Hi Everyone,
I will be having my first scope since my j pouch surgeries 2+ years ago. For most of this time I have had little difficulty with my pouch provided I am careful with my diet, exercise regularly and stay healthy. I have been taking 1-2 Immodium in the evening and with that dosing would have a manageable 2-4 bathroom trips at night. Quite suddenly, however, something has really changed and I have been significantly blocked up. I had a partial bowel obstruction 2 weeks ago, very scary, and that took 10 days on a liquid diet to resolve. Since then I have been straining with difficult, slow moving bowels. Yikes, very different from what I had grown used to! By way of suggestions from this site, I started taking VSL#3 and MOMs at night to keep things flowing and find a new balance with diet and meds. It has helped. In other posts I was told that I should be checked for a possible stricture somewhere; or, that my pouch may have matured at 2 years out and this maturing combined with a low dose pain med I take daily (for chronic neuropathy) may be why my bowels have gone from the "normal" j pouch loose to thick and kind of stuck feeling. Both things seem like reasonable explanations for the changes I am experiencing. Fortunately, I have my first scope and rectal exam coming up so things will get checked out. My question today is about the prep for the flex sigmoidoscopy. I have been instructed to drink 10 oz. of mag citrate the evening before and then give myself 2 saline Fleet enemas an hour before the procedure. As this is my first scope w/out a colon, I am wondering if this seems like the normal prep for a j pouch? I have a new surgeon who will be doing the procedure as my take down/construction surgeon sadly has retired. I trust and like the new doc but don't know him well and he didn't "make" my pouch so he is not familiar with me in that way. So, long message, sorry, but does this prep seem like a normal prep for a poucher? Thank you.
Best,
Savannah
2005 Dx UC
2009 ruptured colon total colectomy/ileostomy
2010 two stage reversal and j pouch
2011 Spinal cord injury and decompression surgery dx: Central Cord Syndrome (restored motor functioning after paralysis but chronic neuropathic pain in my limbs)
I have generally been doing quite well and I always learn something helpful from this website!
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