Hello,
My name is Sarah and I live in Melbourne, Australia. I would love to hear from other Aussies with a j-pouch. I know Australia is a big place and there aren't very many of us, but who knows, perhaps we can get together via this site.
Look forward to hearing from you,
Sarah

Hey Sarah

Although I'm English I am an adopted Melbournian having lived and worked there ten years ago. I have been back many many times since and infact was just in Melbourne a month ago.
I know there are two other Melbournians on this site "Rappo and Lixxie" and many other ozzies.
Sure they will be in touch soon.
Clive

Hey Sarah, how are you.

I'm from Melbourne and have had my Jpouch for one year now. PM me if you would like to chat!

Hi Sarah,
I'm from oz, up near Brisbane.
I have just had my j pouch constructed 3 wks ago, so i'm just waiting for the check up in 3wks time then hopefully the final op not long after that.
How long have you had the j pouch?
Catch ya later
Georgie

Hi Sarah
Im From Sydney and had 3 step surgery in 2003. Ive been doing well since and have a son that is 4 yrs pre pouch and a daughter that is almost 1 post pouch.

Take Care
Suzanne

Hi Sarah (and other Aussies!)

I have had my pouch since 2002.. Am from Canberra. I also have 2 girlfriends that I met in hospital with pouches, although they are not on the web site.
An Aussie get together would be awesome! Hope you get a lot of info and support from this site...

Tamara

Hi Sarah,

Another Melbourne girl here! I had my operations at the Alfred - step 1 in December and takedown last month.

Nikki

Hi Everyone

I am new to all of this. I had an ileostomy on 31 Mar and due to have the J-Pouch construction in September then full reversal some in Dec.

Just checking in for now and seeing if any one is from Wollongong in NSW where I am from.

I have it all to look forward to!!

Hi RDS
Im from Sydney but my husband use to live in wollongong (warrawong) before we married so im very familiar with the area because we use to hang out at north and south beach on weekends.
Lovely place to live.
Good luck with your next surgery.

See ya
Suzanne

Hi Suzanne

Thanks for replying, and sorry for my late reply.
I have been quite busy since I came back to work.
I went camping on the weekend with my sons and everything was fine.
I am actually looking forward to my final op in Dec, so I can 'have all the plumbing back inside'.
I know Warrawong very well as I used to work in Kemblawarra. I live in West Dapto and work in Wollongong.
Are you fully 'J-Pouched'?

Take care

Richard

Hi
Yes i am fully j pouched lol
I had three step surgery in 2003, everything's been good with my health since.

Good Luck with your next surgery

See ya
Suzanne

Yep, I'm from Melbourne, inner-southeast. I had my first op at St Vincents Public. I had a few issues but am doing heaps better now, the biggest issue now is keeping my toes from freezing in the middle of the night with all this loverly winter weather we are having here in icy Melbourne.

Feel free to PM me if you want to talk.

Hi,
My name's Anna, 27 from Sydney. I've been to this site many times but have just registered! I was diagnosed with UC when I was 6 and I had j pouch surgery when I was 8 (yep, next year is 20 years!). I was the first and youngest child in Australia to have it done. Everything has been going great, so much so that I completely forget that I have a pouch. Last week though I had a bad bout of gastro that landed me in the hospital and now the doc thinks I may have CD. So I've been on this site practically 24/7 seeing what I can find about j-pouchers with CD. Have any of you had problems over the years?
It's so great to be able to chat to people in Australia with a j-pouch! If I only had a dollar for everyone (even docs!) who said "You've got a what pouch??"...

Hi Anna

Welcome and WOW! I cant imagine what it must have been like for you at 8 to have this. And now you might have to deal with CD. You have found the right place to have your say and get advice etc from others who have been there.

I had UC since I was 21 and now I am due for a pouch in September. I know at least 2 others, not related to me other than by marriage, who have CD. Both are suffering at present, but are controlling with drugs and diet.

Who is your doctor? I can thoroughly recommend Professor Terry Bolin in Randwick as a physician and Dr Shing Wong at POW hospital as a CR surgeon. I went to Bolin for a second opinion 4 years ago, and never looked back. Such a positive attitude and approach, and a bedside manner second to none.

Both guys tell it like it is and clearly explain your options. If you want a second opinion, go to Bolin. If you want their details send me an email or PM.

Good luck and try asking for a dollar each time they ask you for an explanation!

Cheers

Richard

Hi Richard,
Yeah it was pretty tough when I was little. Everyone asks if I remember and my answer is always the same...I remember EVERYTHING! Last week when I had to have a sigmoidoscopy I was so stressed out because 20 years ago they didn't anaesthetise you and I think I'm still traumatised from that. Luckily these days they knock you out completeley! The gastroenterologist that saw me in hospital last week (St George Hospital ) was Dr Philip Craig but I'm going back to my surgeon in a few weeks..Dr Graham Newstead at Randwick. He pretty much pioneered j-pouch surgery in children (me being the guinea pig!) so I'm very much looking forward to seeing him again and seeing what he thinks. Thank you so much for the recommendations though..I'll keep them in mind