30 year anniversary of takedown - anyone else live with a pouch this long

Congratulations Solomin!
Mine is 33 yrs old, a K pouch...was number 13 (my lucky number now)...had its issues but we are trying to get along...I respect it and it occasionnaly respects me!
I hope that this upcoming surgery gives you the freedom and peace that you deserve!
Happy birthday to your pouch!
Sharon

Solomon
I have only had my pouch for over two years and have had a number of issues since then. It seems finally things have become more tolerable for me. I'm sorry you are on a waiting list for surgery but it is good to hear there are things that can be done to correct a malfunctioning pouch and to hear how long you had a successful one. I hope you feel better after your surgery and get back to living life as you were prior to your pouch issues. Please keep us posted as to how you make out.

quote:

I am on a waiting list for jpouch reconstruction surgery at one of the local hospitals.

A waiting list?

Why is there a waiting list for J-Pouch surgery? Are there that many people with UC?

Solomin is in Canada, so the health care set up is different, as they have a nationalized system. It is not so much that there are so many waiting for a j-pouch, but that there is a waiting list for hospital beds, OR time, surgeon's time, etc. Elective surgeries take a back seat to more urgent conditions.

Jan

I lived in Canada for years in the 1980's. Montreal Quebec is a very large city.

I could understand a waiting list in some one stop sign town, but Quebec?

Seriously?

The surgery I require needs a skill that not many surgeons in Montreal (where I live) have.

The priority for surgeons is cancer patients. There is also limited amount of operating room time available.

A year wait is not to be unexpected with the state of the medical system here is Canada (same for Ontario also) when surgery is classified as elective.

Wow. Sorry to hear you have to wait.

We hear such glowing stories down here about what a wonderful health care system Canada has. It was one of the reasons politicians used to convince us to switch to Obamacare.

But, it is encouraging that your pouch lasted so long. That will ease the minds of many who wonder what lies in their future.

Good luck!

(I lived in Kanata for a few years. I love Canada.)

David

Not that long with my pouch, about 4 years now, but it has been completely trouble free.

I'm at 19 years. Plently of ups and downs, severe learning curve. Still have good and bad days. I also have celiac so my choice of foods is severely limited. Basically, I am happy and do everything I want to do, I just prepare differetly. I always have to remind myself; it's better than when I had colitis!

As with any healthcare system, Canada has its pros and cons. Universal healthcare, no one is denied access, but we can have longer wait times for certain specialties or procedures, particularly if you are not an urgent case. I've waited longer than 4 months for specialist appointments, and had my own takedown bumped for more urgent cases (however I should mention that my first surgery was done on an emergency basis, so I likely bumped a few people myself). But I don't think any healthcare system, anywhere, is perfect. We ALL have a long way to come.

My husband is going on 18 years with his jpouch.

I went from Canada to France which also has a universal health care system...used to be great...now, not so much.
We can wait up to 6 months for an appt with a Rhumey or eye doc, surgeries (unless you go private = you pay out of pocket for better doctors and quicker appts) can take months too...waiting lists are very common...plus we have a No-Pay university system here where all kids can go for free but graduates must 'pay back' by working a certain number of hour/days per week/month to the university hospitals...and that is until pretty much the end of their career. So even in private practice most doctors go to work at the university hospitals once a week...They say that it evens the playing field (it is socialist here), but I am not so sure...what it does is level everything out to the lowest common denominator. We have a doctor shortage and are now importing them from the ex-Estern Block countries, expecially Romania. I go to 1 of 2 GPs here who does not give appts...its a walk-in system...I have often gone there only to wait 4-5hrs and finally give up and leave in disgust.
I guess that that is how the plan to plug the hole in the healthcare budget here...people just give up and don't bother...
By the way, the system is so bankrupt that its budget is bigger debt than most medium sized countries.
Sharon

I got mine in 1987, so close but not quite!!
Lots of chronic pouchitis but I still have my J pouch! And I'm only 32

Mine will be 25 next March. Knock on wood, no issues for me but a recent blood test showed me having low triglycerides so my dr thinks I might have malabsorption issues. Wouldn't be surprising with no colon! I'm currently on a digestive enzyme to see if it helps. We are a small group so it's great to see others with long term pouches. I hope you are able to get your surgery and feel better soon.

Regarding malabsorption and its relation to having no colon....I thought the colon's function was to absorb water and that all nutrients, etc. were absorbed by the small intestine which, on down the road after our J-pouch surgery, becomes such that it takes over some of the function our colon served....when we had one!

Anyone?????

Not sure, just an interpretation of my blood work by my chiro. All other blood counts came back fine, just low triglycerides at 53. But I think some drs would think that's normal. I did work out before the draw which I understand can drop your triglycerides. I'm taking these digestive enzymes for a few months then will get retested. We'll see.....