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looking for any 30 year pouchers, any out there?  Would love to hear your stories, good or bad.  What has worked for you, what foods are triggers?  My opinion is that sine the  J Pouch is made from small intestine, if you don't abuse it too bad it shouldn't wear down.  The pouch tissue should hold up bearing a good quality of life.....hopefully some stories out there support this.

any Humira users after surgery???

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This year makes 31 years.

I am feeling great. Couldn’t be happier about my results.

For what it is worth here is my routine:

1) I take 250mg cipro (brand name) 1 x per day prophylacticly to avoid pouchitis. Have been doing this for 20+ years. I found the generic didn’t work for me. This is unfortunate because the brand name is very expensive. Note I was told long term use of cipro can cause ligament problems but I have not had any problems with this.

2) if I have difficulty completely emptying my pouch naturally I give myself a water enema by using a rubber bulb syringe. This works within a few minutes 90% of the time. Sometimes need multiple bulbs full to get enough water pressure to clear the pouch. NEVER EVER take a fleet enema with a pouch - even before an examination. Just use tap water. Fleet burns me like a SOB! and is not necessary.

3) if I get pouchitis I take a Zithromax pack for 5 days. Typically 2-3 times per year. After 5 days I am good to go. (I still take cipro too)

4) I avoid cauliflower, cabbage, cantaloupe, watermelon, pistachios and onions. Tai food can be an irritant but it taste so damn good! Some garlic, raw carrots, cooked broccoli and grapes are ok - too much not so good. I eat salad every day. I eat tons of rotisserie chicken, turkey breast, yogurt and cashews.  Cooked veggies are good except mushrooms.

5) I don’t need much sleep - maybe 6 hours / nite is fine for me. If I don’t get enough sleep it does irritate my pouch.

I don’t know anyone else with a pouch so this is my first time sharing my experience. Best wishes for good health to all.

Brad, thank you so much for replying it's very helpful.

I'd like to know why all the Cipro and for such long term?  Are u having infections?

What is exactly is symptom of Pouchitis?  I'm thinking its urgent bowels w butt burn but does it come w rectal infection?

I have a hard time w bloating, seems like everything i eat bloats me and some foods run through me w watery stools.  I've pretty much dialed it in on trigger foods.  Main thing w me is sleep and bloating.  I've developed adrenal fatigue/chronic fatigue and I tend to wake up every night in middle of night at least once to empty.  It's pretty frustrating but so far nothing serious to note, surgery has been successful im few years out and just take it week by week.

cheers!

 

26 years this June and still "going" strong. Take one packet of VSL #3 daily with kefir and 2 Florastor daily. Take 2 imodium tablets in morning & evening (if I remember) and prescription potassium daily. (Also take Ubiquinol, omega 3 fish oil and transdermal magnesium to keep migraine headaches at bay, which may also be good for the pouch.) Can eat almost anything as long as I thoroughly chew. Can enjoy all fruits but eat only cooked veggies. Sauces tend to give me gas. Do enjoy sweets, but overdoing will cause the big D and butt burn. Am so thankful to have had the most wonderful and patient doctors & medical staff. Nurses have a special place in heaven. We are pioneers. Be well & best wishes.

Rose

Last edited by roseviolet
JB217 posted:
tallcanuk posted:

Only 26 years so far. Hope it goes the distance

That's great John!  hope for 26 more! what has worked for you??

Thanks. I've only had a few issues over the years with either pouchitis or mild food poisoning that caused me to seek medical help. Cipro worked for me in those cases, and now I keep a bottle of it with me if I travel, just in case. Haven't needed it in probably 10 years or so.

I do have quite frequent bathroom visits, and have noticed the past couple years I'm having to empty my pouch more frequently. I'm probably around 10 times per 24 hours, some days more.

I don't do anything special, and not on any medications currently. I haven't tried Imodium in years, as it never really helped me much. Haven't tried Metamucil for a very long time either.

I can eat pretty much anything I want to, but know certain things will bother me. I try avoid too many nuts at one time, some tomato sauces bother me, and am careful with other seeds and skins. Chocolate goes right through, but worth the hassle sometimes

Lately I have been thinking of trying something again, as my bathroom visits seem to be increasing. Might give Metamucil a try again. I used it for a few years when I first had my pouch.

I'm curious too about the prolonged use of Cipro reported by Philly-Brad. Antibiotics can wreak havoc on your gut and digestion. Even though it has helped me get over a period of diarrhea,  it also messes up my gut and takes me a while to get things settled after taking it. I can't imagine taking it long term.

I do have issues at night when I don't wake up. I need to get up at least once to empty, but sometimes sleep through and end up with some leakage. Now I also have sleep apnea and have to use a CPAP machine. I think some air from it  causes me to bloat and aggravates the need to empty.

