Hi. I had my surgery on June 21st of this year, just discharged yesterday. I was given a rectal tube for basically 5 out of the 7 days.
I was wondering how much urgency should you have? I do get pains every once in a while now (On Wednesday it was down right bad though)but urgency seems to disappear. I'm not in pain, I still go to the bathroom, though before its urgent.
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Everyone adjusts at a different pace. You might have no urgency at all now, and in the long run you *shouldn’t* have any urgency. By “urgency” I mean a desperate need to go to avoid an accident. That’s different from the discomfort (or sensation of fullness) that develops if a full pouch isn’t emptied, since it can be ignored (with increasing discomfort) for quite a while. A healthy pouch typically gets emptied 4-6 times daily, after whatever adjustment period you turn out to need. Your pouch is so new, though, that it’s fine to be going more often as your body starts to find out what works best.
Personally I go about 8 times a day, but... I do eat everything without restriction though, broccoli, lettuce, kale, popcorn, corn on the cob mushrooms, everything. I'm not even careful to chew properly. I don't eat hotter than a medium curry though... And I only take 2 loperomide a day. If I ate less and closer to the traditional pouch diet and took more loperomide, I could probally hot the 4 to 6 as required
I go every time I eat. Depending on what I have consumed the need is either very urgent or I can wait a while. Like Bobish, I eat everything except blueberries, and lots of tomatoes. I guess my total is about 6 times a day. I had my colectomy in 2012 and jpouch in 2013. I am very very happy with my gut health.
Yea, i agreed with the person who posted that the feeling of fullness and urgency are two different things. I often felt urgency in the beginning but it was just a fullness. I’d rush to the bathroom bc that’s what i was used to. But i think i could have probably lasted longer. As time as gone on, I’ve been able to extend my trips. And now I can easily give myself a time on how long I have until I will need the restroom. If I’m traveling in the car with my hubby, I can easily say, I will need a restroom within the hour or next 30 min. Way better than when I had UC.
I had my takedown surgery early Nov 2017, so I’m 8 now out. I go around 10x a day and take 3 Imodium. My doc says we said he could get that number down by adding in Questran (powder, like Metamucil, but a script), but I recently found out I’m pregnant and won’t be able to take that. So, for now 8-10x a day is okay. My life is changed completely with the j pouch. No regrets! Give it some time, and hopefully it’ll get better.
