Who has had ileostomy reversed and do you now have normal bowel function?

My reversal is Tuesday. In six weeks I will be doing a white water kayaking trip as part of a family reunion. My doctor said I should be able to start exercising at the gym in 2 weeks and be back in the water in 4 weeks. Good luck!

Surgery is sched for july 3rd and I asked my RE about my upcoming disney trip last week in aug. She said id be fine by then. He exact words were:

2 weeks out your going to hate me, your going to think you did the worst thing by having a reversal. your going to be tired and in the bathroom alot. You may also have some leakage. Go to the bathroom when you feel you need to so you avoid this. I promise it will get better. 6 weeks out you will be going frequently but have control. Your going to be getting up at night more also. but the end of august it will be a little better. 10 BM's a day. We will also start bulking up your stool then with fiber and immodiom. To help stretch the pouch and get it to act as a storage devise. 6 months out will be much much better with 4-6bm a day we like most people around 6.


I have also read alot of jpouch.org and apparently there is significant weight loss after the reversal also...not sure about that though I alrwady lost 21-25lbs(depending on when I weigh myself) id be happy with another 30! :D Good luck to you and Bill

I had a very quick recovery from takedown. I had many complications after my first step of surgery so I was grateful to get back to "normal" right after takedown. I was back to my normal, crazy daily routine in two weeks after the surgery. And eating normal again too. My number of bm's has been very consistant ever since takedown. The first two weeks after i was going about 10x a day and then after that it was about 6x a day. Now im at 4 to 6x a day which is the average j poucher. Hope his takedown goes as smoothly as mine did! :)

I had an ileostomy reversal on the 31st May. I'm not sure if my experience will help you or not as I have literally been 're-connected' and don't have a j-pouch.

However, I will agree with each of the comments in these replies as everybody must have different speeds for recovery. Personally, I'm totally shocked by how quickly my 'urgency' to go to the bathroom stopped. Initially, I had one or two accidents in the hospital as I was unable to get myself, my drip stand and my PCA into the bathroom quickly enough! That said, I quickly recognised that when I suffered painful stomach cramps, I needed to go and was able to get myself to the bathroom on time.

Sorry to be explicit, but initially, I was very loose, but by the time I got home 11 days after surgery, (delayed as I had an ileus) my bm's were already firming up and becoming less frequent.

Truth is, I'm so amazed by how quickly I've gone to having between 1 and 3 bm's a day! I'm still not particularly mobile as the surgeon had to re-use my initial surgery incision which is approximately 14" long. They also re-meshed me due to prolapse and of course closed my ileostomy site. I was in surgery for 5.5 hours due to adhesions etc.

I think if I didn't have such a large cut (although it has healed on the surface beautifully) I would definitely be up and about now and doing my normal activities.

What I'm basically saying is that I think my bm's became manageable very quickly despite having some initial additional problems. In my opinion, I think the way to approach your husbands reversal is to be positive and hope that he can return to work as he would like but don't put too much pressure on himself if all doesn't go to plan. I panicked at first when my bm's were frequent and loose but am amazed at how quickly they calmed down.

I really hope that things go well for you both and that you enjoy your daughters wedding in November. X

Long story, but I suffer with a generic connective tissue disorder called Ehlers Danlos syndrome. It basically makes he hyper-mobile (I'm very bending and my joints over extend) which had caused a number of health issues. The last one of which left me where I was told I was and hour from death and with an emergency operation - the outcome of which was my ileostomy which I had almost 12 months to the day.

I had bad experiences carrying both my children, so much so that I was forced to have a hysterectomy when my youngest was just three years old almost three years ago. At that point, nobody had diagnosed my Ehlers Danlos however as I had a prolaspsed bladder too, they performed a repair at the same time.

At my 2 week post surgery review my prolapse repair had failed and my surgeon said that no matter how many times she did it, it would continue to fail. She referred me to another surgeon who she said specialised in cases like mine (I've always been difficult! ;-))!) so off to him I went, blindly unaware.

