General Care

It’s useful to have an established relationship with a GI in case problems arise. The wait for a new patient appointment is sometimes substantial. In addition, there are different opinions and circumstances regarding periodic pouchoscopies. If you had cancer or dysplasia before getting your J-pouch there’s good reason to get periodic screening  biopsies (many suggest annually). I go much less frequently for pouchoscopies, but I’m fortunate that my gastroenterologist is also my primary care doctor, so I see him annually anyway.

Thank you

For sure I would form a relationship with a good GI.  My quality of life is directly due to work my GI has done around medication and procedures for pouchitis, constrictions, blockages, adhesions.  At the very least you want a GI who is familiar with your special requirements who can get on the phone with ER docs or other emergency medical personnel if you have issues necessitating a trip to the hospital.  Which isn’t all that unusual unfortunately.  We get dehydrated easily, are susceptible to nasty invading intestinal bacteria and parasites, get blockages, etc….all often needing hospital care.  You also want to ensure that any lingering inflammation etc is handled…ongoing inflammation in your gut drives other inflammatory issues like arthritis, psoriasis, and more.  Your GI is instrumental to managing that inflammation.

Thank you so much for your advice