To all my J pouchers or ostomy friends

It's nice to hear you saying things are going well :)

My follow up is always with the surgeon. My next surgery was at 12 weeks. How long has it been for you? I bet you will get to schedule the next surgery.

My 2nd surgery was easier for me. I think because I was healthier going into it. I also knew what to expect so far as the level of pain. The first one was actually more painful and harder to recover from for me. I was unaware of what to expect the first time so it was hard. I was a pro at #2. I was out of there in 3 days. The loop ileo was difficult to manage - but not all of them are so don't expect the worst. The prep for step 2 is liquid diet, no crazy colon prep...

You-See said...
What is the loop ileo exactly?

the stoma will have two openings, although they will be close together and you may not be able to see both. One of the openings is connected to the functioning part of your bowel. This is where waste products will leave your body after the operation. The other opening is connected to the 'inactive' part of your bowel that leads down to your rectum.

The loop ileostomy is usually temporary and may be reversed during a second operation at a later date

It will be the same to you, but the reality of it, is that it has 2 ends. I could never see the 2nd end of mine. It looked almost exactly the same, but it was a lot more difficult to get a good seal.

www.jpouch.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/ileo-copy1-300x199.png

Look at that and you will see. It's one end coming up from the pouch and one end coming down from the small intestine. The transit is much faster so I was dehydrated a lot and got dizzy. It's also all liquid as opposed to more mashed potatoes, haha. You can probably use the same supplies. I needed convex with my end and with my loop. My loop was frustrating though, I never found good products to use. At least it's only 8 weeks...

You-See said...
What makes the loop ileo more difficult to manage than the regular stoma I have now? Sorry for all the questions, I appreciate the replies though.

Higher output and the consistency is usually more liquid. The stoma itself for a loop is shaped different and can be tricky as it sometimes it's more flush to the skin. I'm sure this greatly depends on the surgeons skill of making a good loop stoma. Mine stoma was not a good one.

Think of a garden hose as your small intestine. Bend the hose in half (like a kink) and cut a slit in it. (The cut portion is pulled thru your abdomen and makes the stoma)
That is what a loop ileo is.

Your surgery team will meet with you-depends on the hospital if the doc is at every visit. The pre-surgery ones are usually with the doc. The time between the surgeries for my daughter was 3 months-seemed really a fine amount of time if you go in pretty sick(or on steroids). The 2nd surgery was not too bad, but the loop was a pain, and she wanted to push up the 3rd surgery just to be done. We waited and all were successful.