Can anyone tell me?! Is leaking now a sign of what's ahead once they connect pouch?

No, it's not a sign that you'll leak when connected. I'm assumin what you mean by "leaking" is that stool gets under the wafer and leaks that way? Either way, anything your stoma is doing has nothing to do with how you pouch will behave.

One possible reason for leakage though is when sitting out laying down the stoma retracts and can get under it or the part that is "closed off" still puts out mucous to an extent and if you cover that at all it'll cause leakage.

The J pouch, resting, will put out mucus.

All intestines make mucus that mixes with stool, though you rarely "see" it, because again, it's mixed.

What came out of my J pouch, while my loop sat up top, was mucus, not stool. Is yours ACTUALLY stool? Shouldn't be. Should be the mucus, but I suppose there is a small chance it could be some stool, not knowing the shape, etc. of your stoma. Mine was a definite "rose bud" shape, though a bit crooked, that was not flush with my skin, and no stool ever "went the wrong way," that I could ever tell.

When it would put out the mucus, it was like a spasm would happen, and boom! the mucus would come out. I had to wear a pad for the first 2 months of resting my pouch between surgeries. But gradually, it tapered off.

My surgeon used the tapering off as his guide, at that time, for when to "reattach" me... and for me, it was nearly 4 months to the day.

The mucus coming out was not indicative of how my pouch would then act after reconnection. I never needed bowel thickeners or Immodium, and though there were a few nighttime accidents of small proportion in the first, oh, 6months to a year?, that went away pretty fast for me, too. Kegel kegel kegel!

I mean rectal leakage- not stoma leakage. The first month it was odorless- now it smells like stool even though it's a mucous consistency- & it's more frequent- & it slips out into a pad- I can't control it...frustrating & makes me feel gross

It's completely normal and not a sign of leakage post takedown.

Sue

This sounds crazy, but when my daughter had her first flare, I took photos of the bowel movements she was having, to show her GI.

Perhaps photograph the "evidence" for your surgeon, to show him/her so they can look at it and let you know if they think it is normal, especially if you say it is less mucus like these days. But yes, mucus is an absolutely normal part of the in-between stage between loop ileostomy/j pouch and reattachment.

Ah, technology today! My patient portal online to my doctor even has a place to attach photos, if need be. If you have that, you could send a message and a photo of what is concerning to you, if you feel comfortable with that.