Has anyone had irritable bowel syndrome before RC?

Thats interesting Kathy..having IBS and then having a pouch made from the irritable colon...would it maintain a memory and decide to be a irritable pouch?...Since they have no idea what causes IBS or they would have eliminated it by now. But i and others will tell you that it takes a while for your new pouch to accept the idea that it is now a bladder...if you are having spasms in your bowel from something its a good bet Mr. Pouch or Ms. Pouch will decide to join in the fun and contract also. This lessens with time but there are still things that will send my pouch into spasms...for instance every time i have a CT scan..don't know if its the dye or the barium...but my pouch doesn't like it. I weaned off all caffeine products. But everyone is different. It takes some time for the pouch to get to capacity and with the amount of liquids you take in it will signal you to empty...loud and clear..and if you don't listen it will become Mt. Etna....
Hope things calm down....Pat

Im sorry. I didn't do a very good job of phrasing my question. I have been having trouble with my new pouch (from a bowel section) and wondered if some of that could be related to my previously existing IBS (which I have had for years, but a mild case). I assume that it would travel with the bowel to its new site. I have been on medicine to calm my pouch which is for bowel spasms. Since that can cause constipation in my "real" bowels I have been taking stool softeners and taking fiber and haven't had many IBS problems there. At first I too had some serious hard and painful bowel movements, to the point of bleeding.

I just wondered if there was any connection with IBS and problems with my new pouch. Thanks for all of your replies!
Kathy

I had problems the first few months...hard bowel movements...those intestines were not happy...had to do something.. I take at least one capsule of fish oil a day (amega fatty acids), sometimes two if I feel backed up...and make sure I drink at least 12 ounces of some type of cranberry juice, crangrape or cranrasberry daily.
Also have added more fiber to my diet and try to eat lots of fruit & salads. Melodie

Do you really have IBC? After my R/C, I was initially diagnosed with an obstructed bowel, but it turned out to be a bacterial infection in my stomach, which was diagnosed and cured by a GI doctor.

Regards,

Peter

Yeah...they get pretty mad about all the cutting and rearranging and decide to punish you as if you're not already dealing with your ADD new bladder. Everyones a little different but personally i had a horrible time with my bowels after the surgery...i was sore for a very long time and cried every time i sat on the pot. We might be the rare ones as i've not heard that as a major complaint.
Pat

I have had not only a lot of leakage but even squirting from my stoma. I had only mild IBS before RC, but perhaps after all that has happened in rearranging things, it has gone into overdrive. I have an Indiana pouch.
Thanks, Kathy