J pouch in less than a month... Anxious/worried/excited/questions

Hey everyone.. Just an update.

I've kind've hit a roadblock the past couple weeks and am about the same as I was a couple weeks ago.... still not REAL comfortable being out and walking around... just have that sensation that I have to go within about an hour of being UP walking. It's not a huge deal as I know it takes a while for the pouch to "learn" and to get into the swing of things.

Anyways still feeling great most of the time, kinda iffy sometimes, I think it's more of me wanting to get back to my old self then anything! But, I know it takes time and I understand it!

One thing to remember is that walking does help get (and keep) things moving along (hence the need to go) and your pouch is still in its adjustment stages.  The more you walk the better you will feel.

I was ecstatic about the fact that even though I had the need to go, I could hold it until I found a bathroom.  It's one of the little things in life that still makes me happy. :)

Remember to appreciate the little things that you do each day that you couldn't do before surgery.  It helps to keep you in a positive mindset about where you are following surgery and your mind gets focused on how far you've come in such a short time (which really is miraculous if you think about it).

To this day (almost 1 yr post takedown), I still appreciate every day that I eat a slice of pizza, get to hang out with friends without being completely exhausted, eat lots of different kinds of food (like at the PACKERS SuperBowl Party yesterday!!), work a long day at work, ride my motorcycle, sleep through the night (which I definitely don't do every night), and finish a conversation before I walk to the bathroom instead of sprinting away as I say be right back to my friends, family, and co-workers.

Another thing I did was each day that I walked - I made a goal to go a little faster, farther, or longer which forced me to make sure that I kept exercising and making progress.  Now if only I'd kept that up when I went back to work...

Stay positive!!

DRINK DRINK DRINK and WALK WALK WALK!!!!

Is it an urgency like the old run to the bathroom or you won't make it urgency and you can't hold it or do you feel that you need to go (ie - your pouch is letting you know it's ready to be emptied) and you can hold it? I know that after my first week my surgeon told me to practice holding it but other surgeons don't and the results don't seem to differ greatly. Maybe that would help you feel more comfortable with the sensation knowing that when the feeling hits you have at least XX minutes to get to the bathroom. Don't be surprised if you have some leakage at first when doing this if you haven't been doing your kegels or your output is still watery. I still do my kegels as needed when I think about it (usually because I tried to hold it for a long time and realized my muscles weren't as strong as normal).

I still feel the urge to go much stronger than I used to pre-uc (from what I remember) but I've just adjusted to it as my pouch's way of telling me it's full. Do you have any blood still working it's way out (hopefully not)? That will lead to the UC like feelings of urgency until it has passed. I also have adjusted to the fact that my output is still on the watery side - but that's my fault and is caused by my diet. :)

Good luck! I remember hating sitting on the couch as my muscles spasmed to let me know I had to go as I breathed through it until the spasms went away...not a pleasant feeling but it improved by leaps and bounds. Unfortunately I don't remember at what point it got better. I do remember going back to work and still having that feeling - but if I recall correctly, the more I was up and about, the better it was.

Sorry you aren't feeling well.  If you think you aren't drinking enough, make sure you drink things with some sodium in it.  I thought I would feel better by now, too.  I am doing much more than I had been doing, but I don't think there is any way I could go back to work right now.  I sure wish all this ice and snow would go away so I could take walks.

Let us know how you are doing. 

How cool is that....you are definitely on your way!!!! YAY

Anthony,
I'm doing GREAT! I've gotten back into motocross, I've been to the lake every weekend jet skiing, and even wakeboarding and tubing with zero problems or even any kind of pain. I'm also now back in a soccer league and I play keeper and took one of the hardest shots I've blocked directly in the abdoman, and zero pain other then the way it would have hurt anybody else... I work 6 days a week and am actually living 100% the way I was pre-uc! No foods have bothered me and I've had basically everything I did before, as well as alcohol doesn't bother me at all. So I'm feeling great!

I'll get some pictures on Photobucket of me racing MX as well as wakeboarding and tubing and post them up, think it may give people going through the same thing some positive hope that you can absolutely live a very active, normal life with a j pouch.

PM sent anthony