Looking for insight on j-pouch

Yes to the first two questions. As for the third question, you'll get to know what your new plumbing is actually doing and gain more confidence when you go out. Try some short trips and see how it goes.

You should also post this in the General Discussion forum so you'll get more responses.

Welcome to the site!

kathy

Hi Kyle. Congrats on your j-pouch, I hope it works out well for you. It's really early days yet, so yes it's completely normal for it still to feel sensitive and unsatisfying. I'm sure you'll feel better and more comfortable every day, but everyone's body is different. Some things you'll be able to do straight away, other things will take longer to adapt to. Either way, good luck, know you're not alone, and remember: there are no stupid questions, so never feel shy on the forum!

Kyle,

Everything feels different at first. I had my surgery Dec 7th, 1986 so I don't recall how long it took but at some point everything begins to feel natural and you won't remember the way it was prior to the surgery.

I found that holding the BM as long as I could once per day (which I continue to do today) gave me strength and confidence that I had time to get to a restroom.

Good luck and blessings.

I hope for you that you will have the same experience as I have had! It has been better every year. Now after 7 years with my j-pouch I really do not think much about it any more. My life is close to normal. I believe it is primarily due to my bodys own ajustment, and of course also some ajustments of my diet ... but it has been a proces from bad to better and now mostly without any huge problems. There is a lot of good advices and tips to try out along the proces and again different things works for different people. But my advice is for you to be patient, give your body time, and seek advice, find out what works for you. Good luck!