Overall, I happy with the pouch and not having an ostomy bag.

 

Last edited by tallcanuk

The first several years after my pouch surgery in 1985, I had a number of pouchitis bouts. At the time I took Bactrim but after a while found that didn’t work anymore. Then I went onto flagyl but that caused numbness in my fingers so I discontinued it. I also tried VSL but it did not work for me at all.

Then I went on cipro (500mg - not 250mg as I mistakenly previously stated) once per day and it is a low enough dose to keep the bad bacteria in check while not upsetting my stomach at all. Over the past 20 years my pouchitis has been very rare and when I do get it - it responds immediately to a Zithpack. I have maybe 5 bm per day. Not sure if others would respond to cipro as I have but that’s where I am.

 

Like Brad-Philly I have taken cipro and other antibiotics for many years, in my case since 1995. At that time I asked my gastroenterologist if there was any studies on long term antibiotic use and he said “you are the Guinea Pig.” 23 years later I can report it’s been just fine. The key thing is to rotate antibiotics. The only times I ever ran into problems like yeast infections etc. was from being on Cipro too long without rotating off onto Xifaxin or Augmentin or Tinidazole. Cipro is very effective at killing all the bacteria in your skin and it sets you up for yeast infections and warts etc. if you don’t rotate. Other than that have had no issues. 

Pouch is turning 32 and it's been a great, ahem, run.

I eat and drink whatever I want, and while my stool might loosen as a result, it is not uncontrollable nor is the burn usually unbearable.  And, psychologically, I rationalize those little downturns with the knowledge that my pouch is not controlling me.

I've had a few bouts with pouchitis but it generally clears by itself after a few days, or if not, it responds to a Z-Pak like others have stated.  There's been narrowing, at times, where the bottom of the pouch connects to my anal ring but the occasional appointments with me GI keep those at bay.

Yes, every case is different and this board tends to showcase 'issues' rather than success stories, but I would not have it any other way.

Michael

JB217 posted:

looking for any 30 year pouchers, any out there?  Would love to hear your stories, good or bad.  What has worked for you, what foods are triggers?  My opinion is that sine the  J Pouch is made from small intestine, if you don't abuse it too bad it shouldn't wear down.  The pouch tissue should hold up bearing a good quality of life.....hopefully some stories out there support this.

any Humira users after surgery???

 

I am going on my 34 year! Had about 1-2 blockages a year for a long time. Then 15 then had scar tissue taken out. It’s been 15 years. Now problems with scar tissue. I can’t eat meat  salads. Vegetables. Only bread cereal and cheese and milk with protein. Overall I am still a teacher and a coach for 41 years. Got 4 boys that keep me going!!!  Pouch is ok. Got a hernia is all from hitting baseballs to my teams.  Good luck to all. 

Hello all, I'm new to the forum and I see that I've missed a lot of support by not knowing about it. I had my J-pouch surgery 24 years ago at Oschner hospital in New Orleans. Prednisone was the only drug which controlled my UC and I had my surgery to get off of the prednisone. Now that I'm in my 60s, I can tell that I'm going to the bathroom more often and I'm having more problems with gas and an acidic stool, which really burns my rectum. I will take Cipro once a day for several days and my symptoms will improve. As far as I know, I haven't had problems with pouchitis.  I've considered having my pouch removed and going with an ileostomy but I'm really undecided on what to do. I live 3 1/2 hours away from the doctors I need to be seeing and the local gastrointestinal doctors around east MS aren't very helpful. Anyway, its great to have folks to talk to now who understand what I'm talking about. 

Scott

Welcome, ScottV. It sounds like you might be dealing with chronic pouchitis. Even if not, there are certainly some things you can do that are much easier than pouch removal that might fix you right up, or at least help. Have you tried a strong probiotic? If you can afford it (and/or get it covered by insurance) VSL #3 DS helps some of us keep pouchitis symptoms at bay. Also, have you tried soluble fiber, like Metamucil? If these don’t do the job, you might be best staying on Cipro, at the lowest dose that works. I’ve been on it for years now, and it’s enabled me to have a normal (great, actually) life.

Once you have a relationship with a good GI a lot of things can be managed by phone or email. Good luck!

I'm only in year two of my pouch, but I've met someone who had her pouch for over 30 years and she has had no issues or quality of life concerns. It sounded like the pouch was barely something she thinks about and she has only one or two foods she avoids. No pouchitis or other issues. It was very encouraging to me to hear how much of a non-issue having a pouch was for her.

On the question that people sometimes raise about whether the pouch will "wear out" -- my GI has told me that it's no different than any other part of your body and that it doesn't wear out in the way that I was thinking -- like a piece of machinery.  

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