I am so sorry to be this ignorant an don't want to google it - what is SIBO?  I don't know much about this.  I have had my j pouch for 28 years.  I was 23 when I got the pouch.  My dad got his at age 50 and did have a heart bypass at about age 60.  Whether it was related to j pouch - who knows?  He is now 78 and still doing really well.

Write back if you want to let me know more about SIBO and maybe I can help you - several docs in the family. Please take care of yourself. I know how hard it is to deal with all kinds of health issues and deal with the j pouch too. 

Hi Angie, SIBO stands for Small Intestine Bacteria Overgrowth.  Supposedly pro-biotics or beneficial bacteria help combat the bad bacteria. 

Thanks for your response!

Ross

Thanks - oh gosh - I often think that I have SIBO - I just never knew there was a name for it.  For me I think yogurt helps.  I know avoiding sugar is good.  I know I can't eat raw veggies in any great quantity. etc. etc. - Is this something that can be tested? 

I need to make my appointment for my scope - I want to ask my GI about it.  I'm one of those people who for years just shut up and didn't complain. Felt sick a lot, worked anyway.  (Unless I had a surgery or a bowel blockage or something). But I'm 52 now and I know I am going to have to try harder to reach out for help from doctors in order to continue to cope.  I got so depressed just living with this that I sort of just gave up. Not totally, but quit work, stay home a lot, etc. - and found ways to stay busy at home. My poor husband has been great about it. 

I guess I need to do what I used to tell everyone to do all those years I was a counselor - advocate for myself, get out and get help, don't give up , etc. - just being on this forum for 2 hours tonight gave me some hope that I need to take a more active role in trying to deal with this old j pouch! Thank you so much. It helps not to feel alone.  I think I did my math incorrectly in an earlier - I was 23 when I got the pouch - I'm 52 - so it's been 29 years.  Good grief - how did that happen?    I used to be sharp and thought of myself as pretty intelligent - high scores, high IQ, etc. - and now I just feel like I don't know much at all.  I guess that's wisdom...knowing how little you knew in the first place.

Hi Angie, sorry for taking so long responding.  One question: do you have an addiction to bread or wheat products?

I ask this because people with problems to wheat products also tend to have addictions to those same foods and they can have neurological/memory/concentration/fatigue issues from that same wheat. Many people with intolerance to wheat suffer from IBS or Colitis...  For them, like those with Celiac Disease (auto-immune disorder caused by wheat gluten), removing the wheat products removes the aforementioned issues.

Ross

I've wondered about gluten/Celicac.  I wouldn't say I'm addicted to bread - but I do like it.  I don't eat it every day. It does not seem to bother my GI too much.

Healthy foods - fruits and veggies - which I love - give me GI fits. I do use a blender to do healthy smoothies.  Need to add some fiber and protein to them, I'm sure. 

I will mention the gluten and other information to my GI guy next time  I go.  I want to try to find a nutritionist to help me.  I'm doing ok, but I stay home  a lot and my energy is so low.  I do try to exercise, but it's pretty exhausting.  Back in the day, the exercise gave me energy - not so much now. 

I imagine that more than anything, I am going to have to really adjust my attitude and decide if I am content to stay home and not fight this anymore - or fight it and get out there more.  I suppose the "correct" answer is to try to find a balance.  Thanks for the reply and your help! 

Angie, I've been in sort of the same boat. I had to quit work around the same age. The stress was getting to my pouch. It's been hard staying home while all my friends still work. Tried to stay busy, hard to make plans cause I never knew how I found feel between everything going on plus I suffer from migraines since the surgery. Depression can make you tired along with pouch issues. I know my anti depressive meds have helped. Also age can make you tied. I'm 62 and can't do a lot of things like I use to. It was hard to accept. I think seeing a GI will give you some answers. Maybe you have some pouchitis going on. Well, I'm hoping my second takedown will give my another 15 years, then I'll be at 30 like you, if the new bio meds I'm on don't kill me first, lol. Balance! 

Allykat, tiredness can make you depressed.  Not getting out of the house causes the person to not get enough natural sunlight and UV rays leading to low vitamin D levels.  I imagine you've heard of seasonal affective disorder that occurs during winter months in northern regions of the world.  If you have a garden you can tend towards, you would be better off.  Plus, getting out of the house and taking a stroll regularly helps circulate the blood to the vital organs, especially the brain, which aids in increasing energy, especially mental energy and improving mood.  Do you have a dog you could take outside or to a park? 

Vitamin D deficiency has been linked to a whole slew of illnesses and digestive disorders.  

Ross

Good ideas.  I live in Dallas, so getting vitamin D is not an issue.  Getting a dog is another great idea - we've had 3.  We don't have one now, but it's on the list to do so in the future.  I used to sit out in sun for 20 minutes as I had read Dr. Christiane Northrup's ideas on that - well, my mother (who was right) - said -Christiane Northrup lives in Maine!  You live in Texas.  All you have to do to get vitamin D here is go to the grocery store and do a couple errands.  I agree that getting out and moving is always good - and I also understand how hard that can be for some people living with chronic pain and depression.  Balance - yep - it makes me laugh too! The only way to get out is to literally force yourself to do it even when you don't want to.  And don't forget your diapers!

Oh thanks, I do get out and go to the gym a lot when well. And walk the malls, lol. 

I can't be in sun cause I had melanoma but do take Vit d and have it checked twice a year. 

Sorry to have taken over this tread. 

BTW Heart disease runs in my family but I have no signs of it, even with high cholesterol which I take nothing for, I do take a lot of anti inflammatory Vit, my good cholesterol is very good though. In fact I passed the cardio test with flying colors! 

Allykat, you didn't take over the thread.  People shouldn't be so worried about how much they write.  Afterall, the point of the community is for all aspects of support.  Who is qualified to judge what person has written more than they needed for helping themself and others?  

As for cardiovascular disease... It has so little to do with total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol.  It probably has more to do with inflamation and low levels of HDL cholesterol.  

PLUS, for women over the age of 60, higher levels of cholesterol is safer than lower levels.  In fact, it protects you from not only cardiovascular disease, it protects you from cancer, alzheimers and cerebrovascular disease...

Have a good night.

Ross

Angie, at the moment and for the next few months, you'll have to make a concerted effort to get spend a little more time in the sun in Dallsas.  I live in Guadalajara, Mexico (from NYC) and what would take 30 minutes to get a burn, now takes a few hours.  But, thank god I don't live in NYC now! or I would have no means of getting even a slight tan between late September and late April...  

Ross