nutrition ? for jpouches & ostomates

Hi everyone- so I'm laying in bed last night, wide awake, thinking about surgery (what else, ever?!?!?). And I've always been stuck between the 2 procedures, the perm ileo or trying a jpouch. And I know that with a perm ileo, one has to be extra cautious about not becoming dehydrated, & drink plenty of fluids, & that people will crave salt to the point of licking it from the shaker. Does the same hold true for a jpouch? Are jpouchers just as prone to dehydration and/or electroltye imbalances? I mean, you would think so, because I don't imagine the "pouch" absorbs any liquids, like a colon would. It's just an internal bag, really. And info on this? Thanks! And I hope everyone is doing well these days on the forum!

One difference between a pouch and a bag is that with a pouch the waste stays inside your body for longer, this does give more time for absorption but it's not much and pouchies do have to watch themselves. Regardless of whether you have a stoma or a pouch the body makes adjustments, your kidneys work harder and you pass very little salt in your urine and sweat is much less salty too, the body also learns to absorb more of the fluid back too. I'm coming up seven years with my pouch and no longer need to add extra salt to my meals and don't drink any more than most of my less colonically challenged friends. I do have low output and this is probably key, if your output is high your need for extra fluids and electrolytes will increase.

Peter