There is no comparison to the ileo output and the output from your j pouch. (after your initial healing and adjusting period of course). I was worried about that too because my ileo was always pure liquid and just ran like a leaky faucet all day and night. It was crazy. As soon as I was hooked up and started going to the bathroom it was a HUGE difference. The first week after takedown my output was still pretty liquid but it very quickly slowed down and thickened up. There is more transit time when you have your j pouch hooked up. Don't even worry about it. Oh and I drink coffee every morning, no problems....drinking it right now.

MGM is right I just had my takedown just a month and a half or so ago and i def dont go to the bathroom to empty as much as i did with the bag, only at night really and im still expecting that to calm down.

Salmak keep in mind a lot of the responses you're getting/will get are from two-steppers who never had an end ileostomy, only a loop, which is much higher up in the small intestine. From talking to the three steppers it seems like the consistency of the end ileo IS a pretty good estimate for j-pouch consistency, with a few caveats:

- the consistency of your end ileo won't stabilize for 6-8 weeks post-op; it's totally normal for it to be more liquid now
- when output is sitting in the j-pouch, the pouch continues to absorb more liquid -- you don't have that benefit now

In essence, I would say it's far too soon to worry. It's only bee a week or two, relax I didn't work up the nerve to try coffee until about two months post-op, so you're doing well already!

Absolutely no comparison between the loop ileostomy output (which I had as a 2 stepper) and J pouch output. J Pouch output also changes from what it is initially to what it is later, once the pouch expands and you adapt your diet as needed to the pouch.

I second and third what everyone is saying. There is a big difference between the loop output and the j-pouch. As far as ostomies go, I had both an end and a loop. The end output was much thicker and the frequency was much lower; this is more like the j-pouch consistency. On the other hand, my loop ileo output was almost always completely liquid; I swear that thing ran like a faucet. The j-pouch output is more like the end ileo - so in that sense, if you have a loop now, you can probably expect things to thicken up considerably with your j-pouch, as you recover.

Thanks for the responses. I probably should have mentioned at the start that I have an end ileo at the moment as I'm having a 3-step. Things are still fairly watery at times, however we'll see how things stabalise over time.

Hi Salmat.
John from just north of Sydney,central coast actually.
I had a loop ileostomy and the output varied with what I ate.
With my s pouch it still depends on what I eat but after haveing a pouch for over 31 years I have got it pretty well sorted out.
If you contact the Stoma nurse in the hospital where you had your surgery done he/she may be able to arrange for someone that has had a pouch for a while to have a chat with you and give you some tips.
I have seen a few people who have just had pouches done and they found it great to talk to someone who understood what they were going through.
Hope you find this info usefull and pm me if you like for anymore info.
Regards.
John.

Even if things are watery with the end ileo, a functioning j-pouch will probably be much different. I had rather watery output with the end ileo. I had REALLY watery output with the loop. And most of the time I have fairly formed stools now. Sometimes it's even like the old colon days.

kathy