I was told i need the Jpouch in the next 12 or 24 months. What time of year is best to have the two surgeries?

I would say it's totally depends on your schedule. You will just need to plan around your job or other important events. I don't know what the average time out of work is for step one because I work at home and just kinda gradually worked back into it, but I would think 4-6 weeks, possibly more, possibly a little less. Step two would be the same way. You can keep your temporary ostomy as long as you need to to work around your schedule. If everything goes well, you should recover from step two quicker. Hopefully you'll get some more posts. Recovery varies from person to person. As far as a best time of the year goes, if I were choosing,I'd do winter months, since you're indoors more anyway.

I would think checking into a hospital in the height of Swine Flu outbreak would be not so good....it's high on the list of my concerns as I move toward takedown.

What an interesting question! I have had most of my hospitalizations and surgeries happen just before the holidays(This is NOT planned!)If you really don't celebrate the holidays then go for that time period. I think the one thing to consider is the weather, in the summer it can be hot and bandages can become a pain.
Last year the day after Thanksgiving I fell off my roof and spent my birthday, Christmas, and New Years in the hospital. If you have kids like I do I would not have any surgeries around the holidays...Good luck, whatever day you may choose

I actually have thought about this alot! I didn't have a choice as to when I had it, because I had to have it right away. I had my first surgery in May 09 and my second in Aug. 09. At first I was upset because I thought it would wreck my entire summer, but know I am glad I had it during this time. It all depends on where you live, I think. Where I live, it gets very cold in the winter. It would stink to have it done in the cold winter, since I had to walk alot after surgery to help things heal. I couldn't imagine putting on all sorts of layers and boots and trying to truck through the snow. So I would say do it when the weather is pleasant in the area you live.

I didn't have a choice in the matter but the timing worked out quite well for me. I had 1/3 on May 15th, 2/3 on September 1st. I work part time at a school so I would have been off all summer anyhow. The summer holiday gave me an extra long time to recover and get well for step two.

Step three will be in December if all goes well. Again, the timing is good. Since the students are off for two weeks I will only need to take (hopefully) two weeks off work.

I didn't plan my surgeries, the surgeon just said you are getting it in 1 week but thinking about it was perfect for my schedule.
1st: colder weather meant I could layer up & the bag was less noticeable. In the beginning you think everyone "knows". After awhile I didn't care too much but I had some body issues at first. (October 5)
2nd: holidays, people were off and able to be there for me.... not to mention takedown was THE BEST GIFT I have ever gotten (Dec 19th).
3rd: I was able to return to college in January, 3 weeks after TD so I only missed 1 semester.

But honestly when it comes down to it I would have done it any day any time over again.

Best of luck to you!

If you have a choice, try to avoid the summer. That is when a fresh batch of residents enter the hospital. In addition to lack of experience, there may be some internal organization challenges.

Also, I would avoid the middle of winter. When you are healing, it is nice to talk a walk outside and get fresh air.

FL-NYC-JPouch, I never thought of it until reading your post but you are exactly right about the experience! Step 1 on May 15th had great and confident residents. Step 2 on September 1st had two residents that took my pain pump away the following afternoon, didn't know about the mesentary clot possibility at an ER visit, its function, and so on. The second stay sucked big time compared to the first because they knew nothing about pain management.

I'm praying those residents learn a LOT by step 3 in December.