10-yr-old son takedown Monday

Our 10-yr-old son has his takedown Monday.

He had sudden and horrifying UC last Oct-Dec, was hospitalized for 6 weeks Jan-Mar, with colon removal Feb 15, and 3 weeks of problems after. Since then, all smooth. End ileo = no problems. He thrives, does Boy Scouts, swam all summer, completely off meds, grew 2 inches and started gaining weight again.

July 6 was j-pouch with new stoma, also no problem. Out in 6 days.

He's healthy now, going in for takedown and reconnection tomorrow (12 hours from now). He is doing SO well with the bag, we're a little reticent about the process with the j-pouch. We are ready with helping him learn to poop again, largely with advice taken from this site. I suppose we are comforted that returning to end ileo is an acceptable option.

This site has been a Godsend.

I'll keep all of you in my thoughts and will hope for a super speedy recovery!

Be patient with the reversal. Although the surgery is easier than the colectomy, the adaption to food can be frustrating. Measure improvement in weeks, not days. Expect higher frequency, some urgency, and gas pain. This will all get better with time. I would introduce imodium and fiber immediately. Imodium to slow transit time and fiber to add bulk. Make sure your son gets exercise. Walking is very beneficial for recovery. Have him keep a food diary so he can measure transit time and pick foods accordingly in the early days.

Stay away from sugar and carbonated beverages; even fruit juice. They will loosen things up. Have a tube of calmoseptine on hand and have him soak in the tub if he gets sore. All of this is normal recovery and he should do fine with time.

Sue

Glad to hear things are going so well. It's been 10 months since my takedown and I feel great. Some people's bodies adapt much quicker than others. I felt good 2-3 weeks after surgery but things didn't really settle down for me until about six months out. I had the urgency feelings much longer than most people but they did go away eventually. You might look into a bidet seat attachment. It was the best purchase I have ever made. Good luck today. Keep us posted.

Hello Friends,

Charlie's sleeping a bit now, 945pm. He had what will hopefully be his final surgery today, to take down the ostomy and reattach his bowels. Last July he had the 2nd surgery to create a j-pouch, a sort of pseudo colon from his small bowel. That healed well, and now we're on the last leg of getting to the other side of his ulcerative colitis, which landed him in the hospital for 6 weeks last Jan-March, including removal of his entire colon.

Today, the nurse took him back for surgery at 215, and the surgeon was back out talking to us at 4. The whole day could hardly have gone better for him. Sometimes the reattachment site has scar tissue from previous surgeries, but Charlie's didn't. He just had young, healthy bowel that they just stitched together, badda-boom, badda-bing!

Charlie has had some water, and has already peed! They say they can hear his bowels moving well, and he was able to walk to the bathroom with just a bit of help. He's talking clearly enough, tho woozy from the morphine. If all keeps going well, we will look to go home Thursday. Doc originally said, maybe Wed, but that sounds crazy to me.

So far, it's all by the book. He came into the surgery healthy and with a good attitude. His sisters and brother have been very helpful and supportive; we're very, very lucky parents.

Thank you all.

I am so happy to hear surgery went well.  You must be so relieved :)

May he continue to heal and go about living the life any 10 yr old boy should be able to live! :)