Hi All:
I had my takedown on Feb 4. I thought I would describe what I am going through for those of you who will encounter the same procedure in the future and also get some advice from those J-Pouchers who have been through this already.
I am a 72 year old male who was in good health until diagnosed with ulcerative colitis (UC). My disease come on quickly. About 18 months ago the surgeons removed a blockage, gave me a stoma and then told me they needed to remove my entire colon because of UC. They removed the colon and gave me an ileostomy. The next procedure was to design a J-Pouch. And finally the takedown was performed a couple of weeks ago.
The first few days in the hospital after the takedown were bearable with a lot of bathroom visits and pain. I then developed an ileus . The doctors prescribed nothing by mouth for a few days and that seemed to clear things up. I returned to eating solid foods and was passing stool often. One day I stopped passing anything. I went back to the hospital and they did a Cat Scan and X-Ray and determined the ileus was still present. Again they proscribed nothing by mouth and gave me a few drugs. However this time they did not give me any opioids because they slow your bowels down. I am convinced stopping these drugs, even though one is living with the pain, is best. I believe my ileus situation will eventually correct itself.
I do have urges to go to the bathroom quite often. And I do have leakage at night. After each trip to the bathroom I clean myself thoroughly with toilet paper and a cleansing wipe and then take some vaseline put it on some toilet paper and put it between my cheeks. This helps prevent any stains on my underwear and also helps alleviate sore butt. It is difficult to sleep at night given the amount of times one has to go to the bathroom and the concern about soiling. I cannot seem to control things at night. It is not a lot of stool but just enough to stain things.
Can anyone tell me if this gets any better, soiling at night and not having to put toilet paper between your cheeks to prevent stains on my underwear?
I am optimistic about this J-Pouch and hope to hear from others about my concerns.
Nick
