jpouch reversal sooner than expected!

Saw my surgeon today with the gastrogaffin xrays I had done last week. (which sucked ass by the way).
Surgeon gave my jpouch an A+++++
Said its perfect and a beauty LOL.
Checked his schedule and booked my reversal next Wed!!!!! Less than a week (its Friday here in Australia).
Holy crap.
Excited but kinda shocked at how soon.

I am bit apprehensive as I am used to my bag and don't really mind it anymore. After 9 months its just a part of me. No big deal.

But...using my butthole again after 9 months of unused I am kinda freakin out.
Shall we say a bit nervous...
But I probably shouldn't be because I freaked out big time before jpouch surgery step 2 and that was way easier than I expected..
Anyway...LESS THAN A WEEK O.M.G.

I know what you mean about having the stoma for a long time. I had mine for 12 months. I actually felt sad saying goodbye to it and told it, you're going back inside where you belong and you'll be much happier there, and we'll always be together. I've written about this here before, and my friends thought I was losing it completely, but the night before my take down I was waiting for them to come by and take me out. Just before they called, I heard my stoma talk to me and it said, oh don't go out, let's stay here alone just the two of us. I said, it's really good for me to see my friends and that will be better for you too. We'll have plenty of time together later on when I get home. Then I and my friends went to a park and played ball with their kid and my stoma didn't say anything else. Maybe I was a bit stretched to my limits but it seemed like a reasonable conversation to me.
I also had really strong apprehension about going out of my bottom again, I had this fearful feeling it would be like an grenade exploding, but it's sort of like riding a bicycle, or sex, you never forget out it goes. For a lot of people the first one happens in the middle of the night, you'll wake up and need to wash. You might feel like celebrating.
Just a tip: as soon as you have the first bm, start rinsing with water every time, dry gently and smear on some calmoseptine. The first weeks will be otherwise very brutal on your skin because the acidic content of the stuff is so high. Start eating psyllium husk in yoghurt a soon as you can because it absorbs the acid into the stool and keeps it off your skin.

Steph best of luck to you...I hope you heal and convalesce really well. Since you have already gone through so much this is just another bump in the road and before you know it, you'll be getting back into the groove. Good on getting the bidet and getting as prepared as you can to try to make things easier on yourself.

Let us know how you make out.

Kazygirl, best of luck to you!! B'Dereh....that post was a hoot! I have a permanent ileo and I know exactly what you meant by its becoming almost a "friend" to you. For me, it was my life saver as I was not a candidate for j-pouch. Although, it can be embarrasing at times because you never know when it will decide to sing the "Star Spangled Banner" in the elevator after a big meal.
As for becoming second nature like riding a bike...yep, I remember that...sex?? Hmmm, not so much..lololololol.

Have a great day!

Amythyst - yes, I ate psyllium husk when I had an ileostomy, it made things very thick for a few hours until it was all out of me. Now I eat it in yoghurt in the morning and with lunch. I think it's the only way I can get a relatively formed bm.

Christine, thanks. "Star spangled banner" is hilarious. I always told my stoma not to make noise and it was great. I also noticed that when I was really super nice to it, and I told it how great it was, I would have a leak within an hour, or it would make it impossible to get a new bag on and I'd have to wait and be late for work. So I learned to be fair with it but not too many compliments that would go to its head.

Post Edited (B'Dereh) : 11/30/2012 12:02:52 PM (GMT-7)

It is fiber supplement, that's all I've ever used.

x5800-

I had complications in the hospital which required a 24-day stay, discharged a week ago. None of it was actually related to my j-pouch; just general post-op complications that could have happened after any major abdominal surgery. But I was not eating solid food for a few weeks after my surgery because of all of it. So technically, I've been eating solid food for less than two weeks now, so my j-pouch hasn't had much time to adjust yet. But here is what I have been experiencing...

I've been going I'd guess between seven to ten times a day (but have been on antibiotics and eating leftover Christmas chocolate, both of which can stimulate the digestive system and cause loosening of stool). The most annoying thing is that I feel a pressure of "needing to go" quite often even though there is hardly anything there and often even right after I've just gone, so I try to hold it until that feeling gets a little urgent and there's hopefully a little more there to come out, otherwise I'd be going all the time. This can also help mature the pouch more quickly and teach it that it's new job is to hold instead of push stuff through.

Things seem to slow down when I eat BRAT foods, cheese, peanut butter. (Or especially peanut butter Rice Krispy treats, all three major ingredients of which slow the digestive. Yum!). I have yet to try Metamucil (a.k.a. psyllium husk) or Immodium - wanted to see how my pouch did on its own first. Have had a pretty sore bunghole/butt burn on and off depending on how often I go, sometimes even bleeding a tiny bit even though I use a bidet, baby wipes, and ointment. It dies down pretty quickly when my bowel movements slow down, though, so I can tell that when things normalize, it won't be a problem.

I can tell whether or not a fart is "safe" (vs. behind something else that needs to come out first) and have been able to pass gas quite frequently and in any position with no problem. I have never had a leak (since I started eating) and have complete control, can hold it for quite a while if I need to.

That is the state of affairs right now, though I expect it all to improve over time. Again, I'm less than a couple weeks into eating solid food, so this is all completely within the normal/expected range for me at this point. I will probably try adding Metamucil before I go back to work so that things can firm up/slow down a bit when I have to be in front of a classroom all day.

Psyllium husk you can get either under the name Metamucil (but not all Metamucil is psyllium husk since they have a variety of products, so look for the term psyllium on the packaging) or generic brands at your local pharmacy. The stuff I get is the plain kind (no flavoring or additives) - as a powder you mix a Tbsp with 8 oz water and chug it - tastes like wheat. Another poster here mixes hers in with yogurt twice a day. Or my favorite way is to buy the Metamucil psyllium husk wafers - they are like little cinnamon-flavored cookies that taste pretty good as a snack in between meals (just be sure to drink water with it), and they have the same effect as the powder. I keep a big basket of them in my snack drawer and before surgery used to eat one every day as my mid-morning snack.

What else should you know about it? Don't eat/drink it within two hours of taking any meds since it can affect absorption.