Hi everyone,

It has been 4 yrs. since my last visit on this site. What a great surprise to see how well it has developed! Excellent work Bill & Dave! What a wonderful support system. I'm a 14 yr. old j-poucher & still going strong.

Lilly - I noticed you said you've had your j-pouch for 14 years.. how was your first year with it? what are the pros and cons you experienced? I am thinking of going that route with my FAP, but need a little reassurance.

Thank you.
Tim

Hi Tim,

My first year with the j-pouch was really good. The pros were that I didn't have to worry about the UC returning, after about 5 mos. I really started to adjust and while it is different than the "norm.", it began to feel very normal to me. As well, when I look back to when I had a colon, my stomach was always so upset when I eat so many things and I didn't feel better until I was able to go to the washroom. Now when I eat something that "doesn't agree" with me, it isn't long before I feel better. The cons, for the first year for me were that I worried a lot that something was going to go wrong with the pouch and it is quite an adjustment. However, looking back at it now, it wasn't that bad. After awhile, you forget all about it because now I forget what it was like to have a colon. And even after 7 years, I noticed improvements and then it just seemed to get better still with time. For example, my diet now has a very minor effect on the pouch, and I never am sore "down there". The only change that has remained the same is the more you eat, the more you go (comparing it to about 2 years after you have the pouch), which isn't bad. As long as I always stay healthy, then I would not have any regrets.

I hope this helps you. Good luck!