Hello, everybody!

The last time I posted on here was in April when I was just a little over a month with my brand new J-pouch. Now, it will be 4 months on July 9th. I just wanted to update everyone on here about my difficulties (which are very few), but most importantly my success!  I completely forget if people that do not have J-pouches yet can access this site or not (I think I was able to before I was a member). With that being said, I also wanted to help those people out that may not have a J-pouch yet and are doing research on what having one is like.

Well, almost 4 months out and I am feeling AMAZING! As everybody with a J-pouch already knows.. having one does not feel as normal as having a colon.. BUT it outweighs what I or anyone was going through before. I have my life back and I could not be happier. I do go to the bathroom quite a bit, but I catch myself when I go to complain about that because it is MUCH better than what was happening to me before. Before I had my two surgeries I could not even make it to the bathroom and I was bleeding about 30 times a day. Some people say that having a J-pouch and going to the bathroom so much ruins their life, but for me, it has saved my life. Before my J-pouch, I could not leave my house or even my dorm room when I was at school, I could not be in the car for more than about 5 minutes, and I ruined a lot of my clothes...  Now, I can hold it better than ever. I do have to say holding it for too long gets very uncomfortable and I do try to go to the bathroom as soon as I feel like I have to go, but that does not mean I can't hold it if I had to. When I first did research about getting a J-pouch and what life would be like, I was absolutely terrified! I had read so many horror stories online about people having a worse life than before and that they would rather go back to having an ileostomy. I know that some people do not mind having an ileostomy forever, but with me being 21 and just starting my life, the thought of that KILLED me on the inside so I did not know what to think about this surgery. Then, I realized that the people who have had a bad experience with the J-pouch are going to post about it online and the ones having great experiences are out living their lives! Which is why I am here to tell anyone that is afraid, to NOT be afraid. Yes, you go to the bathroom a lot (everyone is different though), some people say they go about 2-4 times a day and others go about 6-8... But, no matter how many times you go to the bathroom the pain is not there like with colitis. It is absolutely pain-free, besides the occasional butt burn. My bottom does hurt a ton when I go to the bathroom sometimes because I do go a lot, but I try to stay away from spicy foods which are the main cause of the burning for me. Besides spicy foods, I eat whatever I want now!! If I am feeling this great after 4 months, I can not wait to see what I feel like at my year point that many doctors have told me would be when I feel the most amazing. Also, my scars are a ton better than I thought they were going to be. On top of all of this, I have met the man of my dreams and we go out to eat A LOT! 

I know I have probably left out a ton of stuff so if anyone has any questions please please please ask! I love discussing all of this.

-Alli <3