Hi Teddy,
I have had a j pouch since 1994 and I have reoccuring pouchitis and for me it is important to make sure you go to the bathroom and not try to hold your stool a long time because it makes more bacteria grow. I have found that cipro works best for me and I always have some on hand. I can take one cipro and by the morning it starts to calm it down my stools and becomes less runny. I might just take one cipro every day for a week and then stop. It can cause problems with ligaments which it has done in me but I find that if I just take one for a about a week it tends to control it. But also I eliminate a lot of things from my diet like soda and foods that might produce gas. Because when you have pouchitis that makes it much worse. Also I was wondering if you are having a problem empyting your pouch because if you do that also is not could and could lead to pouchitis.
The different color of your stool is probably what Jan said but let me tell you my stool has been about every color of the rainbow and even more! lol It all depends on what you eat. I suspect also if you think you had any blood it probably might be cuffitis, hopefully I spelled that right but I do not have that problem because that small area that it usually forms in I had removed and that was a life saver. I lately have been going in about every year to have a dilation because the scar tissue build up can cause a problem with me eliminating my pouch. A j pouch is not a easy thing to understand. I have had mine for 23 years and it seems when I have it figured out something new pops up.
I know sometimes you feel alone in the world with it but there is always someone here to talk to and give you adivce.
Debbie