J-POUCH SURGERY

How is your quality of life with the end ileostomy? Have you been able to manage your pouching well, is your peristomal skin healthy, etc?

I was really happy with my end ileostomy and came very close to sticking with it permanently. Now that I've been through the j-pouch construction surgery I feel like if I were much older I would not have bothered. I haven't had my reversal yet so I can't speak to that part of the equation, but the decision was so "close" for me to go for the j-pouch that I think if I didn't have my youth and relative good health on my side I definitely would have stuck with a permanent ileo.

Hopefully others will be along soon with more experience and perspective to weigh in.

Bill

Tough call.

I know they don't like to do the J pouch after 65. I ' m not sure why but suspect it has a lot to do with quality of life issues.

I was over 60 when I had mine nearly 4 years ago. I'm not going to tell you it's perfect but for me it was a better choice than the Ileostomy, there are lots of others who prefer their Ileostomy . I guess it's to each their own poison!

I blame most of my pouch issues on my mother - you see she was a tad stubborn and liked to do her own thing. ( Apparently I take after her). I guess if I would be more careful with what I eat or drink I'd probably have less issues!

In any event I'm happy with my choice and am prepared to live with it.

I would say to anyone if you think this is what you want and you know the risks go for it. You're only as young as you feel - you should have a pretty good idea of how healthy you are!

Best of luck.

Lew

I could have managed with an ileostomy... but when I had my surgery at 19, it worked well for me and gave me life without "the bag," at a young age, when body image was important and impacting. Not that body image isn't important at any age, and my then boyfriend now husband was with me through it all and didn't care if I had a stoma or a J pouch or whatever. I hit it lucky.

At this point, after being with him for 22 years, if I ever needed an ileostomy, I'd go there again, if it was totally necessary.

I think less surgeries may be being done because of the plethora of meds out there that can help control and treat IBD. Those didn't exist for me then. Also, the big pelvic floor surgery does impact a woman's possibility at conceiving children, so I think they really push to avoid the surgery before childbearing age, unless completely necessary and when disease is out of control.

Sixty-nine can be a "young" age or an "old" age, depending on co-morbidities, at least that's what I've found in 19 years of nursing. If you're a relatively healthy 69 year old, without other issues... maybe go for it? But on the other hand, if you have diabetes, HTN, COPD, have had an MI, are obese... etc., perhaps you wouldn't want to have the surgery if you had a long list of issues.

Good luck with your choice. My hospital doesn't have a surgeon on staff who does this surgery... we have one who used to do it, but he doesn't have the support of the other services (other teams), so he quit them. I go to my old surgeon in Pittsburgh at this time, for all of the issues I've had recently.

Age is not a factor; it's more about your overall health. Gloria had jpouch surgery at age 69 and she's now 80+ and doing very well. You can PM her to talk about her experience.

Sue

Many doctors will not do pouches for anyone over 65, but that's not an absolute rule. There are other factors to consider - your overall health, obesity, etc. Diabetes, for one thing, usually contraindicates the pouch.

That being said, you might be happy with the ileostomy. I lived with one for over 2.5 years and generally did very well with it. While I wouldn't want to have to go back to one, I know it wasn't the end of the world and I know I could function fine in my day to day activities. It's a tough choice to make. Perhaps talk to several different surgeons, if you can, before making a final decision.

Good luck!

Hi William.
John from Australia.
As reguards age for pouch surgery I believe one of the first pouches done by my surgeon in Australia was lady who was in her early sixties and the second one was a lady in her late fifties.This was in the early 1980,s and I believe they were quite sucesfull.
I have had mine now for over 30+ years with not to0 many problems but I try and look after myself.
As everyone else on this post has said it depends on your state of overall health.
As one of the surgeons that pioneered pouch operations said ,It is a procedure that can work exremely well on well motivated patients.
I just find that having a pouch as opposed to having an Ileostomy is very convenient for me and my lifestyle eg surfing everday if I can.
I hope .this helps with your decision.
Best Regards from Australia.
John.

Hi Everyone,
I am just 9 days away from having the final step, for the j-pouch surgery. I am kinda nervous about it, not knowing what to expect. How long is the hospital stay? What is it like when you wake up? Will you have to use the restroom right away? I know she will be closing my stoma and how akward it will be not seeing it anymore, its quite overwhelming when I think about it! Its been so long living with an illeostomy, that I never got used to. I pray and hope this will be smooth sailing from here Someones response will be appreciated

Hi ljk,

The typical hospital stay for takedown is 4 or 5 days. I was in the OR for 30 minutes and when I woke up I had minimal pain. My bowels took about 24 hours to wake up so don't expect anything right away. My stoma was closed up too and healed beautifully. Go slow with food at first. You will do great! Best wishes for a speedy recovery!

Thanks so much Marianne, I am praying that it all goes well too!