After J pouch surgery expectations

Hey Logan!!! Welcome to the club!!! Congratulations on surgery my friend

When I was around your surgery time frame, I was going about 30X or more to the bathroom lol. I am 6 years out and I go about 14-20 now, I am in the 9% that goes 14X or more per day, so its not common to go as much as me, so things will simmer down for you. I would say, it takes about 1 year to get use to things, you are not even a week out and you are doing awesome!!!!

Wow, thank you so much for the information! I am sorry to hear about your situation though, but I really hope you are doing okay.

@Logan Tower posted:

Wow, thank you so much for the information! I am sorry to hear about your situation though, but I really hope you are doing okay.

Your welcome And Oh I am doing great! Going about 20X a day can be hard sometimes but I am grateful the Ulcerative Colitis is gone. I am just grateful i can poop on my own lol.

Thats great! and yeah it is definitely much better than having the ostomy bag or colitis

@Logan Tower posted:

Thats great! and yeah it is definitely much better than having the ostomy bag or colitis

Thank-you! And yeah definitely! Over the 6 years, I have not had any major issues except for hydration and getting severely constipated if I really overeat. I have a mechanism that I follow for hydration, drink water: before, during, and after every meal, that helps me tremendously. And of course eat normal...ish!!! LOL!

Thanks for the advice! Are you able to do keep up with physical activity, by the way, or has your situation impacted that at all. Because I really love to play sports.

Most people gradually lengthen the time between trips to the bathroom, and delaying a trip starts to feel less risky over time. The urgent signals of UC can make us pretty twitchy, and that doesn’t go away overnight. Be patient with yourself, and gently experiment with what your new plumbing can and can’t do. You can also search our archives for the *many* words of wisdom that have been shared here over the years with new J-pouches.

Good luck!

Okay, thank you so much for all the information. I really do appreciate any advice I can get.

@Logan Tower posted:

Thanks for the advice! Are you able to do keep up with physical activity, by the way, or has your situation impacted that at all. Because I really love to play sports.

Glad you asked

When working out: take it easy! Literally! A lot of people on this website have told me of their stories about exercising intensely and a lot of them have suffered consequences as a result of that, a lot of people will call their stories: "anecdotes" but I tend to believe people's stories on here, so I would just say take it easy and keep your weightlifting at no more than 25pounds (Doctor recommended). Exercise sessions, somewhere between 30minutes-1hr, I would not recommend doing more than that since we are more fragile now.

I personally have not suffered anything except a sore stomach from an intense amount of situps but I do not do high intense stuff anymore because of lot of people sharing their stories with me on here. If anything with core exercises, I might do 10 situps and take a break or stop completely.

As far as bathroom trips with physical activity, I do go to the bathroom when I exercise/going on dates etc. You learn how to accommodate everything as you go along

I don’t think most of us are fragile at all. While you’re recovering from surgery it’s best to be very conservative, limiting exercise to plenty of walking. After 4-6 weeks, though, just pay attention to your body.

I can only speak for myself so I'm not saying what anybody else says is or isn't true. I'm about 4 months out from my takedown surgery. I did no physical activity for the first 2 months. In the beginning I was going to the bathroom a lot. Probably 15 times a day. Over time it started slowing down though. Now I couldn't tell you how many times I go a day. I can hold it if need be. It's deceiving when people tell you how many times a day they go. There's a difference between really having to go and just going because you feel like emptying out. For example. I go every day before I work out. I may not nessesarliy have to go but I try to go just because I know I'm going to the gym and I want to empty out. At first right after surgery I was getting up probably 3 to 4 times a night. Then it became 2 times a night then one. Now I never get up at night and I sleep fine. The only exception is if I eat a big meal late at night so I try not to do that. If I'm hungry I'll make a smoothie and it seems to be just fine.

As far as physical activity goes. I'm in the gym at least 4 days a week and as many as 6 days a week. I lift weights, I run, I do eliptical machines. I also started back as a wrestling coach a few weeks ago. I have no issues at all. I work out hard. I was in the gym last night for almost 2 hours.

I really have no real restrictions on my diet either. I can eat pizza, tacos, or really anything I want. I do choose to eat very clean and healthy though with lots of probiotics. I also take metamucil before any big meal and that helps immensely.

Again I'm not telling you to do what I do. I just do what works for me. It will take time for you to get healthy again. You won't just wake up one morning and be ready to run a marathon. It's a process. You won't really notice it happening. You'll just realize one day that you slept through the night. The most important thing is to listen to your body. If you eat something that doesn't sit well don't eat it again for a few months. If you start working out take it easy. If you get a weird feeling then stop and do something else.

That's just me but I wish you luck. Stay encouraged and just remember take baby steps.

Thats awesome, I'm glad that your able to live a more normal life and still keep up with your daily activities after surgery. Its only a few days out for me, but I can tell you that I'm already starting to feel a little better by the day, I guess it's just a matter of time then. I hope everything keeps going well for you as you progress, and thank you for the info!

@Logan Tower posted:

Thats awesome, I'm glad that your able to live a more normal life and still keep up with your daily activities after surgery. Its only a few days out for me, but I can tell you that I'm already starting to feel a little better by the day, I guess it's just a matter of time then. I hope everything keeps going well for you as you progress, and thank you for the info!

I am glad you are doing well Logan!!! You are doing much better than I was at your time frame! No butt burn???

No, lots of butt burn! I its really not fun to deal with, but I have some things that help me deal with it, like creams and stuff, and after those its not as bad.

@Logan Tower posted:

No, lots of butt burn! I its really not fun to deal with, but I have some things that help me deal with it, like creams and stuff, and after those its not as bad.

Try metamucil before you eat. It helps a ton!!!

@Logan Tower posted:

No, lots of butt burn! I its really not fun to deal with, but I have some things that help me deal with it, like creams and stuff, and after those its not as bad.

Lol, you will get use to it over time I believe. The creams are a lifesaver

Some people use a bidet but I do not want to spend money on it lol. I like my wipes lol, that works for my 20X a day poop schedule lol.

Oh I hadn't thought of that! I used to take then when I had UC before the surgery, and it would help a lot.

I will try that definitely

@Logan Tower posted:

I will try that definitely

Wipes too

Yeah, definitely. I have been making sure to use those as well