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Hello all, 

I've a J-Pouch since 1992 and -but for the first few years after the surgery - I'm grateful to the fact that it's been a rather smooth ride.  In recent years though, I began experiencing short lived bouts of dull pain above and just left of the belly button. The pain would become sharp as I'd press on it. It would usually subside within a few hours - after emptying the J-pouch once or twice...The last episode started 3 days ago but this time it's sticking around -  which is somewhat disconcerting. I'm 170 lbs at 5'10" and physically fit. I live an active live and eat well. I suspect that this pain is related to my J-Pouch surgery...Could this be adhesions as many of you described - even 25 years after the surgery?

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Adhesions are very hard to diagnose as the cause of a problem. Everything else has to be ruled out. Treating them is also problematic. If they are troublesome enough then surgery can be performed to cut (“lyse”) them, but 1) it can be hard to find the one(s) causing the problem, and 2) each surgery causes more adhesions. So it’s usually treated as a last resort.

Most adhesions cause little or no trouble. Some people have gotten their lives back from adhesion surgery, but you have to undertake it with limited expectations.

Hopefully this is just a blip, and soon things will be back to normal. Adhesions form within the first few weeks of surgery and stay indefinitely. If your gut twists against them, you get an obstruction. Sounds like you just have a partial obstruction. If you cut back on solid foods, especially roughage, and increase fluids, you should be able to pass whatever is “hung up” inside. This may or not recur and has little to do with what you ate. Some people find massaging the area and using a heating pad helps. The soreness can linger for some time after the obstruction clears.

Jan

I appreciate your pitching in Scott and Jan. Another few more days just past since my last post and thankfully, the pain has lessened when I press on the area of the belly that's been achy and the dull pain has pretty much subsided orherwise! So, yes, hopefully - and it seems like it might have just been - my guts twisting around adhesions creating a partial blocage. Massages did indeed seem to help aluviating the pain. Will try to remember to give you one last update in a little while.

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