I didn't discover this site until after my initial surgery. I come here periodically for those little problems that come up in j-pouch life and then try to chime in on the forum posts by the newest patients who are understandably nervous after such a big surgery.
Maybe it's my writing style that's off-putting but I've noticed far less responses on my posts (and others) than I do on the post-surgical posts. Is there a site or forum that I haven't heard of for those of us trying to stay healthy and help others like us stay healthy for the rest of our j-pouch lives, not just the year after takedown?
I know I was very very sick after my surgery and I'm not in any way saying they don't deserve the attention or extra help. I doubt that I would have survived without this place.
That being said, one of my biggest things about this lifestyle is getting past the surviving and getting back into the living portion of it all. I will still need support, though less often than I did three years ago. I know three years is not technically a veteran poucher, but I'm certainly out of the woods that were known as 2009 and 2010.
This site has been my only resource outside of my doctors when I'm having stomach problems. I know I can't exactly go on WebMD to search my problems because my body is a little different so another place to look for answers when I don't have any is all I'm looking for. Thanks.
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