Yeah I guess that is pretty much normal, certainly at your stage of recovery, things should get slowly better over the next few months, probally taking 12 months or more to fully settle.

In time you can't start introducing fibre and loperomide, digestive enzymes etc help you deal with the symptoms a bit more easily.  Personally I would recommend taking it slow, let yourself heal, you probally still have quite o bit of inflammation and your new pouch won't have found it's rhythm yet. It took 3 or 4 weeks before I could even get out of bed, and I really didn't feel like eating properly for 2 to 3 months, then I started eating lots of fresh meat and veg.. at first this went right through me, but I seem to be able to tolerate it all now.  Then I introduced fibre and loperomide...I know others did it different, but I was keen to heal first.

Bottom line is I don't think you need to worry just yet, the sensation you describe will be familiar to anyone with a pouch, although it does improve with time and with meds/suppliments.  People often report visiting the bathroom 12, 15 even 20 times a day at the start, bit this should settle down with time, of you are really worried of course, discuss with your doc.. but if it's just pressure and urgency is probally gas/inflammation.

Technically, it isn’t normal and is not what to expect once you’ve recovered, although from your and my experience, it obviously does occur.

I never found a definitive cause to my experience but I believe it was an anal fissures within what remains of the anal canal, which was dilated during my takedown surgery.

Just after my takedown surgery, I experienced excruciating pain during BMs and what felt like trying to pass a golf ball, which wouldn’t come out.

I had urges to go, even after I’d Just finished I would have to dash back but nothing would come out.

I even stopped eating, believing, if I wasn’t eating, then I wouldn’t need the toilet but this didn’t work.

I alleviating my pain and discomfort by applying ilex protectant paste to the inside of the anal sphincter, which instantly made all the difference.

However, ilex paste is technically for External Use Only and it states this on the tube and box, although I’ve used it in such a manner and without issues for the last 4½ years.

strange posted:

Technically, it isn’t normal and is not what to expect once you’ve recovered, although from your and my experience, it obviously does occur.

I never found a definitive cause to my experience but I believe it was an anal fissures within what remains of the anal canal, which was dilated during my takedown surgery.

Just after my takedown surgery, I experienced excruciating pain during BMs and what felt like trying to pass a golf ball, which wouldn’t come out.

I had urges to go, even after I’d Just finished I would have to dash back but nothing would come out.

I even stopped eating, believing, if I wasn’t eating, then I wouldn’t need the toilet but this didn’t work.

I alleviating my pain and discomfort by applying ilex protectant paste to the inside of the anal sphincter, which instantly made all the difference.

However, ilex paste is technically for External Use Only and it states this on the tube and box, although I’ve used it in such a manner and without issues for the last 4½ years.

So does it ever go away? 

Of course it goes away.

During my very first experience of this, just after my takedown, the moment I applied the ilex paste the pain and discomfort ceased, so too, did the urge to pass a golf ball.

In fact, the urge to pass the golf ball has never occurred since.

For maybe the first 12 months, every so often, I still experienced the excruciating pain during BMs and it being necessary to apply the ilex paste within.

I could actually identify the precise area within the anal sphincter that was causing my pain and once I’d cleaned the area by the insertion of a tip of a finger wrapped within a wet wipe, I applied the ilex paste for instant relief.

I very rarely need to do this now and I hardly ever need to apply the ilex paste but every so often and and very rarely, a mild burning sensation and itching does occur from within, either during a BM or just after, therefore, I always have the ilex paste available for such occasions.

Strange, if the discomfort is from a spasm of the anal sphincter, I can’t help but wonder if the “massage” of applying the Ilex caused some of the relief, since the Ilex itself is inert. If it’s irritation of the anal tissue then the Ilex itself could be helping, of course, and the discomfort could actually be a combination of the two.

In any case, Bloesch, yes, this generally goes away.

SCOTT.... I’ve no idea whether it was a spasm or not but at the time of the sensation to pass a golf ball, it felt like the sphincter was remaining open and there was nothing coming out.

I only discovered the application of the ilex in such a manner, by accident and out of desperation.

Yeah, I don’t experience anything like it now; only a mild burning sensation and itching from time to time, which is easily alleviated by way of the ilex and is nothing compared to the symptoms of UC, the Stoma and use of a colostomy bag.