Hello, Maine Girl. Near the time of my takedown, I asked my ostomy nurse at the hospital if she knew any support groups for j pouchers. She came up with a group that meet every three months at another hospital but I felt the meetings were too few and far between, I needed more support, so I found this site. Your local area might have a group that you'll have to do some research to find them. Maybe call your hospital's ostomy department and ask the (j pouch) nurse, or check with their staff dietician for possible contacts, or your surgeon / gastroenterologist / receptionist might know. Call the IBS organization in your area or nearby; they might know. Keep googling. Don't give up. You'll find a group or individual j pouchers eventually, or start a group if you feel you can. After the surgery, you can do anything.