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Sue
I have a bad problem with total mechanical blockages. about every 2-3 months. Very painful but clears in about 8 hours. I went to the Dr. to see if it was scar tissue but it looks like it is getting blocked between the pouch and the last 10 cm.
I have an S-pouch, done around 1980. It was the 7th one done by my surgeon, so it was a new procedure at that time. My understanding is that S-pouches were problematic and J-pouches are preferred today. Can anyone confirm that?
I think you'd be more inclined to find people with S-pouches who had the surgery done more than 15 years ago. Over the years the J-pouch has become the preferred shape. I recall reading at one point that S-pouches had a greater tendency to become overstretched with age, so as time went on, the configuration has been largely abandoned in favour of the J which tends to have a higher success rate. Of course that doesn't mean that *everyone* with an S-pouch will have issues. If yours was done in 1980 and you still have it, then you're a huge success story. I have a J, but my own pouch is only 7 years old. Yours has endured over 4 times that long.
Of interest, there are also some people who have W-pouch configurations. I know very little about those, but it doesn't seem to be a very common procedure these days.
can't be certain, surgeon never told me what he'd done, but I'm sure I overheard him telling someone that he'd done mine as a W-pouch. Had mine for 10 years and not had any problems, yet . still time though I suppose
I have an S pouch. I'm one of the first 25 people to have this "new" operation done in New York City back in 1984.
hi karen i have s pouch also just had takedown 3/2 how was your first few weeks after takedown?
Not quite sure I'm the best person to answer that. When I had this operation back in 1984 I was 19 years old. The surgery was very new. My personal experience wasn't good. I was told at the time "things didn't exactly go as planned" - and after my take down in 1985 - I ended up needing to use a catheter to go to the bathroom. Quite traumatic at the time considering my age. But, hey, they say you're "cured" - so you run with it. Fast forward about 16 years...after years of "using the catheter" I had developed major ulcers internally. I underwent a major revision type of surgery - and voila! - I was able to poop on my own! Big deal for me, as you can imagine. Since then, I've had some problems, some more surgeries, and am currently dealing with a probable "gallbladder" issue. BUT, 31 years later, I'm still kicking and alive. Very thankful for that as I'm now blessed with my darling 10 year old son. sorry if I rambled on, my story and case is in several text book now. I will say this, while my S pouch causes me problems, I'm still very glad I had the surgery at the time. My issues specifically are diet related and my strict adherence to eating whatever doesn't cause me to get a blockage (even if it means I'm not as thin as I'd like to be LOL)
All my other "issues" are just like everyone else here on this site.