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Hello all

i seem to have developed a new pouch  problem in the last 6 months or so which i never had in all my 14 years of having my J pouch.

On week nights, as soon as i climb into bed within 5-10 mins i have gurgling gas that lasts pretty much all night resulting in numerous bathroom trips and very, very little sleep, it kind of astonishes me where and how much gas and even stool along with it continuously comes from.

It is like a switch, i have fanstastic pouch function during the day which has actually gradually improved over the years, so i go on average 4 times a day before i go to bed, but even right up to 30 mins before bed lets say - 11pm i will have zero wind, and can be watching tv and even eating a snack and be totally fine, as soon as my body changes to a horizontal position when i climb into bed is when chaos starts.

I don’t believe i have SIBO or Pouchitis due to the excellent daily / pre bed  evening function, i take Align probiotic for my IPS nerve pains and it helps with that but i also think it has improved my daily function aswell.

I have searched on here previously and tried all the advice, such as not eating before bed, eating a small snack such a peanut butter before bed, taking immodium, psyllium husk, divestive enzymes etc etc all to no avail.

So i’m wondering if anyone can shed any light on what is causing the wind and what i could do about it?

One interesting thing i would like to point out is - i don’t get these symptoms at all on a weekend when i’m more relaxed and having a few glasses of wine before bed, in fact i can drink red wine and sleep 8 hours straight, so is it possible the alcohol is relaxing my whole system including the GI tract? (Don’t worry i’m not going to get into the habit of drinking every night.)

So, i’m wondering if this problem Is both caused by stress as i suppose i’m more on edge on a week night knowing i have to be up early for work the next day, and i know even mild stress can cause wind, and also the body being in a horizontal position maybe causing stool to wash back upstream if that makes sense?

The only thing that helps a bit is taking Pepto Bismol but i don’t want to have to keep taking that on a regular basis, but i need something that helps as i’m exhausted, i average 2 hours a sleep per night during the week, and it is now become a self fullfilling prophecy in that i now get nervous as it nears bed time.

Thanks

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It could be stress/anxiety to be honest, especially since you do not have problems on the weekends. I would try stress reducing activities like stretching or exercising, warm showers and getting to bed at a decent hour.

Also, I would not recommend anyone that has any type of J-pouch/ostomy to drink; we have a very delicate system and its good to not put those kind of things in our bodies. I think we should only put holy things in our bodies given everything we have been through and along with the missing organs we have. I hope you give it some thought about quitting alcohol.

Thanks for the reply Lauren

Yes i’m leaning to the side of the problem being stress / anxiety related, as also on a weekend because i know i have have a lie in on Sat / Sun, i don’t feel the pressure of falling asleep quickly, and lo and behold i sleep with minimal problems.

I was just wondering if stress / anxiety can cause bucket loads of gas? It seems never ending when i’m up during the week nights, then the next morning when i have my final BM before work, i don’t need to go again until around 4pm, it’s very strange.

Regarding the alcohol, i appreciate your advice and sentiments, and they do make sense, but i have always managed and responded well to alcohol from the day i had the surgery at 23 years old. It’s a vice i’m willing to risk as life is hard enough as it is, and a few glasses of wine on a weekend i find enjoyable and relaxing.

I will certainly take your advice into account.

Thank you

RB, are there *any* other things different on weekdays? Different food or beverages? Do you eat faster (and potentially swallow air) on weekdays? Different physical activity?

It might be worth doing the experiment to see if the wine itself is helping, perhaps by either adding it in one weeknight, or skipping it one weekend.

Pouchitis and SIBO can certainly have their most significant impact at night, but they usually don’t skip weekends...

Stress can do all kinds of things, but it’s usually best to rule out more definitive physical causes before jumping on that as a catch-all explanation. Even if it is caused by stress, it’s more useful to find the specific manifestation if it exists (e.g. air swallowing) than the vague idea of “stress.”

The horizontal position may be a red herring, in that it may simply be how your internal anatomy moves gas along, but says nothing about how/why the gas is produced.

Hi Scott

The only thing i do different in the week is go to the gym Mon - Fri, but have occasionally gone on a Saturday and not had any problems on that same night.

In fact, i treat my body better during the week when it comes to better diet and no alcohol, on a weekend i may have a pizza or another kind of take away and still manage just fine with the pouch.

Yes the wine experiment is a good idea, i think it must have something to do with stress and the wine relaxing my brain / GI tract somehow, so i will give it a try maybe tomorrow night.

I have suffered from a bit of generalised anxiety and OCD all my life, and have suffered subsequent physical symptoms after particular tougher bouts such as - restless leg syndrome, other aches and pains, and my current Irritable pouch syndrome, which is no doubt caused by it too. So my body seems highly sensitive and susceptible.

But yes, as you say, none of the above clearly explains the definitive route cause of the gas, and i will maybe try make some notes every day of any bad habits that i’m not picking up on that could be the cause.

On a side note, i have been researching Probiotics AND Psychobiotics alot recently (mainly the latter) in order to look for a safe treatment to try and reduce my anxiety and thus reduce my IPS symptoms (abdominal nerve pain)

I was wondering if you or anyone else on here reading this takes or knows much about Psychobiotics? They are basically probiotics that have particular strains that have / are being researched to alter or re-signal the Microbiome and the brain possibly through the Vagus nerve, in order to reduce anxiety, depression, and improve cognitive function.

I have been taking 1 particular strain for a few weeks called Bifidobacterium Infantis 1714 which is backed up by human trials, and already i can feel my memory and word recall becoming a bit sharper.

I’m in the process of looking into more strains that also have double blind controlled studies attached to them, as i believe alot of my (and maybe other people’ here) problems could be caused by Microbiota dysbiosis.

It’s a very new field in the medical world, but very interesting.

Cheers

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