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My 17 year old has had a Jpouch for almost 3 years. I am taking her to her pediatric GI doctor in the am for a check up and to get a recommendation for a "grownup" GI doc. I am just wondering opinions on requesting a scope to get her pouch looked at and what other maintenance things we need to ask about. Is it common to get a yearly scope? She has about 2mm of rectum left. Besides the annoyance of going to the bathroom 8-12 times a day she really isn't having any problems. I want to get her checked out with a clean bill of health before she turns 18 so we can rest assure for a while but I am not sure what to ask. Any help would be greatly appreciated Smiler Thank you!

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I'd mention the 8-12 BMs/day, which sounds a little high 3 years out. Did she have UC or Chron's? If she was on prednisone for more than a month I'd ask about getting a bone density scan (aka a DEXA scan) to make sure her skeleton's in top shape. You might spend a few minutes with her to check whether she's having any other issues with her pouch, GI tract, or surgical sites.

Good luck!
I
Scoping frequency should be on a case by case basis, not a preset schedule. Lots of things to consider. Obviously, if she was having problems, annual or even more frequent scopes would be in order. The main consideration after that is the length of time since her UC diagnosis, after 8-10 years from diagnosis, the cancer risk goes up, so at that time she would need annual or every other year scopes to check the pouch, but mostly that little remnant of rectal cuff.

Frequency of 8-12/day is on the high side, but if she is feeling well, it probably is just her "normal." Teenagers, and many grown-ups too, would rather deal with a few more bathroom trips than alter their diet or take bowel slowing meds. But, if she would like to improve her frequency, that would be another topic of discussion.

Jn Smiler
Jan Dollar

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