Jellybean,
I was in your same boat, I am 21 years old and just couldn't do the ostomy thing my whole life. My surgeon is a very well known surgeon that has many, many surgeries under his belt, so I was comfortable and he put me at ease basically telling me that I was the perfect candidate being so young and in great shape be sides UC.
Right after surgery, I definitely did have to go quite a bit, it is mostly your body getting back into the swing of going "normally" again. I don't know if you've seen my other posts, but I am now back into racing motocross, wakeboarding, and playing soccer. I can have a whole day at the motocross track, from about
10:30 AM - about
3 or 4 PM and not have to go to the bathroom once. My surgeon did tell me that my surgery was basically text book as well as my recovery. The early days after surgery are tough, as they were with your ileostomy, but no stupid bag changes! The biggest thing is to WALK! The day my nurse finally FORCED me to walk, was the day I crossed over the peak of the recovery hill and things just got better after that.... If you need a success story look at me!
I'm sure you have looked through Jpouch.org, and that site scared the hell out of me. But, that is only because people posting to that site are the percentage that ARE having problems... yes, problems can occur, but most people are out living there lives as I am and don't post anything on any forums! I am only here to help people with ostomies out, as I had one for 8 months, and to share my success story for those like you that are opting for the j pouch!
Anymore questions let me know!