Hello All:

I wanted to provide everyone an update on my progress almost 4 months after takedown.  I am a 72 year old male who was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis. I told my surgeon, Dr. Bashar Safar, Chief of Colorectal Surgery at  Johns Hopkins, if he could fix me I would take him to a steak house and by him a Delmonico steak.  During my first operation (Sep 2017) Dr. Safar took out part of my colon and gave me an ostomy.  He said I would be reconnected in a few months.  That did not happen. A few months later Dr. Safar decided that my colon was too badly damaged and I needed my entire colon removed.  He then gave me an ileostomy.  I had that for about 4 months.  The next operation was the development of a J-Pouch.  I still had the ileostomy until the J-Pouch healed.  This went on for another several months.  In February Dr. Safar put me back together. 

The first few months after takedown were difficult.  Many trips to the commode, leakage and a lot of pain.  And yes there are still some issues.  The issues are that I have some difficulty passing gas when I am standing up or sitting down.  Sometimes this is painful.  But when I lie on my side the gas passes freely.  And sometimes it is not only gas that comes out.  I am not sure the reason for this.  And sometimes there is leakage so I have been wearing male depends just to be safe.  I expect this to resolve itself. There are also a lot of loud gurgling sounds in my stomach after eating. 

It has been a long road but I now feel great.  I have been exercising, jogging, lifting weights and playing a lot of golf.  I have to be careful of what I eat,  but I eat almost anything I want.  I do have to be careful of fried foods.

So the bottom line on this post is that the J-Pouch is working well and you can have a very normal life. And by the way, Dr. Safar and I had a great Delmonico steak dinner.

If I can be of help to anyone or answer any questions please do not hesitate to contact me.

All the Best,

Nick