It was at my first consultation with him and extensive questionaires and visual tests, he told me about my condition and informed me that the majority of my internal organs had prolapsed due to my condition. He explained that the only way to remedy the prolapses (which I have to say were often very painful and uncomfortable) was to have surgery. He explained that the surgery would be carried our laprascopically and he would insert mesh into my abdomen to support my organs. I booked in for surgery as I was excited to hear that he could 'fix' me and I had the surgery done in May 2010.

My post op review with the consultant was done 6 months later. This was due to the need for my own tissue to 'knit' with the mesh and it was only at this stage that he would be able to tell me if the procedure had been a success. I explained that I didn't feel like the prolapses were totally gone, however, there was an 80% improvement so I was happy with that. I did however say that almost as soon as I got over the operation, I had been visiting my doctor as I was suffering with stomach cramps and constipation. I told him that my doctor had prescribed Movicol and he thought that I should continue this treatment as often the bowel becomes 'unhappy' after abdominal surgery so to give it time. He said that although I needed a tape procedure to support my misbehaving bladder, he wanted to wait until my bowel issue had settle down. For the next six months, I had increasing periods of cramping (would take my breath away) and also days in bed where I couldn't do anything. My doctor thought it was IBS and booked me in to see a Gastroenterologist in the June 2011.

I never made it to the appointment. On May 29th I was in excrutiating pain and I knew something was terribly wrong. My husband rushed me to A&E, and after an Xray they decided I was constipated and admitted me to a ward. Over the next two days they gave me picolax (which didn't really work) and numerous other remedies for constipation. On their rounds, the doctor said she felt I was ok and that I could go home and await my appointment with the Gastroenterologist. The sister however didn't want me to go. She said that she felt I wasn't well and she would advise me to stay but I felt like a fraud and went home. Bad move. I was on my own at home the following morning and had to call an ambulance. No amount of morphine or other pain medication would take the pain away and I could not lie or sit still on the bed.

I was sent for CT scans, standard x-rays and exposed to enemas to get rid of my 'constipation'. As they saw free fluid in my abdomen near my appendix they decided on removing it. I was physically fighting with them as they put me under and came out of the anaesthetic that way too. They couldn't understand why I was still in pain as removing my appendix should have relieved it.

My consultant when reviewing me later that day asked me if I had ever considered phychiatric help????!!!! He basically thought I was mentally ill and pretending to be ill. I was devastated and at my whits end. In fact, I wanted it all to end as I was getting to the point where I could not cope any longer with the pain. He also suggested his mental illness suspicions to my husband - I won't tell you what he said in reply - it's way too explicit!! Needless to say he went away with his tail between his legs.

I had to be moved to a side ward as I was in 24 hours constant pain and screaming out. They continued to give me enemas which gave me such intense pain I nearly screamed the hospital down. Over the next 7 days following my appendectomy, my abdomen began to swell and I was having contraction like pains which would build in intensity. They kept telling me that it was due to the gas used in my laprascopic surgery. I told them in my more lucid moments that I'd had several laprascopic procedures but this was different. They ignored me.

Exactly one week later, I had blown up so much that I looked like I was 9 months pregnant - no joke. The consultant came in and his face.....he freaked, and scuttled out. Next thing I've got a bowel consultant in my room who sends me down for an emergency CT. He met me back at my room and thankfully my family were there. He told me that he was unsure as to what he would find, but a section of my large bowel had collapsed and I needed immediate life-saving surgery. I was told at this point about the ileostomy and said my goodbyes (was told they could be my last) to my family.

That was on the 12th June 2011. It was a long road and took a few months to get round my ileostomy but I got there, although I always hoped for a reversal. I got that reversal on 31st May this year and I'm doing well and very thankful to be alive!

I told you it was a long story but you did ask!!!!! ;-))

As stated each case is different depending on your own body..hopefully for Bill it won't take too long....just be patient. The most important thing is you have quite a few situations above to go by so if this or that happens you both won't get alarmed and know some of the type of things to expect.

Hopefully he will be back to his crossing guard duties as planned. Good that the wedding isn't until November as everything should be on an even keel before then.

Good Luck!