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Posted 9/28/2009 12:11 AM (GMT 0)
Hey everyone. I'm 19 years old and a freshman in college. My doctor says I need to have the 2 stage j-pouch surgery because all medications haven't seemed to work and this is the only other option. I was just wondering from everyone's experience with this how long the hospital stay is, the recovery rate is, etc. and what their opinion of this surgery is. I plan on finishing out my first semester then having the surgery during Winter Break, which is a month long. I didn't know if a month would be a long enough recovery time to return to school. I would definitely consider just taking the rest of the year off rather than be miserable from trying to return too soon. Thanks!
Posted 9/28/2009 1:21 AM (GMT 0)

On average, most people are out 6 weeks after the first surgery and 3 weeks for the second.  You might want to consider either taking the rest of the academic year off or having surgery at winter break, return for spring quarter and have your second surgery at summer break.

Sue

Posted 9/28/2009 1:22 AM (GMT 0)
Hi Browns Fan,

I haven't had the j pouch surgery yet but am scheduled to have it done on October 5th- only a week away!  The way that my doctor explained it is that I should expect to be in the hospital for 5-6 days after the first surgery and recovery takes 4-6 weeks.  After my insides heal, he will do the second surgery- reversal of the stoma which is usual done 6-8 weeks after the first surgery.   The hospital stay for the second surgery should be 3-5 days- I guess it depends on when you move your bowels.  The recovery time after the second surgery is supposedly quicker than after the first.  Therefore, it should take about 3 1/2- 4 months to have both surgeries and recover fully- that is if there aren't any complications.  This is just the way that I understand it.  I would recommend that you take the second semester off and take classes in the spring/summer if that works for you.  You will definitely need more than the 1 month winter break that you have.  Best of luck to you!

Nutz

Posted 9/28/2009 1:46 AM (GMT 0)
My meds aren't doing the trick for me anymore and I am having the surgery in a few months. There are lots of great places to find information online, two really terrific sites are The J-Pouch Group, http://j-pouch.org/ and http://www.colorectalcare.org/ipaa.html details the surgery, what to expect at the hospital, how everything is going to work, etc.

Most people who have the surgery seem to have only one regret -- not doing it sooner.

Meesh
Posted 9/28/2009 2:58 AM (GMT 0)
Hi  I had the first surgery Oct 08 and was back at work in just under 3 months (I was very weak going in).  Second surgery March 09 and I was again back at work in 6 weeks.  I was in the hospital for 9 days after the first and 11 after the second as it took that long for the bowels to wake up as i had a lot of scar tissue from the first surgery.  All my exhaustion was gone by August  and I feel great!  The surgery was a very good cure for me

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