Personally, I think this falls into the rsk vs. benefit scenario. You have to weigh an unknown risk (real, but unclear how high the risk is) against your benefit of how weight lifting makes you feel.
If the lifting is not very important to you and you can satisfy your training needs in other ways, it makes sense to stop or curtail your lifting.
But, if lifting is what makes you feel healthy, strong, and good about yourself, then maybe that outweighs the risk.
You have been lifting successfully without mishap for some time. You seem to be sensible about it with gradual increases in the load. Your pouch is in good shape. Heavy lifting is not a guarantee of complications like prolapse or perforation, but there is a risk. If it were me, I probably would continue, but set a limit on a maximum weight, AND I'd be sure to pay attention to any changes in pouch function. I'd also make sure my doc was aware of my activities, as he might know if there was something specific in my history that might increase my risk. Of course overall core strenghtening is important, along with cardio, but I'm sure you know that.
I am aware that Dr. Shen in the j-pouch clinic recommends a 25 pound lifting limit, but it is unclear if this is a lifelong limit or just post-op recovery and with troubled pouches. I cannot see how anyone can reasonbly comply with that and live a normal life (especially if you have kids. Having a j-pouch is supposed to restore your life, not cripple it. Of course, I could be way off base, but if we avoided every risk, we'd never leave our homes.
Jan
