Well, long time, no see! To give an update, I am now about 15 years post-op. Until a few years ago, I hadn't had any major problems with my J-Pouch. I had regular BMs, was able to eat almost anything, and was generally enjoying life. About 3 years ago, I relocated from New Mexico to Maryland to be closer to family, and soon after, I began having blockages much more frequently than I was used to. One to two blockages a year has never been unusual for me, so at first, I didn't think anything of it, but in the last year, the frequency has picked up a lot. Toward the end of 2016, I was regularly getting blockages about once a week. My doctors ran all sorts of tests (small bowel follow-through, CT scans, etc.) and have ruled out pouchitis and adhesion, and finally have settled on pseudo obstruction. I have been prescribed Erythromicin to be used as needed to help stimulate my small bowel, and it seems to help a bit, but I am still getting blocked up fairly regularly. At the beginning of this year, I started taking a fiber supplement, which helped a great deal. I didn't get a single blockage from January to the end of April. My wife and I settled on a house on April 26th, and after lunch with our realtor, I had a really bad blockage. Since then, I've been getting blocked up about once a week, and currently have a partial blockage as I type this. I've cut out the fiber supplement as it doesn't seem to be helping anymore and I'm not eating much fiber, either.
When I eat, there is almost no noise from my abdomen anymore. You used to be able to hear my "stomach growling" from across a room after I ate. Occasionally, I will hear some gurgling, but it rarely lasts long. That was the biggest difference after I started the fiber supplement, my stomach started making noise within an hour or so, and I felt immediate movement.
Lately, most of the blockages don't last long (maybe a few hours) and I am able to pass them normally, but occasionally, I end up vomiting.
I'm planning on starting a more regular exercise regimen, as this seems like it could help stimulate my intestine to start working again. I'm not terribly out of shape, but I figure it couldn't hurt.
Does anyone have any other tips? Is there anything else I could try? It's incredibly frustrating not knowing when I may get blocked up. I have a new house, and our first baby on the way, and the last thing I need to is to be worried about when I'm going to get a blockage.
