling a ton better. Anybody any experience with this?