new ileostomy - reversal ?

i had emergency surgery in march and woke up without a colon as well. i think it may have been a bad idea to read others posts on the internet about jpouch surgery since they all seem to be horror stories with complications etc... it just seems so bad. it is scaring the hell out of me.

i would also like to hear some advice and info etc... cheers

I'm unsure about what surgery you had and why. There is a difference between those with a jpouch and those with their ileum connected to their rectum. The ileo-rectal patients, on the norm, have less bm's than the jpouchers.

But, everyone's outcome is different. Their autoimmune and/or general health is different. No 2 people are alike, so no 2 people's surgical outcomes are going to be alike. Each case has similarities and differences, in comparison.

And what Scrap Girl stated is correct. More than 90%, 95% of people are out there living their lives, maybe a teeny tiny amount are living in isolation. The 5-10% are the ones you are reading about on support groups. But even then, those that initially looked for support have made a recovery....like Scrap Girl and countless others here on HW!

Please don't look at these stories and scare yourself. I know it's hard to do. I, myself, have been postponing my reversal. It's not because of the horror stories and I'm relating them to me, but because of my particular circumstances, my ATypical case, maybe it would be better not to rock the boat and keep my ileostomy.

Keep communication with your doctors. Express your concerns. Also, we react differently between elective and emergency surgery. If you 'woke up with a bag', I could see where your scared in the 'what if' world. You also don't have to rush to make your decision. 6 months post op, I still hated my bag and thought I wouldn't have a life unless I hurried and did my reversal. I was being quite pretentious and my surgeon agreed. I was still in my 'sick stage', so my world was small and couldn't see clearly the road ahead. The months following, I got physically and mentally stronger and didn't see my bag as such a limitation. As my world expanded, I realized that I needed to take more time, based on my case and my quality of life. In July, it will be 2 years.

Hi, My daughter was 15 when she had her surgery. Had the bag for two months and hated it.

It has now been a year this April since her take-down surgery. Hasn't had any major problems. No urgency, can hold it. Goes maybe 4-5 times within a 24 hour period. Gets up at night to go sometimes. Can eat what ever she wants.
Doesn't have any problem with the butt burn. She has had pouchitis twice but flagyl took care of it.

Was the best thing for her. Was taking 15 pills a day. Now taking no meds at all.

I wouldn't be worried about your takedown. There are many people out there that have a jpouch and they do just fine. You tend to see more "bad" things about jpouches on forums like these mostly because this and other sites are support forums.

For me, it has only been a little over a week since takedown and I can say that I'm doing just fine. I still have some slight cramping, but that is because my jpouch is still expanding. I have no urgency, no leaks, I'm able to eat whatever I want, I've already started walking a mile everyday and soon I will be buying some running shoes so I can start running, and when my incision heals up a little more I'm going to go swimming again.

The ostomy bags aren't so bad. You can buy a wrap from Ostomy Secrets or from Stealth Belt. No one has ever noticed the bag unless I showed them. I did a lot of things while I had an ostomy: hiking, swimming, rafting, running, trips, etc.

My advice is don't be scared, but be aware. Complications can happen, but you also can have a relatively easy go of things, too. I did have an abdominal abscess after step 2 surgery that put me back in the hospital for a week and really knocked me for a loop. As far as my j-pouch goes though, I've had a great experience! I had. My takedown in January of this year and I'm now in college full time, taking care of my two very active young boys, and I'm running a half marathon in two weeks. Life is good!