Nerve damage from jpouch surgery?

Did you have any preexisting spinal disease at the time of your surgery? If so, it may have predisposed you to nerve impingement at the spinal nerve roots. Your hand symptoms are similar to my ulnar nerve symptoms and I have spinal stenosis in my neck The inflammation can wax and wane, depending on if I do things that irritate the nerve roots. In particular, hyperextension of the neck really triggers it for me. I have to be careful in the dentist’s chair. They hyperextend the neck when you are intubated during surgery. Hopefully, you have had nerve conduction studies and spinal MRI to get this sorted out. Sounds like the neurologist is on top of this.

In my case, it definitely was not associated with the surgery. I did have significant shoulder and hip pain post op, but it turned out to be IBD related arthritis.

Positioning during surgery to prevent nerve and skin trauma is a primary job for the surgical staff. But, sometimes “stuff” happens no matter how careful they are. Of course, it is always possible someone was not doing their job right, and I hope that is not the case.

Jan

I did not end up having nerve damage after J Pouch surgery, but was told/advised to bank my sperm because of the risk of microscopic nerves controlling sexual function being damaged during surgery, and because I was a 29 year old single man at the time. That risk didn't come home to roost on me and doesn't seem to be the nerve damage issue you have (from positioning), but I thought I would mention it because there have been many posts on this board about this. My understanding of the stats is 2% chance of permanent impotency and 10% of temporary impotency from J Pouch surgery.

Your issue may be temporary and the July time frame for re-evaluation sounds reasonable. Hopefully it will improve and can be treated with Gabapentin or similar medications.

Thank you. I did not have any pre existing issues prior to the jpouch surgery except for the Ulcerative colitis. Thanks for the info.

That’s great JoeJoe! I am glad you are getting encouraging news from the neurologist. Those symptoms can be quite frustrating and unfortunately it can take a long time for nerves to heal. My joint and spine issues took decades to diagnose. When I was younger I dismissed my occasional pain and nerve involvement to repetitive stress injury (tennis elbow, etc.). Before my surgery, I was on high dose prednisone, which masked my symptoms. After surgery I was surprised by the shoulder and hip pain. It wasn’t until a decade after that that I wound up being referred to a rheumatologist because of unrelenting sacroiliac pain. It seemed like I had a roving gremlin in my body affecting random sites.

It sounds like your issues are different, but just be aware that sometimes things evolve in a way you never expected!

Jan

Oh wow, I am so sorry to hear that Joe! Usually the three-step surgery is more safer for men and reduces the risks of nerve damage  in the reproductive organs, I am sorry to hear all of that! I hope everything gets better. Let us know how things go in July.

Where my takedown scar is, I have less feeling there than before, I guess that is nerve damage?

Hi JoeJoe,  I have a numb area on  the skin of my left upper thigh from my first surgery.   My friend who is an anesthesiologist said that this happens during long surgeries from pressure.  He said I'd "get used" to it.   I've never regained any sensation there.   

Thank you. Damn that sucks.